Funeral Services

A beautiful and peaceful place to remember, celebrate and honour a life.

What we offer

Why families choose Arnos Vale

Traditional and natural woodland burials
Ashes interment and memorial options
Historic chapels and celebration spaces for funerals, wakes and celebrations of life
One funeral service per day for privacy and flexibility
Open to all faiths, beliefs and traditions
Dedicated support from an experienced cemetery team

Contact our cemetery services team

We're here to help you explore the options available and answer any questions you may have.

Contact our team

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A unique resting place in Bristol

Set within 45 acres of historic gardens and woodland, Arnos Vale offers a unique and tranquil setting for burials, ashes interments, and funeral services in the heart of Bristol. As a charitable trust, income from our services helps preserve this special heritage landscape for future generations.

Families can choose from a range of burial and memorial options, including traditional graves, natural woodland burials and ashes interments. Funeral services can be held in our historic chapels, offering a meaningful setting to celebrate and remember a loved one's life. Find out what we offer.

Burial Services

We offer both traditional and natural burials, with grave spaces available in a range of locations across our historic grounds.

Choose from woodland glades, classic Victorian plots, or contemporary memorial areas. All options are open to people of all faiths and none, with flexible choices to suit every preference.

Please note: We are unable to offer the pre-purchase of graves or cremation plots for future planning.

Find out more about Burial Services

Interment and scattering of ashes

At Arnos Vale Cemetery, we offer peaceful and respectful options for the interment and scattering of ashes, set within our beautiful heritage grounds in Bristol. Choose from cremation plots with memorial stones or scatter ashes in our beautiful Gardens of Rest. Families are welcome to hold a simple ceremony, and our team is here to support you every step of the way.

Personalise your tribute with a memorial plaque, engraved bench, or tree.

Please note that Arnos Vale does not have a crematorium.

Find out more interment and scattering

A ring shaped monument in the memorial garden

Funerals and celebrations of life

We offer a range of funeral, wake, and celebration of life services tailored to your wishes—whether simple or highly personalised. We welcome all faiths and beliefs, with both traditional and alternative options available across our Anglican Chapel, Spielman Centre and our woodland Underwood Centre.

With just one service held per day, you’ll have the time and space to say goodbye with dignity, warmth, and care.

Holding a funeral or celebration of life

Memorials and remembrance

Arnos Vale offers a range of meaningful ways to remember a loved one, including memorial plaques, benches, and beautifully hand-lettered entries in our Book of Remembrance, or adopting a tree. We’re also open to new ideas. If you have something special in mind that isn’t listed, we’re happy to discuss it with you.

We also provide grave tidy and clearance services, helping families honour loved ones with care and dignity in a peaceful, historic setting.

Find out more about our services

Thank you so much for holding my Mum’s funeral and wake. You made what was such a difficult day as easy and bearable as possible. From the moment we all arrived you made us all feel as relaxed and confident as possible. It all worked seamlessly due to your hard work. Arnos Vale is such a wonderful place of serenity in the middle of the urban sprawl. It will always feel like a special place to our family and it will be cherished
 

Other services

Arnos Vale Cemetery offers more than just beautiful spaces for funerals and memorials—it also provides services to support families and those connected to the cemetery’s history. These include record searches to trace relatives or burial details, grave clearance to restore plots, and the transfer of grave ownership after the original owner’s death.

Find out more

Victorian angel sculpture at Arnos Vale Cemetery

Funeral Services FAQ

1Can you help me tidy my loved ones grave?

Grave Tidy & Clearance We offer a one-off grave tidy service on request for people who are unable to tend to their loved ones grave. We also offer a one-off clearance if the grave is now overgrown. This will remove all plants from the grave and its immediate surround, and ensure clear access from a main pathway.

2Do I need a Funeral Director?

Most families employ a funeral director to help them with organising a funeral. Funeral directors check availability with the cemetery, coordinate the funeral and bring your loved one here and to the natural burial ground. We can provide you with a list of local funeral directors or liaise with a funeral director of your choice. Some families choose to organise the funeral themselves without a funeral director. If this is what you decide to do, there’ll be a staff member to greet you on arrival on the day of the funeral once you've made arrangements with the cemetery. We’re not funeral directors so are not able to arrange transportation, refrigeration or carrying.

3Is woodland burial at Arnos Vale available to everyone?

The ground in the woodland is open to everyone. We embrace people of all beliefs, persuasions or values. If you'd like a consecrated grave (grave usually dedicated as sacred by a specific religion) then please enquire with our Cemetery Services Manager as we may have these types of graves elsewhere in the cemetery. We may allow the pre-purchase of graves in the woodland if there are extenuating circumstances. However, pre-purchase only secures a grave in the woodland and not a specific area within the woodland. We don't offer double depth graves for environmental reasons.

4Can I pre-purchase a burial or cremation plot

We are unable to offer the pre-purchase of graves or cremation plots for future planning. However, there are various pre-payment plan options available through local funeral directors, should you wish to explore these or prefer to set aside funds for future arrangements. If you have a life-limiting illness and would like to discuss available options, please do not hesitate to contact us.

5What coffins are suitable for Woodland burial?

Burials must take place in coffins or shrouds made of sustainable biodegradable materials such as woven materials (bamboo, willow, seagrass, wool) and cardboard. You don't need to use a coffin; many people prefer to use a shroud.

6Is the Woodland burial also managed by Arnos Vale?

Yes. Arnos Vale's Natural Burial Woodland is an extension to Arnos Vale Cemetery, both are managed by the Arnos Vale Cemetery (Charitable) Trust. It's also a member of the Association of Natural Burial Grounds.