A CARVER of gravestones, which wants to improve support for grieving families, has set up a new alliance at York Cemetery.

Anna Buckley, director in family stonemasonry firm J Rotherham, said death was a taboo subject which families refused to talk about, making funerals unplanned and rushed.

She said: “People don’t think about what they’re going to want and need and don’t get closure. The emotional side is not dealt with and it comes out as health problems. We see people maybe a couple of years later about the headstone and nearly all of them talk about how they would have done it differently if they had planned for it.”

The business has teamed up with a specialist family law firm, funeral director, inter-faith minister, soul midwife and bereavement counsellor to help people with end of life issues and an alternative funeral arranger for people looking to do things differently to the traditional funeral.

J Rotherham, employs more than 100 people at its manufacturing plant at Holme-upon-Spalding Moor, where it also produces bespoke fireplaces and worktops. The firm is also releasing a new range of memorial art, which will include garden stones and has linked up with a stained glass window artist to provide memorial pieces which families can keep in their homes. Mrs Buckley said: “York a very beautiful city and we’re steeped in history, culture and craftsmanship and the people of York are looking for things a bit different.

“Most of the bespoke stone memorials we do are in York. They seem to be more in tune with their own spirituality.”

J Rotherham, which has eight memorial carvings branches, is launching the service as a pilot in York Cemetery and its Doncaster branch and hopes to roll it out across the region. It will also provide books about grieving and what happens when we die, including stories of near-death experiences, and is hoping that charities will also approach them to help them to provide a full support network. The new alliance was launched at an open day yesterday at York Cemetery as part of Dying Matters Week this week, which aims to encourage people to talk about dying.