Carlisle Cemetery & Crematorium

Carlisle retains 'UK best' award

Carlisle's Cemetery and Crematorium has been singled out as the best in UK, for the second year running.

Carlisle City Council, who owns and manages both facilities, collected the award for Best Cemetery with Crematoria at the Institute of Cemetery and Cremation Management (ICCM) Annual Conference, held in Harrogate last night (Tuesday, 16 October). In total the Dalston Road and Richardson Street based facilities have won the award three times over the past 10 years.

The City Council facilities were also the inaugural winners of the ICCM Award for Environmental Awareness.

The awards, now in their 10th year, were devised to raise standards in burial grounds and reward those who work hard to maintain our local burial sites. The competition also aims to increase public awareness of the importance a cemetery can play within a community and encourages cemeteries to give the public more choice, whilst working within the parameters of what is safe to put up in a cemetery.

Carlisle City Cllr Ray Bloxham, Portfolio holder for Environment & Infrastructure said:

The Cemetery and Crematorium both provide a top quality service for the local community and they deserve all the plaudits they receive. To be singled out as the best in the UK, for the second year running, recognises the excellence displayed on a day to day basis within its buildings and through the hard work of all the staff. I'd like to be the first to pass on my congratulations.

Carlisle Cemetery celebrated its 150th anniversary in October 2005 and was the first in the UK to offer a woodland burial option, in 1993. This continues to be available along with traditional burials. The Crematorium also accepts homemade and biodegradable coffins and shrouds.

Carlisle Crematorium opened its doors to the public in 2006 when a free Open Day was held to mark its 50th anniversary.

A new Babies' Memorial Garden opened at the Richardson Street Cemetery on Wednesday, 7 March this year. Carlisle City Council invested £8,000 in the new garden and worked with Columbaria, a specialist memorial company, to create the new features work to install two new cremators that aim to reduce mercury emissions by 95% have recently been completed too.

In addition to improving the environmental aspects of the Crematorium, the £750,000 scheme also allows cremations of larger coffins to take place. The cremators can take coffins of up to 43 inches wide, compared to 28 inches at present.