WHAT IS BURIAL?
​Burial is the oldest type of funeral, where a body, usually resting in a coffin, is buried by being lowered into a grave, purchased within a cemetery, traditionally in Scotland by the family with ceremonial cords. A headstone is usually placed at the head of the grave to permanently mark and honour the life of the person who has died, giving family and friends a place to visit. There are many religious faiths who prefer burial.
CREMATION
WHERE CAN I BE BURIED?
In Scotland, cemeteries are usually owned by the council or occasionally churchyards. A ‘lair’ is the term used to describe the plot of ground allowing burials also known as ‘interments’ to take place. Each lair usually hold a minimum of two coffins and up to four sets of ashes, older lairs may be more. Some cemeteries allow families to ‘pre-purchase’ lairs ahead of time whereas some are only able to be purchased at ‘time of need’ when someone has passed.
Cemeteries charge for the purchase of each individual lair once and then for each interment thereafter.
WHAT TYPE OF COFFIN CAN BE USED?
The body is held in a coffin, typically made of veneered wood (our Tay, Spey and Solway Coffin), solid wood (our Balmoral Coffin), wicker (our Seagrass Casket) or more flamboyant premium wood or metal material (our American Casket). Less hardy materials, such as cardboard or hessian, can be used but must be supported and robust enough to be lowered into the grave, we would advise against this given our Scottish weather and conditions.
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Again, almost uniquely to Scotland, we attach cords (usually 8) to the handles of the coffin by which nominated mourners can ceremonially lower the coffin into the grave. For this, handles must be metal to hold the weight of lowering.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A BURIAL?
With our wet and wild Scottish weather, an indoor service is usually held prior to the graveside committal. This would usually be in a church, chapel or other religious building if a religious service or one of our parlour service rooms or a hired venue if an unreligious service. Graveside only services are possible of course but not always practical if a very wet day.
Following the service, mourners gather by the graveside and the officiant may say a few words before the coffin is lowered into the lair. This is carried out by cemetery staff and ceremonially by the cord bearers, the staff take most of the weight. Mourners can also symbolically scatter earth on top of the lowered coffin and some families may use flowers here. Music can be played, pipers can be hired, doves can be released there are lots of ways to personalise the interment at the graveside.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE BURIAL?
Following the committal, when mourners have left the graveside, the grave is backfilled with the earth that was removed. This will settle and then be backfilled again until at the ground is level. This can take several weeks or months depending on ground conditions. Finally, turf will be placed on top of the grave to look as close as possible to the original undisturbed ground.
We will provide a temporary grave marker with details of the person until the family are ready or able to erect a headstone.
There is no wait period or time frame for a headstone to be placed on a lair. There is a well-known myth that there is a12 week to 12 months delay for ‘the ground to settle’ before any memorial work can be done, this is exactly that, a myth, however, permits and foundations can take a few weeks. Our Memorial staff are available to assist you with any Headstone or inscription provision.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW WE CAN PERSONALISE A BURIAL
Talk to Brodies Funeral Services on
01501 751214