Columbarium

What Is a Columbarium?

A columbarium is a funeral building that is specifically designed to accommodate cremation urns in separate rooms called niches. In each niche is one or more urns, and a granite face panel, the name, dates, and dedication of the deceased being inscribed on the face.

Columbarium are placed in a great variety of locations, such as:

• Municipal and private cemeteries
• Crematorium and chapel gardens
• Woodland areas and memorial parks
• Church and churchyard areas
• Private family estate memorials
• Indoor memorials in funeral homes

With the ever-increasing popularity of cremation as the funeral service of choice in the UK, the columbarium has provided cemeteries and memorial providers with a space-efficient, dignified, and commercially viable method of providing a resting place to the cremation.

Popular Columbarium Designs

Stone Discover UK currently supplies four columbarium structures, each suited to different installation scales and settings.

Current designs include:

• Granite Memorial Wall Columbarium - This is a flat wall-mounted niche designed to be placed on the boundary walls of a cemetery, crematorium grounds or on the perimeter walls of a memorial garden. Appropriate multi-unit designs on a continuous wall face.
• Black Granite Round Multi-Niche Columbarium - This is a freestanding, circular shaped structure that has several niches that are raised around a central column. Fits open memorial garden areas well, with the structure being used as a center.
• Black Granite Family Heritage Columbarium - This is a small building, privately operated family structure, with several niches in one freestanding building. Apposite to cemetery plot installation and home estate.
• Sierra Grey Granite Family Columbarium - A family size freestanding building in Sierra grey granite, which is lighter in colour, but of the same structural specification as the black granite one.

Each design can be tailored to the needs of a specific project with custom niche quantities, face panel sizes and engraving patterns.

Materials and Granite Options

All columbarium buildings are made of high quality Indian granite, which are extracted in India, Khammam quarry, Telangana and Ongole quarry, Andhra Pradesh. The density, structural load bearing properties and long-term weathering resistance make this granite to be chosen, which is required in permanent outdoor memorial installations.

Primary variety of granite include:

• Absolute Black
• Sierra Grey
• Indian Aurora
• Bahama Blue
• Imperial Red
• Kuppam Green 

The most commonly specified columbarium installations are absolute Black and Sierra grey, because their contrast and surface finish will maximise the legibility of inscriptions on the panel of the niche faces.

Craftsmanship and Construction

Every single columbarium structure is manufactured and completed in our factory in India, with an accurate cutting of stone and masterful hand-finishing of all of the exposed granite areas.

Construction standards include:

• Cut granite panels and structural parts
• Finished niche face panels which have surfaces that can be engraved
• Sealed and joined niche urn compartments
• Outdoor installation base sections in a structure
• Custom face panel sizing to accommodate different urn dimensions
• Inscription panels and engraving completed to the same depth and clarity

Each and every structure comes in sections to be assembled on site, and complete instructions on their installation are given.

Niche Configurations and Specifications

Columbarium buildings come in various sizes of niche specifications to fit the project size and the location.

Common specifications are:

• Single depth niche and two-depth niche.
• Normal niche interior dimensions to fit most of the UK cremation urns.
• Specialized orders per building (small family units to massive cemetery wall projects)
• Face panels which are engraved with a place to write name, dates and personal inscription.
• Niche face level optional bronze or granite vase attachments.
• Portable wall columbarium of phases of cemetery development.

All structures are supplied in sections for on-site assembly, with full installation guidance provided.

Benefits for Cemetery and Memorial Professionals

Granite columbariums continue to emerge as a new line of revenue among cemeteries, crematoriums and memorial providers in the UK.

The advantages of trade and project are:

• Space-saving - one wall columbarium may hold dozens of interments on a small footprint.
• Growing demand aligned with rising UK cremation rates
• Constructions that are made of durable granite have little maintenance in the course of their lifetime.
• Niche designs are flexible to install small family and large cemetery projects.
• Premium product positioning having more project value than individual grave memorials.
• Suitable for phased installation — wall sections can be extended as demand grows

All these characteristics make columbariums a commercially powerful and strategically pertinent addition to any cemetery or memorial business attempting to extend its cremation services.

Wholesale Columbarium Supply

Stone Discover UK provides granite columbarium to cemeteries, crematoriums, memorial gardens, monument retailers and project purchasers within the UK.

Project pricing depends on:

• Niche quantity and type of structure
• Colour and grade of granite chosen
• Requirement of engraving and face panel
• Installation of the site and logistics

Columbarium structures are bespoke project pieces — pricing is provided on a project-by-project basis following a detailed brief and site consultation.

Request a Quote for Columbarium Structures

Discuss your columbarium project with our team at Stone Discover UK.
We can assist with:

• Choice of structure and niche organization
• Options of custom granite colour and finish
• Project sizing and layout drawings
• Trade and wholesale pricing
• Logistics coordination and delivery throughout the UK

Request a Quote