You can start arranging the funeral as soon as you have registered the death and received the necessary certificates and forms. Don’t forget to check the person’s will for any special requests.

Using a funeral director

Many people choose to use a funeral director. They will make all of the arrangements for the funeral on your behalf, which takes a lot of stress and worry away from you at an already difficult time.

Make sure the funeral director is a member of:

Arranging a funeral yourself

You can arrange the funeral yourself, without a funeral director. This may reduce the cost of the funeral, but there will be a lot for you to do. Get more information and advice from the Natural Death Centre.

Non-religious funerals

You don’t have to have a religious service. Non-religious, humanist or civic funeral ceremonies can be held at the crematorium, at a natural burial site, or at an approved venue.

Contact the British Humanist Association and the Institute of Civil Funerals for more information and advice.

Burial

We look after four cemeteries and a crematorium in Warrington:

Find out more about arranging a cemetery burial, and about buying the exclusive right of burial for a grave, which means you decide who can be buried there.

There are other local churchyards and burial grounds which are owned and maintained by the diocese. You or your funeral director should contact them directly to arrange a burial.

You could also have a burial on private land, such as in your garden. You must tell us about this beforehand, and you will need to:

  • check the deeds of the property/land to make sure there are no restrictions or reasons why a burial can’t take place
  • check the local byelaws
  • contact us via Contact Warrington so that our environmental health team can make sure the burial won’t affect local water supplies
  • keep a record of the burial with the deeds to the property

Remember that this may reduce the value of your property. And if you sell it, the new owners can apply to have the body exhumed and moved elsewhere.

Cremation

The crematorium in Warrington is Walton Lea Crematorium. You can hold the full funeral service in our chapel, or hold the service at another venue and then bring the coffin for cremation, either with or without a short committal ceremony. Or you can arrange for a cremation without a ceremony or service.

Find out more about funerals and cremations at Walton Lea Crematorium.

Following the cremation you will need to make a decision about what to do with the ashes:

Funeral costs

Ask different funeral directors for quotes before you decide which one to use. How much it will cost depends on the kind of funeral you choose.

The funeral director should tell you their fees for the things you’ve asked them to provide, such as:

  • transporting and caring for the person who has died
  • the coffin
  • the hearse and funeral cars
  • pallbearers
  • admin fees

In their quote or estimate they should also include anything which they pay to others on your behalf, like the fees for burial or cremation and the cost of the ceremony. Plus other things like flowers, memorials, catering and newspaper obituary notices. The funeral director may call these ‘disbursement fees’.

The person who has died may have already made arrangements to pay for the funeral, or they may have money in their estate which can cover the costs. Or you may be able to apply for a Funeral Payment if you claim certain benefits. 

If there’s no one who can arrange the funeral

If someone has died and there is no one who can arrange the funeral, for example if the person had no known family, we have to make sure the person receives a proper burial or cremation. Find out more about funerals arranged by the council.