On 1 October Liberal Judaism opened a new woodland burial site at GreenAcres Chiltern. You can read all about our special and historic consecration ceremony here.

Liberal Judaism vice president and the chair of the LJ Cemeteries Committee, Phil Stone, has put together this Q&A for members and synagogues wishing to find out more about our new woodland burial site and what we can offer.

What and where is GreenAcres Chiltern?

GreenAcres Chiltern is a unique, natural cemetery and ceremonial park in the heart of the Buckinghamshire countryside. Even at a time of great sadness, the setting allows families to mourn in a tranquil and beautiful space, and take great comfort from knowing that this landscape will be sustained, enhanced and preserved for future generations.

Its address is Potkiln Lane, Jordans, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, HP9 2XB. It is close to the M25 and the M40, near Gerrards Cross.

For more information, please click here to visit their website or here for a virtual tour.

Where exactly are services held?

Funeral services are held in the Woodland Hall looking out onto the forest. There is a Gathering Hall and a patio where everyone can meet with friends and family before and after a service.

Live streaming of services can be arranged. There is also the possibility to pay for refreshments following a funeral service.

Why is Liberal Judaism offering another woodland burial site, when you already have woodland burial options at the Western Cemetery, Cheshunt?

There are two reasons – location and choice.

The GreenAcres site is located to the north and west of London and therefore is nearer to our Liberal Judaism communities in Elstree, Northwood (The Ark) and South Bucks. It is also Liberal Judaism’s view that GreenAcres offers a more truly unspoilt woodland than is available at Cheshunt (JJBS), therefore giving people another choice.

What has Liberal Judaism agreed with GreenAcres?

Liberal Judaism has entered into an agreement for the exclusive use of a segregated woodland burial area at GreenAcres Chiltern. We can also arrange cremation services at GreenAcres.

What kind of coffins are used at GreenAcres?

What kind of coffins are used at GreenAcres?

The main proviso is that all materials used in a coffin are natural and, eventually, fully biodegradable. Therefore no metals or plastics may be used, including for fastenings and handles. The wooden coffins normally used by Liberal Judaism’s funeral director for traditional, non-woodland, burials comply with GreenAcres’ requirements. Some families may prefer to use wicker coffins at GreenAcres at an additional charge. If requested the funeral director will discuss the options with the family before the funeral.

Can my spouse, partner or another loved one be buried in a double-depth plot with me?

Yes. Just as at Edgwarebury and Cheshunt (JJBS), all first burials in a plot are made at double-depth, meaning that a further burial may be made in the same plot later.

However, this is subject to the legal agreement that Liberal Judaism has made with GreenAcres. Under this arrangement each plot is leased for an initial period of 30 years (more or less a full generation) from the date of the first burial in a plot, unless the lease is extended.

This lease may be extended by the family, in five-year increments, on payment of a charge made by GreenAcres.

Once a plot lease has ended, no further burials may be made in that plot.

Can mixed-faith couples, where one partner is Jewish and the other not, be buried together in the Liberal Judaism area at GreenAcres?

Yes they can, in the same double-depth plot, just the same as at Edgwarebury and Cheshunt (JJBS) cemeteries.

Can plots be reserved in advance?

Reservations for a new plot can only be made once the first person to be buried in a double-depth plot has passed away.

Reservations for the second burial in a double-depth will be accepted and registered by

Liberal Judaism following the first burial.

Will there be any charges to pay for a burial at GreenAcres?

The first burial in each double-depth plot will require the payment of a woodland supplement for the plot, just as it is for a woodland burial at Cheshunt (JJBS). This supplement must be paid by the bereaved family. Liberal Judaism will accept an in advance payment for the woodland supplement.

In addition, for each burial in a double-depth plot, GreenAcres makes a charge for the interment and for the prayer hall for the funeral service.

Can a memorial be arranged after a burial

The current charges to 31 March 2025, that are payable to Liberal Judaism are:

The woodland supplement:
– payable following a bereavement and before the first burial in a plot – £2,290

and

The charges for the interment and for the prayer hall:
– on the first burial in a double depth plot – £1,335
– on the second burial in a double depth plot – £938

This means that for the first burial the total charge will be £3,625, and for the second burial it will be £938 (all on current prices).

These charges will be reviewed annually by GreenAcres and by Liberal Judaism. Adjustments to the charges will normally be effective from 1 April every year.

Neither the woodland supplement nor the per burial charges explained above are included in the LJ Burial & Cremation Scheme. The supplement must be paid to Liberal Judaism by the family before the first burial in a double-depth plot.

Synagogues in the LJ Burial and Cremation Scheme which operate a funeral expenses scheme will need to decide which charges their schemes will cover and those they will ask the families to pay, as they do for burials at Edgwarebury and Cheshunt. For members of synagogues without a funeral expenses scheme all of the charges will be paid by the families.

Why is there an interment surcharge for GreenAcres Chiltern when there is no such surcharge at Edgwarebury or Cheshunt?

The cost of interments at Edgwarebury and Cheshunt are included in the annual maintenance charges paid by Liberal Judaism to these cemeteries. Liberal Judaism does not pay such charges to GreenAcres and so the interment charges have to be paid at the time by the bereaved family.

Can the woodland burial supplement be paid in advance?

Yes, Liberal Judaism will accept advance payment of the woodland supplement, at the current rate, for future use. The current charge is £2,390, and the GreenAcres current charges for the interment and for the prayer hall will have to be paid at the time of interment, in addition, as set out above.

How does paying the woodland burial supplement in advance work?

The woodland burial supplement can be paid to Liberal Judaism in advance at its amount on the date of the payment subject to:

1. the payment being made in full to LJ, and
   b. the payment being non-refundable.

Liberal Judaism will provide a receipt for the payment. If the plot is for a couple who will be buried together in a double-depth plot both names will be noted on the receipt.

Following pre-payment of a woodland burial supplement, on the first death and also on the second death in the same double-depth plot there will be charges for the interment and for the hire of the prayer hall, as explained above.

Will there be any other charges to be paid for before or after a funeral?

In the same way as for burials at Edgwarebury and Cheshunt, and cremations at Hoop Lane, families may ask the LJ Funeral Director to arrange one or more additional services (for example live streaming, Sunday cremation), or there may be additional services required for which the charges are not met by LJ, (for example a long-distance journey). The funeral director will always explain to the family, before the funeral, how much the additional charges will be and when they will be invoiced to the family.

Can a memorial be arranged after a burial?

Memorials are permitted, subject to GreenAcres rules, and they must be individually approved by Liberal Judaism as they are for memorials at Edgwarebury and Cheshunt.

As a woodland cemetery, GreenAcres does not allow marble or granite memorials such as are traditional in Jewish cemeteries. They allow natural wooden memorials with inscriptions.

Memorials are allowed to decay naturally and will remain in place, during the plot lease period, until they do so. More information, including how to arrange a memorial and the charges, is available from Tanya Garfield at Liberal Judaism.

Once a lease has ended, any inscribed memorial will be removed. As described above, families can extend the lease in five year increments.

For those who choose not to have a memorial, or where a lease has expired, GreenAcres records the position of graves very carefully and uses traditional mapping to ensure that there is a permanent record of each person who is buried and their precise location.

A woodland burial avoids the need to pay for a traditional gravestone which would typically cost £4,000-£6,000 currently (April 2024). Natural oak wood memorials with inscriptions are allowed at GreenAcres and are available at an additional and more modest charge.

Is music allowed at a burial or a cremation service?

Yes, GreenAcres has a music playing facility, the same as at Hoop Lane crematorium.

Can non-members request to be buried in the Liberal Judaism area at GreenAcres?

Yes. Enquiries should be made to Tanya Garfield at Liberal Judaism.

If an upper plot has been reserved for someone who is no longer a member at the time of their death can they still be buried in that plot with their late spouse or partner?

Yes, provided the second burial takes place within the original or the extended lease period, and subject to payment of a non-member burial charge to Liberal Judaism.

Does each plot have a unique identity number so it is easy to find?

Each plot has a unique plot number but it is not displayed on a memorial. When a plot is first used GreenAcres will put up a marker showing the name of the person buried there. If a memorial is put up the marker will be removed. In addition, there is an app for mobile phones called What-3-Words which can be used to mark any position, and this means that a plot can easily be found. In addition, the staff at GreenAcres Chiltern will help a visitor to find a particular plot.

Are cremations available at GreenAcres?

Yes. Cremation prayer services with all the mourners are held at GreenAcres Chiltern in the Woodland Hall. Following the service the actual cremation will be a crematorium, currently (April 2024) Amersham or North Oxford. Mourners do not attend the actual cremation.

Will there be any charges to pay for a cremation at GreenAcres?

The charges for a cremation at GreenAcres will be covered by the LJ Burial and Cremation Scheme provided that they do not exceed the equivalent charges at Hoop Lane Crematorium.

This will be the case until 31st March 2025; after that date it will depend on GreenAcres’ annual reviews of its charges from 1st April.

Synagogues in the LJ Burial and Cremation Scheme which operate a funeral expenses scheme will need to decide which charges their schemes will cover vs. those they will ask the families to pay, as they do for cremations at Hoop Lane. For members of Synagogues without a funeral expenses scheme all of the charges will be paid by the families.

As happens with cremations at Hoop Lane, if any additional services are required (for example a long-distance journey), the funeral director will always explain to the family before the funeral how much the additional charges will be and when they will be invoiced to the family and how they are to be paid.

Can ashes be collected after a cremation?

Yes, ashes will be returned to GreenAcres Chiltern 3 days after the cremation either for collection by the family or for interment.

Ashes will be kept at GreenAcres Chiltern indefinitely if they are not collected.

Can ashes be interred (buried) at GreenAcres?

The interment and the prayers can take place any time after that by arrangement with the Rabbi and GreenAcres Chiltern. There will be an additional charge for the interment. All the plots for the interment of ashes will be double depth so that they can take one or two sets of ashes.

There are charges for interring ashes.

Will Liberal Judaism use the same funeral director, Kings, for GreenAcres?

Yes. Kings is LJ’s appointed and sole funeral director. All the arrangements must be made through Kings, in the same way as they are for burials at Edgwarebury and Cheshunt, and as for cremations at Hoop Lane, Golders Green.

Can I see the list of all charges relating to burials and cremations at GreenAcres?

The list of all Liberal Judaism’s charges for the LJ Burial and Cremation Scheme is available here. Liberal Judaism synagogues with Funeral Expenses Schemes will provide a list of their charges on request.

The list will be updated as soon as possible to include all the GreenAcres related charges.

Could my plot be re-used?

GreenAcres Chiltern land is leased from the Forestry Commission. During GreenAcres’ stewardship of the land, no plot will be reused or be disturbed. At present, the GreenAcres Chiltern lease continues until the end of 2107. GreenAcres is already in discussion with the Forestry Commission to extend the lease.

To whom should other questions be addressed?

Tanya Garfield at Liberal Judaism. Her email address is t.garfield@liberaljudaism.org.

• This article was last updated on 30 April 2024