Church Gresley Cemetery
Church Gresley Cemetery is a Green Flag award winning cemetery, the largest cemetery of those managed by South Derbyshire District Council.
The cemetery covers an area of approximately 10 acres and contains in excess of 10,000 graves.
The first burial in the cemetery took place in 1880 and there continues to be burials within the cemetery to this day.
Please see A History of Church Gresley Cemetery for further details on the heritage of the cemetery.
Facilities at the cemetery include a car park, vehicle access and a public toilet.
Graves at the cemetery are traditional and, where a Grant of Right has been issued, can have either headstones and/or a kerb on placed upon them. There are also cremated remains plots and a children's section available at the cemetery.
The District Council operate a memorial bench scheme across their parks, cemeteries and open spaces. Further information on this can be found here (pdf, 706kb).
A layout plan of the cemetery can be downloaded here (pdf, 72kb).
Letters to Heaven
In 2025, Church Gresley Cemetery saw the installation of our first "Letters to Heaven" post box. The post box provides a meaningful way for people to remember and honour those who have passed. The initiative allows bereaved families to write letters and cards to their loved ones and post them in the designated box. The letters are not opened. They are simply collected and used to create compost for the cemetery grounds, symbolising the ongoing cycle of life and remembrance. In the future, it is hoped to role out this scheme to other cemeteries.
Biodiversity
Several projects have been set up at the cemetery to increase the biodiversity of the site. These include the creation of a wildflower meadow, the installation of bird and bat boxes and a gabion feature to increase habitats for invertebrates. Awareness of these projects are supported by interpretation boards that provide information on animals and insects you might see whilst visiting the cemetery.
Get Involved
There are a number of ways of how you can get involved with the cemetery.
Over the last few years we have held several school engagement sessions at the cemetery in conjunction with our Environmental Education Team from Rosliston Forestry Centre. These have included bulb planting and bird & bat box building sessions. We are always interested in delivering additional school/education sessions, so please contact us if you are interested in holding a session at the cemetery.
We also hold regular volunteer sessions led by our partners The Conservation Volunteers (TCV). Please check noticeboards within the cemetery or the TCV website for details of the next session.
Across the year, we host a number of Commonwealth War Grave Walks around the cemetery. These walks are lead by volunteers who tell the stories of those that paid the ultimate price and are buried within the cemetery. Please check noticeboards within the cemetery or the Commonwealth War Graves Commision's website for upcoming tour dates.
