Cemeteries

Memorial Testing

Dorchester Town Council will be commencing memorial testing to keep cemeteries in Dorchester safe in accordance with its agreed policy.

The work is essential to make sure cemeteries to continue to be a safe place for the people who visit. Some memorials will need to be carefully staked for a short period of time for support until a more secure method of displaying them is found, and others may need to be laid down in the grave space.

We recognise that this is a very emotive issue, but we have a duty to make sure everyone is safe when they visit our cemeteries. We will make every effort to contact the owners of memorials that are found to be unsafe and hope the public will give their support to the tests.

For any person considering purchasing a memorial, Dorchester Town Council would advise that it is the owner or purchaser of the memorial that is liable for its maintenance. Therefore, when considering the maintenance of a memorial over a long period of time, insurance packages can be beneficial.