Bearing the coffin

This is an important practical matter, and is certainly an area where a funeral director will help you. If you are considering carrying the coffin yourselves, your funeral director will be able to advise you in detail how to go about this and will often offer to bring a reserve team of bearers.

If you are carrying the coffin yourselves, decide how the coffin will be carried from the parking area to the grave. We recommend that the coffin is carried at low level, underarm rather than on shoulders, by four or six bearers (depending on the weight) leather gloves are a good idea to prevent knuckles rubbing; again, remember that the ground conditions might be uneven and muddy underfoot and stout, non-slip footwear is strongly recommended.

Make arrangements for the coffin to be lowered into the grave. Use folding trestles to rest the coffin on, after it has been carried to the grave. While it is on the trestles, thread strong webbing straps (min. 6m long), used for lowering the coffin, through the coffin handles on one side, under the coffin and up through the handles on the other side.

Place two 1.2m long, 100mm x 50mm (4ft long 4"x 2") timber supports across the grave on which to rest the coffin before it is lowered. Four or six strong people should take the strain, while someone else removes the timber supports, and lower the coffin by allowing the webbing to gently slip through their grip.

When the coffin is at rest slide out the webbing (if it gets caught, don't tug at it, leave one last try until later or leave the strap in there).