Monumental Services

A headstone, a plaque or a memorial marks where somebody is.

It’s usually the last thing a family arranges, and it comes long after the funeral is over.

We arrange it for you. Lychgate is an agent for Guardian Memorials, our stonemasonry partner, so this is one conversation with us rather than several with people you’ve never met.

Call (04) 385 0745 when you’re ready. There’s no time limit on this.

You have as long as you need

Many families take several months to choose a memorial, and some prefer to take longer.

There is no deadline for choosing the words and design. We will give you the time and guidance you need to make a choice that feels right.

Whenever you are ready, we will continue from where we left off and guide you through the next steps.

How we arrange it

We’re an agent for Guardian Memorials, our stonemasonry partner. They do the stonework. We do everything around it, from the first conversation to the permission the cemetery needs.

1. Tell us what you have in mind. A headstone or a plaque, roughly what size, and what you want it to say.
2. We come back with a design and a price. Nothing is made until you’ve approved both [TBC: to confirm with Lucas].
3. We apply for the cemetery’s permission. Every cemetery has by-laws, and dealing with them is our part.
4. It gets made and installed. [TBC: to confirm with Lucas] on how long that usually takes from approval.

If another funeral director looked after the funeral, we can still arrange the memorial [TBC: to confirm with Lucas].

What you can choose

Headstones, plaques and memorial tablets, in a range of materials and styles [TBC: to confirm with Lucas].

There is more design freedom than most families expect. Modern cutting and lettering equipment means a memorial can carry artwork or an image as well as the words [TBC: to confirm with Lucas].

The wording is the part families find hard. Take as long as you need over it. Read it aloud before you sign it off, and get somebody else to read it too. It’s cut once.

What the cemetery allows

Cemeteries have rules about memorials, and most families have no idea until they ask. Council by-laws limit the size of a memorial and some of what can go on it, and they can differ from one cemetery to the next [TBC: to confirm with Lucas].

It catches people out. You settle on something, then find it isn’t allowed where the grave is.

We check what applies at that cemetery before you choose anything, and we apply for the permission ourselves. You won’t be dealing with the council.