Monday 12 June 2017 sees the official opening of the £5m North Hertfordshire Memorial Park and Crematorium – a state of the art facility which will enable around 111,500 people to live within a 30 minute radius of their nearest crematorium – filling a gap in service that has existed in North Hertfordshire. The new facility will reduce travel times for local families attending a funeral as well as the time they are currently waiting for a service.
The opening comes at a time when North Herts District Council has recently allocated £50,000 of public money to pursue an outline application for another crematorium at Wilbury Hills Cemetery just 2 miles away, a move many may consider unnecessary now this new facility at Holwell is operational and satisfying local need.
Set in a beautiful, tranquil and serene area, North Hertfordshire Memorial Park and Crematoria offers distinguished service in a beautiful setting. It has been 4 years in the planning from Memoria Limited, the highly respected crematoria and cemetery company which operates several sites in England and Wales. Located in the North Hertfordshire countryside west of Bedford Road, south of Holwell and north west of Ickleford, the facility offers 1 hour service times between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 12pm on Saturdays.
The beautifully appointed chapel seats 100 people but services are able to accommodate 200 when the foyer area is included and 400 can attend a service when the port-cochere is used. There is car parking for 106 vehicles. Facilities include a hearing loop to help the hearing impaired; webcam screening for those unable to attend the service in person; a Wesley Music System that enables the download of requested music from anywhere in the world; an organ to accompany hymns and two plasma television flat screens for either pre-recorded eulogies or rolling photographic memories. The whole area has no steps making wheelchair access easy.
The landscaped Garden of Remembrance is screened and offers the privacy and tranquillity bereaved families seek, whilst also giving views from within the site outwards into the local countryside. Extensive new planting and structural landscaping has been undertaken to complement and benefit the character and appearance of the surrounding countryside.
Howard Hodgson CEO of operators Memoria Limited commented, “We are pleased to open North Hertfordshire’s Memorial Park because there is a critical need for it. We realise that we are not able to eradicate the pain of bereavement, but we hope that, by offering a distinguished service in a beautiful setting, it will help make the whole process a little less stressful. We pride ourselves on these facilities as well as the kind, respectful and yet efficient approach of our staff and our 1 hour service times that allow bereaved families to have the facility to themselves, without having to encounter another funeral.
With over 80 years collective experience in the funeral sector, we now have 8 crematoria across the country, with an 9th opening next year. This new facility in North Hertfordshire employs 4 local full time staff, all of whom have been trained to deliver the highest standards of service.”
-ENDS-
For further information please contact Naomi Crassweller at Consulo Limited on 07711 824572 or via email naomi@consulolimited.co.uk
Notes to Editor
- 5 Images of the new facility are included. These depict 2 external shots of the building and 1 of the gardens. There are also 2 internal images, one of the chapel and one of the foyer.
- For further information on Memoria Limited please visit memoria.org.uk
- North Hertfordshire Memorial Park & Crematorium website: https://www.northhertsmemorial.co.uk/about-north-herts-crematorium/
- It is anticipated that on average there will be 3-4 services per day, usually held outside peak hours between 10am and 3pm
