Cemetery & Chapel
Diss Cemetery was created back in 1869 from open grassland on the edge of town, when the churchyard of the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin in Mount Street became full. Today, the Cemetery provides a dignified resting place for generations of townspeople, and it is properly managed and immaculately maintained in their memory.
There are a few rules governing the Cemetery which are there to protect the facility and the people who visit it. We would ask that you please adhere to these and help us to keep it the peaceful and well maintained area that the community rightly expects it to be.
A full list of the rules and regulations are available further down the page, but the most relevant ones for visitors to the Cemetery are:
- No vehicles are permitted into the Cemetery grounds unless they are displaying a Disabled Badge or are an authorised user (Funeral Directors, grave diggers and Council staff). There is parking available on the road beside the Cemetery gates.
- Smoking is not permitted in the Cemetery
- Dogs are not permitted in the Cemetery
- Children under the age of ten years of age are not permitted, except under the care of a responsible person
Chapel of Remembrance
Within the Cemetery stands the Chapel of Remembrance. The Chapel is open daily from 10.30 a.m. to sunset (4.30 p.m. in Winter), for people of all denominations who want to use this quiet place to rest and reflect, pray or simply sit in peace. Instant heating may be switched on by anyone who wishes. Mounted memorial plaques in lasting commemoration of a loved one can be erected by arrangement.
The Cemetery provides a calm, peaceful environment close to nature. Mature trees line the boundaries and carefully preserved wildflower conservation areas provide a fine natural habitat for birds and butterflies. Diss Cemetery is also a quiet haven for people, offering regular and occasional visitors the promise of a few moments of tranquillity away from the pressures of a busy modern world.Gardens of Remembrance
The first Garden of Remembrance, which was created at the front of the cemetery, is now full, but a new area beyond the Chapels has been created. Both Gardens are surrounded by hedges of roses and other trees and shrubs and, together with seating, provide ideal conditions for the final resting-place of loved ones following cremation. Here ashes may be interred and a permanent stone erected in lasting memory to the departed.Memorial Testing
All local authorities are required by law to carry out testing of Memorials in cemeteries under their Duty of Care and safety in public places and following the guidelines produced by the Health and Safety Executive. This is not a task that the Town Council undertakes lightly and every possible measure has been taken to minimize the impact of the testing, particularly in relation to those Memorials that are found to fail the testing. The Memorials were last tested in mid-2006. For further information please Click here for memorial testing
Wildlife at the Cemetery
Parts of the Cemetery are maintained as wildlife areas in consultation with Norfolk Wildlife Trust for more information Click here
Rules & Regulations
For a comprehensive guide to all Cemetery Rules & Regulations please click here.
Charges
Details of the cemetery interment and memorial charges and regulations can be found in the following download.
Cemetery Interment Request
Interment request forms for Diss cemetery are available to download here. These should be printed out and returned to the Town Council offices by post, fax or by hand. Contact details can be found on our 'Contact' page.
- Cemetery Interment Form (Adobe Reader .pdf 170 kb)
- Application for permission to erect a Memorial at Diss Cemetery