A Guide to Our Services

The Chapel - Service times, organist, music etc...

OUR SERVICE

  • Our funeral services are held every 60 minutes. This allows plenty of time to be seated for the service.
  • An extended service can be provided for an additional fee.
  • The funeral service can be as personal or unique as you wish.
  • The chapel can be personalised for any religion or belief.
  • Our uniformed chapel attendant will be available at each service.
  • The chapel is warm, welcoming and decorated with flowers.
  • We have seating for around 100 mourners plus ample standing room inside.
  • The service can be relayed outside via speakers for large attendances.
  • We have a modern computerised music system that can provide almost any music choice that is requested.
  • We can offer webcasting and recording of your service.
  • Flowers can be donated for use in the chapel after the funeral.
  • Floral tributes will remain displayed in the Flower Terrace for a minimum of 2 days.

 

SEE PERSONALISING YOUR FUNERAL PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MUSIC, WEBCASTS & SERVICE RECORDINGS.

Our chapel and offices are always open to visitors who would like to inspect the premises before a service. It is always advisable to ring in advance to ensure the chapel is free for you to look around

We welcome visitors who wish to inspect the chapel before a service. We would advise you to ring in advance to ensure the chapel is free for you to have a look around.

1. Cremation Service

  • Our standard daytime attended service guarantees the family 60 minutes of chapel use with the service itself lasting approximately 40 minutes.
  • Our early morning / afternoon attended services include 30 minutes of chapel use with 20 minutes allocated for the service.
  • Our twilight attended services include 60 minute of chapel use with the service lasting approximately 40 minutes.
  • To view our price list, please click here.

Llanelli Crematorium has established a code of practice for all of the services we perform. This is to maintain our standards at the crematorium and to allow families to evaluate the level of care shown by our staff. We recognise that this is often difficult as people may be organising a funeral for the first time and may not be aware of what to expect. We hope this website will help you.

Each body is cremated with the coffin within 24 hours of the funeral service. Each body is cremated separately. All the cremated remains' are gathered together after the cremation and stored securely until a decision on their final resting place is made by the applicant.

The cremated remains/ashes are available for collection by the applicant (the person who arranged the cremation service, normally a close relative or Funeral Director) the next working day after the funeral.

Anyone can choose to inspect the crematory (where the cremation takes place) upon application to the manager. Information on what arrangements can be made for the dispersal of the ashes, or their safe storage at the Crematorium, will be sent to all applicants - within two weeks of the funeral.

A wide range of memorial choices will be provided within our gardens and Remembrance Room as well as for supply to your home. A trained member of staff is available to advise you on these matters.

Provision will be made to ensure that no funeral is delayed beyond three days of the requested date. This may involve the funeral taking place at the weekend or after 5pm on a weekday at no further cost. Llanelli Crematorium abides by the FBCA's (Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities) code of conduct.

2. Direct Cremation Protocol

What is the Funeral Director’s Protocol for Unattended Direct Cremations?

  • No mourners will be in attendance.
  • To arrive at the agreed time.
  • That a clean, smart vehicle be used – preferably a hearse or a private ambulance.
  • That all funeral staff are appropriately uniformed.
  • That sufficient staff to convey the coffin to the catafalque in a safe and dignified manner are provided. Use of the crematorium bier is permitted or bearers may be booked for an additional fee.
  • The use of an organist will not be provided.
  • A choice of music may be played as the coffin enters the chapel otherwise the crematorium will select an appropriate piece of music.
  • The committal curtains will be closed once the coffin is placed in the chapel.
  • In accordance with the FBCA Code of Cremation Practice, all coffins will only be permitted to enter the crematorium through the main chapel doors and will be placed on the catafalque.
  • The crematorium has the right to refuse any coffin if the standard of care and dignity set out in the above protocol are not met.

 

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3. Policy Statement for Infant Cremation

Please click the following link to download our policy statement for infant cremation.

POLICY STATEMENT

 

4. Behind the Scenes

At Llanelli Crematorium we are very proud of our facilities and the high standards of care that we provide for the bereaved. On the day of a funeral or when visiting a loved ones resting place, families and visitors will only ever see our grounds and gardens, or the chapel.

This dedication to providing the highest standards of care is further demonstrated behind the scenes at the crematorium. These are the areas that are not normally accessed by the general public.

Once the curtains close and everyone leaves the chapel the coffin is carefully transferred to the crematory where the name plate is checked again. The deceased details are provided on a name card and this card will follow the deceased throughout the entire process. Once all checks are recorded the coffin is charged into the cremator and the cremation process commences.

At the end of the cremation process the remains are collected and cooled. The final stage is the reduction of the remains to a fine ash that is suitable for scattering. The ashes are placed into an urn or casket where the name card will be attached for identification.

Llanelli Crematorium has an open door policy whereby member of the public may by appointment view the facilities behind the scenes during an operating day. This policy will help dispel any myths and answer any questions. On seeing the cremation process the viewer can be reassured that all cremations take place individually, coffins are cremated with the deceased and that identity is maintained throughout the process so that a family can be sure that they receive the correct remains.

For further details about the cremation process please refer to the ‘Code of Cremation Practice’ which Llanelli Crematorium adopts in full.

5. Cremated Remains Info

Westerleigh Group has a policy of carrying out a cremation within 24 hours of the funeral service. This means that the cremated remains (ashes) will usually be available by lunchtime the following day. When the cremations forms are completed with your Funeral Director, you will be asked if you have made a decision on the disposal of the cremated remains. At this point it is important to remember that there is no rush to make a decision. It is always best to wait if you are not absolutely sure as once the ashes have been scattered or interred that decision cannot be reversed.

Your choices for the ashes are usually as follows:

  • Remove from the crematorium by the Funeral Director or the applicant for cremation (the person who completed and signed the cremations forms) for disposal elsewhere.
  • Scatter in the designated part of the garden at the crematorium. This is usually carried out 2 months after the funeral service, unless we are advised to scatter sooner. We can either carry out the scattering for you or the scattering can be witnessed by members of the family. One of our staff will carry out the scattering and a prayer or poem can be said for you. No memorials or markers can be placed with the ashes when they are scattered. If you prefer to have the area marked in some way, then you would need to inter the remains and choose from our choice of memorials.
  • Inter at a memorial at the crematorium (see separate section on memorial choices)
  • Retain at the crematorium. This is the preferred choice if you haven’t yet made a decision. The crematorium will look after the ashes for up to 6 months, until you are ready to make your choice. During this time it is advisable to pop along to the crematorium to look around the grounds or just chat to one of our members of staff who can explain all the options.

The choice of the final resting place for a loved-ones remains can be very worrying and confusing. We would like to reassure you that there is no rush to make a decision and we are always here to help wherever we can.

Remember we offer a beautiful range of unique jewellery – just a spoonful of the ashes is needed to create a piece of jewellery or a crystal keepsake – and the rest of the ashes can be buried or scattered elsewhere.

6. Metal Recycling

Following a cremation, a variable amount of metals will be retrieved from the cremator. This is usually metal left from the manufacture of the coffin – nails, screws and staples etc. – but also metal used in hip and knee replacements and orthopaedic implants.  Traditionally these metals were buried in the garden of the crematorium, but in recent years the guidelines were changed to allow the metals to be recycled, which was a much more sensible and worthwhile option. Now, approximately 50% of all UK crematoria are currently recycling metals.

The Westerleigh Group has adopted a metal recycling scheme which takes the metal and, after deducting costs involved in the recycling process, such as transport, sorting and smelting, donates the surplus to local bereavement related charities. In the 5 years Westerleigh have been involved in metal recycling we have donated a total of £110,000 to UK charities.

People often ask what happens to gold and jewellery during cremation. Precious metal such as jewellery left on the deceased will melt during the cremation process, combine with ash and become granular and hence unrecognisable. Some is lost within the cremator and some will be within the ashes. A proportion is found in the containers where other metals are kept whilst awaiting recycling. We would strongly advise that jewellery is not left on the deceased but is retained by the relatives as it is more valuable to them.

We always advise families that we will be recycling the metal retrieved from their loved ones cremations and they have the option to opt-out of the scheme if they wish and remove the metals themselves. However, the vast majority of families choose to join the scheme.

We donate this money once a year and the local press usually publish the story to enable families to learn what happened to the money.

7. Code of Cremation Practice

Code of Cremation Practice

Llanelli Crematorium is part of the Westerleigh Group which subscribes to The Federation of Burial & Cremation Authorities Code of Cremation Practice. Please click HERE to download details.

 

8. Our Aims

  • To make sure every funeral service is regarded as a unique and individual event and receives the same priority as if it was for a member of one’s own family.
  • To provide first class facilities, both in our buildings and grounds, maintained to the highest standards day to day.
  • Flexibility and adaptability. We are there to serve Funeral Directors and the families in their care.
  • To be as efficient and effective as possible when delivering our services. This ensures that we focus our resources on our key aim, to provide the best service to the bereaved, and build a sustainable organisation for the long term.
     

9. Grounds Maintenance

We will endeavour to maintain a consistently high standard of grounds maintenance, through the year. The grass in each crematoria will be cut every 2-3 weeks (except in extraordinary weather conditions) as a minimum throughout the growing season. Bins to be emptied daily in those sections visited frequently. All major roads and paved areas to be swept/blown daily. Toilets will be inspected regularly and cleaned daily. All groundsmen and women to wear identifying clothes.

10. Covid-19

Whilst there are currently no legal restrictions regarding management of Covid 19, Llanelli Crematorium continues to follow current guidance and adhere to good working practices (e.g., ventilation, provision of hand gel) introduced during the pandemic to minimise the spread of the Covid-19

11. Other General Information

  • All staff will act with respect and sympathy in all matters relating to the care of the bereaved.
  • All administrative staff to wear identifying clothes.
  • All correspondence will receive a reply within three working days.
  • Book of Remembrance is open Monday – Friday 9am till 5pm and on Saturdays (if there’s a funeral taking place) 9am – 12 pm
  • Full disabled facilities will be provided including ramps, designated parking, loop system and disabled toilets.