Memorial ideas in Cornwall

When a loved one dies and chooses to have their ashes scattered, their family and friends may want to designate a space in their memory to visit instead of a grave. 

A memorial, such as a dedicated tree or bench, can be a meaningful way to remember your loved one. It can give you a spot to visit and think about your loved one in an area that was significant to them, such as the town where they grew up or their favourite spot in the park. 

In Cornwall, there are a number of ways you can set up a memorial for your loved one, including donations for artwork or a memorial bench, an entry in Penmont’s Book of Remembrance, or a tablet installed in a memorial wall. 

Find your funeral director in Cornwall who will help you arrange a cremation or burial, and give you ideas for a meaningful memorial.

Making a donation to Cornwall Council in the form of a piece of artwork, a bench, picnic tables, trees, or spring bulbs can be an ideal way to honour your lost loved one and give back to the community. You can visit the Cornwall Council website to enquire about what donation you’d like to make to honour the person who’s died.

The procedure for donation involves contacting the council and applying to donate by writing what you would like to donate and requesting a location.

The Cornwall Council will then assess the application to determine appropriateness and whether they can accommodate it. If you are successful, the council will provide a final price and an estimated time frame of when your donation will be ready. You will then sign a contract agreeing to the terms and conditions and provide a cheque for the agreed amount. 

They may then contact you before installation, and when installation is complete, the council will then take a photograph and send this to you to keep for your personal records. 

The donation must be respectful, sympathetic, and easily understood by the public. It also needs to be appropriate for where the installation will be located and not detract from the location.

They can only install donations on land under the direct ownership of Cornwall Council. Public spaces within the wider county managed by Town and Parish Councils are subject to their own set of regulations.

An entry in Penmont’s Book of Remembrance is not only relatively inexpensive but a permanent form of remembrance where you can place the name of your loved one and add an appropriate epitaph. The book is on display each day of the year, where you can view the anniversary of your loved one’s death. You can also request certain pages for viewing at any time, as long the calligrapher is not updating the book.

The Columbarium at Penmont places cremated remains in a casket in a niche. You have a choice of two niches, open or sealed. Both options can be purchased for 10-20 years, with renewal options available after those periods have come to an end. 

You can see the casket in the open niche, with a memorial engraving on its face. In contrast, you can also see a sealed niche covered with wood and features a stone tablet with a commemorative inscription.

Like the Columbarium, the memorial vault houses remains resting in a niche. The memorial vault is outside, in front of the floral tribute bay for Kernow Chapel. It is a beautiful rectangular brickwork construction that contains fifty stone vaults. Each stone vault has a dedicated vase for floral tributes. The raised central bed contains a variety of scented plants and herbs.

Meanwhile, the cremated remains memorial vault is an attractive vault above ground. Each vault can hold two wooden caskets or another suitable container of cremated remains (with a maximum size of  12” x 8” x 6”). The cremated remains memorial vault has a polished black granite fascia tablet that is large enough for a full gilded inscription as well as an emblem or photo plaque.

Located in the same area as the Memorial Vault, the Memorial Wall is an alternative for those who would like to commemorate their loved one with a plaque but would rather not dedicate a kerbstone or shrub. You can request an engraved slate tablet with your inscription by the Monumental Mason, and you can select where they install the tablet on the wall. These tablets are available on a ten-year tenure.