Cemeteries | Municipality of Grey Highlands

The Municipality of Grey Highlands is committed to honouring those who have passed and to supporting families through the process of remembrance and interment. This page provides details on our active and inactive cemeteries, available services, pricing, and applicable by-laws. You’ll also find helpful resources from the Bereavement Authority of Ontario to guide you through planning and decision-making during times of loss.

Grey Highlands Active Cemeteries

The Municipality of Grey Highlands provides cemetery services at the following places:

Markdale Cemetery - 500427 Grey Rd. 12, Markdale (CM00862)

Directions: 500427 Grey Rd. 12, Markdale

Flesherton Cemetery - 90 Toronto Rd., Flesherton (CM00825)

Directions to Flesherton Cemetery: Click here

Maxwell Cemetery - 408029 Grey Rd. 4, Maxwell (CM00887)

Salem Cemetery - 214193 Sideroad 30, Eugenia (CM00773)

Burns Presbyterian Cemetery - 104 Peel Street, Feversham (CM00886)

Mt. Zion Cemetery - 813386 Sideroad 30, Port Law (CM00767)

Bethel Cemetery - 448081 10th Concession, N of Feversham (CM00884)

Cemetery By-Law, Services, Monuments, Foundations and Interment Rights

By-Law

The Municipality of Grey Highlands governs the cemetery operations by By-law Cemetery By-law 2020-085 as amended.

Services

The above cemeteries offer peaceful settings to remember the life of loved ones. Our staff provides care for the family's needs which include:

Sale of interment rights
Opening and closing of interment sites
Seeding and re-grading of site after burial
Cemetery General Maintenance
Ensuring compliance with the Municipality's Cemetery By-law 2020-085

There are also many privately owned and rural cemeteries located within the municipality.

Services and sale of plots in some of the above cemeteries may be limited based on availability.

Bereavement Authority of Ontario Consumer Information Guide

Monuments and Foundations

Monuments and markers within Grey Highlands cemeteries are carefully regulated to ensure a respectful, safe, and consistent environment for all visitors. Only the Interment Rights Holder (or a contractor acting on their behalf) may arrange for the installation of a monument or marker, and all outstanding fees or charges must be paid before any work can proceed. In accordance with provincial legislation, a required contribution is made to the Care and Maintenance Fund with each installation to support the ongoing upkeep of the cemetery.

All monuments must be installed during the permitted season (generally May 1 to October 1) and must meet specific material and construction standards. Approved materials include granite and bronze, and all structures must be professionally finished to ensure durability and safety. The Municipality reserves the right to determine the appropriate size, number, and placement of monuments on each lot to maintain uniformity and allow for proper maintenance access.

Foundations are required for all monuments and are the responsibility of the Interment Rights Holder. To ensure proper installation, all foundations are constructed through the Municipality at the owner’s expense. Upright monuments must be supported by stable concrete foundations built to prescribed depth and specifications. If incorrect measurements are provided, any necessary reconstruction will also be at the owner’s cost.

There are also limits on the number and placement of markers. Generally, each grave may have one upright monument or marker at the head of the grave, along with a flat marker. Additional flat markers may be permitted at the foot of the grave, subject to size and placement requirements. Corner markers are required to define lot boundaries, and all markers must be installed by the Municipality.

To preserve the dignity of the cemetery, all inscriptions must be respectful and appropriate. The Municipality has the authority to remove any monument, marker, or inscription deemed offensive or improper after notice has been provided. Monument owners are responsible for ongoing maintenance, although the Municipality may intervene if a structure becomes unsafe.

Prior approval from the Municipality is required for any installation, removal, inscription, or maintenance work related to monuments and markers using the Foundation and Monument Request Form.

Interment Rights

Frequently Asked Questions About Interment Rights
What Are Interment Rights?	Interment Rights means the right to require or direct the interment or removal of human remains in a lot (grave, garden, tree program), plot (multiple graves), niche or crypt and/or direct any associated memorialization as outlined or permitted by the cemetery by-laws.
What Is an Interment Rights Holder?	Interment Rights Holder means the person(s) who hold the interment rights to a lot (grave, garden, tree program), plot (multiple graves), niche or crypt as purchased under contract and registered in the Cemetery's records and conveyed on the Interment rights certificate.
Why Is It Important To Be The Interment Rights Holder?	Without the consent or permission of the interment right holder of cemetery record, there is very little a cemetery operator or a family is permitted to do. Ontario Regulation 30/11, Item 161. (1) of the province's Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 states, "No cemetery operator shall inter human remains in a lot, other than the remains of the interment rights holder, without the written consent of the interment rights holder. " O. Reg. 30/11, s. 158 (3) further states, "An interment rights holder or a person authorized to act on the holder’s behalf may install a marker on a lot if the installation of the marker does not contravene the cemetery by-laws."
Does The Interment Rights Holder Purchase or Own the Land?	The land, also known as lot/plot/space including all gardens or tree program for which interment rights are assigned, always remains titled to the Cemetery. A cemetery, under Ontario law, only offers to sell the "right to direct interments and memorialization within an assigned space (lot) within the cemetery". Never does the cemetery sell the land. This right is called 'interment rights' and may only be assigned by the cemetery or reassigned by registering with the cemetery, a transfer of the rights. All activity within that space is subject to the Funeral, Burial, and Cremation Services Act, (2002), its regulations, and the Cemetery's by-laws.
How Do I Know Who the Interment Rights Holder Might Be For "The Family Plot"?	The interment rights holder is named specifically on the cemetery-issued Certificate of Interment Rights and the Cemetery’s official Registry of Interment Rights Holders. Please note that if the interment rights holder gave you the certificate, the interment rights are not yours until such time as you present the certificate to the cemetery and register the transfer of ownership for the interment rights and the cemetery issues a new new certificate. Only the cemetery can confirm or register a transfer of interment rights. Contact us if you are unsure or would like to know more.
If The Interment Rights Holder Is No Longer Living., Can I Still Use The Lot/Plot/ Space?	Cemeteries are not permitted to decide as to who can or cannot use the interment rights. Ontario Regulation 30/11, Item 161. (1) of the province's Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 states , "No cemetery operator shall inter human remains in a lot, other than the remains of the interment rights holder, without the written consent of the interment rights holder. " Simply put, the cemetery can only take direction form the Interment Rights Holder of Cemetery record. If the Interment Rights Holder has passed and he/she /they did not leave written instruction or authorization for additional interments or memorialization, then the remaining family is left with the choice s of A) register a transfer of the interment rights; or B) purchase their own interment rights. The Cemetery can only recognize and register a transfer of the interment rights if the applicant(s) presents documentation to the cemetery that clearly supports that the Interment Rights Holder of record had endorsed such a transfer.
Do Interment Rights Automatically Transfer Or Pass To A Spouse Or Children Or Grand Children Upon The Death Of The Interment Rights Holder Of Record?	Interment rights do not automatically transfer to the surviving family member(s). The interment rights remain in the name of the Interment Rights Holder(s) of cemetery record until such time as sufficient documentation is provided to the cemetery to demonstrate otherwise and until such time as the legal claimants register a transfer of the interment rights with the cemetery operator. If the Interment Rights Holder has died... then the interment right remain as a part of the rights holder's estate. Provincial regulations and the cemetery's by-laws clearly outline what is required of the Interment Rights Holder or estate trustee to see that the remaining interment rights are transferred so that the interment rights can continue to be available for use.
What If I/We Cannot Find The Interment Rights Holder's Last Will Or The Interment Rights Holder Has Died Intestate (Without A Last Will)?	Interment rights do not automatically transfer to the surviving family member(s). The interment rights remain in the name of the Interment Rights Holder(s) of cemetery record until such time as sufficient documentation is provided to the cemetery to demonstrate otherwise and until such time as the legal claimants register a transfer of the interment rights with the cemetery operator. If the Interment Rights Holder has died... then the interment right remain as a part of the rights holder's estate. Provincial regulations and the cemetery's by-laws clearly outline what is required of the Interment Rights Holder or estate trustee to see that the remaining interment rights are transferred so that the interment rights can continue to be available for use.
What If I/We Cannot Find The Interment Rights Holder's Last Will Or The Interment Rights Holder Has Died Intestate (Without A Last Will)?	Those wishing to continue using the interment rights have the burden of performing a diligent search for a copy of a Last Will , as required under Ontario law. Families are welcome to consult with cemetery staff....but... families should not substitute such information for legal counsel. In most cases, families will require their legal counsel to assist with matters involving a lost Will or intestacy. I some instances they interment right simply cannot be transferred and the lot/plot is closed