WHAT IS CREMATION?
​Cremation is the most popular option for a funeral in the UK, simply, cremation is the age-old process of rendering a body to ash through very high temperatures from either flames or microwaves. The actual process involves a cremator which is a combustion chamber large enough to hold one coffin heated to around 900 degrees Celsius. The cremator door is opened and the coffin, containing the body, is ‘charged’ into the chamber with the door closed behind. Various factors affect the time taken but on average, the cremation lasts around 90 minutes. The chamber is then ‘raked’ until the entire contents are collected and cooled. Any metals (jewellery items, coffin pins etc) that are not fully combusted are removed from the contents which are then transferred to a ‘cremulator’ where they are ground into the fine powder, known as ashes. Each chamber is raked completely before another coffin is charged, meaning there is no chance of ashes being mixed with any others.
DIRECT CREMATION
WHERE CAN I BE CREMATED?
There are many crematoria in Scotland, owned by either council or private companies. They are usually located in well maintained grounds with service rooms for services to be held.
Each crematorium has their own fees for the services they offer. The ‘crematorium fee’ usually incorporates the cost of cremation and use of chapel in one price. Extras such as webcasts and visual tributes would be charged separately.
WHAT TYPE OF COFFIN CAN BE USED?
Due to the process, some materials are non-combustible and so are unsuitable for this style of committal. 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) more flam flamboyant metal materials (our American Casket) would not be suitable. Less hardy materials, such as cardboard, hessian, woollen coffins, can be used but must be suitable for charging without jamming on the hearth of the cremator, our coffins all have a charging board fitted to their base to prevent this.
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Items that contain materials such as glass, leather, batteries are non-combustible and so are not allowed to be worn for cremation. Pacemakers and other nuclear powered implants must also be removed from the body prior to cremation.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A CREMATION?
A religious, non-religious or informal service can be held in the crematorium’s service room, known as the chapel. This works just the same as any other service venue. Services held at the crematorium do not show the cremation process taking place. When the ‘curtains’ close the coffin will be taken to the crematory area of the crematorium which is out of sight from the mourners. In Scotland, the coffin should be cremated within 24 hours of the service so the coffin may be stored there until the cremation takes place. The coffin should not be opened again after it is closed at our parlour.
Families that opt for direct/unwitnessed/ cremations will not have the opportunity to attend a service as the lower price of this service means they are not granted use of the crematorium chapel. The funeral director takes the coffin to the crematorium at a direct cremation time slot (usually before 9am in the morning) and the cremation takes place with no one in attendance.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE CREMATION?
Following the committal at the crematorium, the family will have the decision on what to do with the ashes. There are many options available (please see our ‘What to do with the ashes’ under ‘information’ for full information), simply put, the ashes can be returned to the family for scattering, burial, keeping, placing as jewellery items or a mixture of all options or retained at the crematorium to be scattered/interred in their grounds.
It is locally popular to have ashes buried in an Ashes lair within a local cemetery where they can rest in perpetuity as a family and a memorial can be erected.
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR SERVICES?
Talk to Brodies Funeral Services on
01501 751214