25/08/2026
**Proposed Closure of St Mary the Virgin Church Churchyard,
Marston Moreteyne, Bedfordshire**
Notice is hereby given that it is the intention of the Secretary of State for Justice, acting on an application by the incumbent and churchwardens, to apply to the Privy Council for an Order requiring the discontinuance of burials in the above churchyard.
Provision would be made for the following exceptions: -
a. in any vault or walled grave in the churchyard, burial may be allowed but every coffin in such vault or grave must be separately enclosed by stonework or brick work properly cemented;
b. in any existing earthen grave in the churchyard, the burial may be allowed of the body of any member of the family of the person or persons previously buried in that grave, but no part of the coffin containing the body shall be less than one metre below the level of the surface of the ground adjoining the grave; and
c. in any grave space in which no interment has previously taken place, the burial may be allowed of any person for whom, or any member of the family for which that grave space has been reserved and appropriated, with the exclusive right of burial there, but no part of the coffin containing the body shall be less than one metre below the level of the surface of the ground adjoining the grave.
Any representations about the proposed closure should be sent to the Burials, Cremation and Exhumation Policy and Casework Team, Ministry of Justice, Post point 7.37, 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ or [email protected] (quoting reference CC/AUG26/014) within 21 working days of this publication.
Dated: 24th August 2026
