Natural material urns
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Choosing an Ashes Urns
With so many different ashes urns to choose from, we’ve created this short guide to help you.
Considerations when buying an ashes urn
We understand that choosing an ashes urn can be difficult, and with so many different urns now available it can hard to know where to start. Here we take you through the key considerations to help you make the appropriate choice:
- What is planned for the ashes
- Size of urn
- Material that the urn is made from.
What is planned for the ashes?
The first thing to consider is what is planned for the ashes longer term. What you wish to do will influence the style of urn you need to choose.
Burial
If you plan to bury the ashes, usually you would need to choose a biodegradable urn or casket. Biodegradable urns are designed to break down naturally when water or soil are introduced and more suitable for the environment. In all churchyards and natural burial grounds, putting the ashes in a biodegradable urn is a requirement. Each cemetery has its own regulations and you would need to check with them if you wish to choose something that is not biodegradable.
Keep at home (inside)
When choosing to keep a loved one’s ashes at home there are no restrictions. There are many options to choose from, and you may wish to consider an urn that captures the personality of your loved one or reflects their interests. Or you may prefer to choose a decorative piece and often no one would realise these contain ashes.
Keep in the garden
You can get urns that are suitable for keeping outside, such as bird baths, planters, benches, sundials or ornamental.
Scatter
If you opt to scatter the ashes at the crematorium, they will transfer the ashes into their own scattering device. If you are choosing to scatter them in a personal place (including in water) a scatter tube will be the simplest option for you. These cardboard tubes have a perforated lid to make it easier to scatter the ashes.
Water burial
If you are planning to bury the ashes at sea or in a river, there are specific urns designed for water burials. They are completely water-soluble, and made to sink and dissolve quickly.
Keepsake item or jewellery
In addition to deciding what you plan to do with the ashes longer term, you might also like to put a very small amount of the ashes in a keepsake item or piece of jewellery. This allows you to keep a token amount of your loved ones ashes near you. This won’t affect your choice of urn, we would just take the ashes for the keepsake or jewellery before transferring the rest of the ashes into your urn.
What size of urn do I need?
One of the most important considerations is the size of the urn required for the ashes.
If you wish the urn to hold all of the ashes, for an average-sized adult, one that holds 3-3.5 litres will usually be suitable.
As a guide to calculating the size, allow one cubic inch per pound of the deceased’s weight. For example, for someone weighing 168 pounds (12 stone) you would need an urn that holds at least 168 cubic inches (2.8 litres). Extra is needed if the person was tall.
If you decide you would also like a keepsake item or a piece of jewellery, these only require a very small amount of ashes. This will not impact on the size of the urn you would need.
We recommend speaking to your funeral arranger if you are unsure on size before ordering.
Dividing ashes
You don’t have to put all of the ashes in a single urn, you can also divide the ashes, for example between family members. If you divide the ashes, then the urns can be of a smaller size.
Material that the urn is made from
Urns are made from many different materials including ceramic, metal, wood, marble and natural materials.
The decision on the choice of material starts with what you are planning to do with the ashes. For a burial of ashes, in most cases you would need to choose a biodegradable urn or casket. If you plan to keep the ashes at home, then the choice of material is up to your preference.
What is planned for the ashes?
The first thing to consider is what is planned for the ashes longer term. What you wish to do will influence the style of urn you need to choose.
Burial
If you plan to bury the ashes, usually you would need to choose a biodegradable urn or casket. Biodegradable urns are designed to break down naturally when water or soil are introduced and more suitable for the environment. In all churchyards and natural burial grounds, putting the ashes in a biodegradable urn is a requirement. Each cemetery has its own regulations and you would need to check with them if you wish to choose something that is not biodegradable.
Keep at home (inside)
When choosing to keep a loved one’s ashes at home there are no restrictions. There are many options to choose from, and you may wish to consider an urn that captures the personality of your loved one or reflects their interests. Or you may prefer to choose a decorative piece and often no one would realise these contain ashes.
Keep in the garden
You can get urns that are suitable for keeping outside, such as bird baths, planters, benches, sundials or ornamental.
Scatter
If you opt to scatter the ashes at the crematorium, they will transfer the ashes into their own scattering device. If you are choosing to scatter them in a personal place (including in water) a scatter tube will be the simplest option for you. These cardboard tubes have a perforated lid to make it easier to scatter the ashes.
Water burial
If you are planning to bury the ashes at sea or in a river, there are specific urns designed for water burials. They are completely water-soluble, and made to sink and dissolve quickly.
Keepsake item or jewellery
In addition to deciding what you plan to do with the ashes longer term, you might also like to put a very small amount of the ashes in a keepsake item or piece of jewellery. This allows you to keep a token amount of your loved ones ashes near you. This won’t affect your choice of urn, we would just take the ashes for the keepsake or jewellery before transferring the rest of the ashes into your urn.
What size of urn do I need?
One of the most important considerations is the size of the urn required for the ashes.
If you wish the urn to hold all of the ashes, for an average-sized adult, one that holds 3-3.5 litres will usually be suitable.
As a guide to calculating the size, allow one cubic inch per pound of the deceased’s weight. For example, for someone weighing 168 pounds (12 stone) you would need an urn that holds at least 168 cubic inches (2.8 litres). Extra is needed if the person was tall.
If you decide you would also like a keepsake item or a piece of jewellery, these only require a very small amount of ashes. This will not impact on the size of the urn you would need.
We recommend speaking to your funeral arranger if you are unsure on size before ordering.
Dividing ashes
You don’t have to put all of the ashes in a single urn, you can also divide the ashes, for example between family members. If you divide the ashes, then the urns can be of a smaller size.
Material that the urn is made from
Urns are made from many different materials including ceramic, metal, wood, marble and natural materials.
The decision on the choice of material starts with what you are planning to do with the ashes. For a burial of ashes, in most cases you would need to choose a biodegradable urn or casket. If you plan to keep the ashes at home, then the choice of material is up to your preference.
Browse our ashes urns
Wood and MDF urns
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Ceramic urns
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Handmade urns
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Metal urns
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Marble urns
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Fibreglass urns
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Frequently asked questions
If you wish the urn to hold all of the ashes, for an average-sized adult, an urn that holds 3-3.5 litres will usually be suitable. We recommend speaking to your funeral arranger if you are unsure on size before ordering.
It depends on the specific design that you choose. Our urns come in all shapes and sizes so open in different ways. Some of our urns will likely have a threaded screw-top lid, whilst others may have the opening from the base of the urn.
We always recommend that your Funeral Director does this for you. It can be quite an emotional task.
Yes, you can. Some customers scatter the ashes and then keep other personal items in the urn such as a lock of hair or photograph. Others put these other items in with the ashes. It is your personal choice. If you intend to put in other items in the urn please ensure the urn is large enough.
In the UK, there’s no explicit law against scattering ashes, as long as you get permission from the person who owns the land.
- You don’t need permission to scatter ashes on your own land
- If you want to scatter the ashes over public or other private land, you’ll need to request permission from the landowner. That includes parks, commons, beaches, private farmland, churchyards and cemeteries.
- If you wish to scatter ashes in a river, a lake, or the sea, whilst you don’t need to request permission, you should check the advice from the environmental agency first.
You should be discreet and aware of your surroundings when scattering.
Yes, dividing ashes allows families to make different uses of the ashes. For example, someone may wish to scatter in a memorable place, another may wish to hold them. By dividing the ashes, everyone’s wishes can be considered.
You can keep ashes as long as you wish. Nothing will happen to the ashes, they do not deteriorate. If you plan to keep them for a considerable length of time, choose a more durable casket or urn, such as wood, stone, ceramic or metal urn.
Keepsake urns are much smaller than a standard-sized urn. They are specifically designed to hold just a small portion of the ashes.
To fill your keepsake urn yourself, firstly make sure you are wearing gloves. This will avoid the ashes getting stuck to your hands in case any are spilt. Then, take your container or bag with the ashes and carefully pour a small into your keepsake urn.
Alternatively, we recommend speaking to your funeral director about transferring the ashes for you. AB Walker can do the transfer for you.
Yes, if you wish to use one of our other urns for your pet’s ashes you can.
You can contact us 24/7
Email or call us with your questions, queries and requirements. For urgent assistance, call us on 0118 957 3650 24 hours a day, seven days a week.