Canley Crematorium - Print version

Canley Crematorium allows us to offer a whole range of facilities that can be altered to meet your personal needs. In both of the chapels (Charter and Cannon Hill) every funeral service booked has a 45-minute time slot to allow a full 30 minutes for the funeral service to take place. In most cases, all individual requests can be catered for.

Download and print our information leaflets [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/6353/canley_cemetery_and_crematorium_printable_leaflets].

Cremation for children under the age of 16 years

Coventry Bereavement Services do not charge for a cremation service for a child under the age of 16 years at the time of death. There will however be a charge for the Medical Referee to complete the documentation thus allowing the cremation to take place.

Music

Canley Crematorium has the use of the Obitus Music and Webcam System, or an organ is available.

If you give enough notice, any specific cultural or religious music requests can be catered for, as well as special arrangements, such as Scottish Pipers taking part in the funeral.

Disposal of the ashes after a cremation

At the time of making funeral arrangements, your funeral director will advise you of the options available regarding the disposal of the ashes.

Please do not feel under any pressure to make a decision at the time of making the funeral arrangements. We can hold cremated remains for a short time after the funeral if you think this would help you make a more considered decision.

The applicant of the cremation for an infant/baby will be advised by the funeral director that whenever possible Coventry Bereavement Services will endeavour to return any ashes retrievable after the cremation has been completed. On very rare occasions, unfortunately, there may be no tangible ashes left to return back to the family.

Post-cremation memorialisation

A few days after the funeral has taken place we will write to you with information about the range of memorials that have been designed to commemorate those who have been cremated, in many cases the memorial can be linked to the last resting place.

Infant and baby cremation

Canley Crematorium is committed to the sensitive and respectful care of all of those entrusted to us. Our policies and processes for infant cremation are aligned to the latest guidance on Infant Cremation, as per the recommendations of Lord Bonomy’s Infant Cremation Commission (June 2014 Scotland) [http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/06/8342/3].

In accordance with this guidance, which is fully supported by the national representative bodies, the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA), the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM), the Cremation Society of Great Britain (CSGB) and the Association of Private Crematoria and Cemeteries (APCC) our ashes policy is set out below:

Definition of ashes

In line with Lord Bonomy’s recommendations Canley Crematorium considers cremated remains and ashes to be one and the same thing and supports the commission’s definition that ashes are “all that is left in the cremator at the end of the cremation process, and following the removal of any metal.”

Return of ashes

Our approach to the cremation of babies and infants is designed to maximise the recovery of ashes. This includes the use of a cremation tray designed to retain ashes where practicable, and the maintenance of operational conditions that will minimise the loss of any ashes during the process of cremation.

We will employ best practice e.g. the use of specialist computer programmes and metal trays and our staff will be vigilant during the cremation process and if appropriate will adjust operational conditions when necessary in order to protect the ashes of babies and infants and maximise their recovery.

We are confident that the equipment and processes adopted for infant cremation at Canley Crematorium maximise the likelihood of recovering ashes. In any rare instance of non-recovery of ashes, we will conduct a review of the cremation process within 48 hours to understand why this is the case. The results of this review will be documented and contain details of any adjustments of our procedure deemed to be necessary, and will be available to next of kin/parent(s) if they wish to view these. We will adhere to our identification procedure that guarantees that the ashes resulting from individual cremations returned to parents are those of their baby.

Shared cremations

Where a shared cremation has been authorised, and hence ashes are not individually identifiable, we will take the same care throughout the cremation process, including steps to maximise the recovery of ashes, and will scatter/bury the ashes within the crematorium’s designated area. The location will be recorded for future reference.

Disposal of ashes

In relation to the disposal of ashes in the case of a private cremation, Canley Crematorium will only act upon the written instruction of the parent who is acting as the Applicant for Cremation or other person nominated in writing by the parent.

In the case of shared cremations we will only act on the written instruction of the designated person at the relevant hospital, who is acting as the Applicant.

Ashes will be held at the crematorium for up to 4 weeks to await collection by representatives or instructions as to their disposal. Where no further instructions have been received within the six week period, a further fourteen days’ notice will be given in writing to the Applicant, following which the ashes will be scattered or buried within the grounds of the crematorium should no further instructions have been received.

Disposal of Metals – The applicant should give consent for disposal of metals recovered from an individual cremation and must be provided with information on the options available.

Record-keeping

All cremations of babies and infants will be registered at the crematorium, with all information as contained in forms and certificates being retained indefinitely (This may be in electronic form).

If ashes are scattered or buried within the grounds of the crematorium the final resting place will be recorded. Where ashes are to be collected, the details of any person authorised by the applicant to remove/collect the ashes, and the date on which the ashes were collected will be recorded.

The policy of this Cremation Authority is designed to provide an audit trail from the receipt of initial funeral instructions to the final disposal of ashes, either by collection from the crematorium or by scattering or burial within the confines of the Gardens of Remembrance or other such designated area.

Questions or queries

If you have any questions or queries about making arrangements for a cremation service for your baby, please do not hesitate to contact Coventry Bereavement Services.

History of Canley Crematorium

The first discussions of the need for a crematorium to serve the fast growing City of Coventry were at a meeting held in 1934.

On 29 April 1938 the Ministry of Health approved the building of a crematorium and the establishment of a new cemetery at the same location. Work commenced on site in the late spring of 1939, but experienced delays almost immediately due to the onset of the 2nd World War, as there was a shortage of materials and skilled labour available. It was the air raids of 14 and 15 November 1940, which focused the attention on the need to complete the project.

On Tuesday 23 February 1943 Alderman Emily Smith, J.P. the Worshipful the Mayor of Coventry, formally opened Canley Garden Cemetery and Crematorium. The 1st cremation took place on 26 February 1943 some 3 days after the formal opening, and the 1st interment was carried out 27 March 1943.

As an ongoing effort to improve services delivered to the citizens of Coventry a project commenced on site to build an additional chapel on to the existing crematorium building. Work started to construct Cannon Hill Chapel 29 June 1992, and was completed on 12 May 1993. The completion of the project has seen the transformation of a pre-war designed building to one that is now able to meet the demands and expectations of the bereaved of today.

Chapels at Canley Crematorium

There are two chapels available at Canley Crematorium, Cannon Hill and Charter; they each have their own driveway and car park which are named after the road you would use to access them.

Both chapels are available for funeral and memorial services. These bookings can be made through your Funeral Director or directly by yourself should you be coordinating your own funeral arrangements. The allocated time for a booking is 45 minutes. The chapels have a specialised music system available or you may wish to provide your own organist for the service.

Charter Chapel at Canley Crematorium

Cannon Hill Chapel at Canley Crematorium