Guidance To Help With Your Memorial Inscription

Choosing the right words for a memorial inscription can be difficult. This guide covers some of the most common questions we are asked and explains the different options available when creating an inscription for your loved one.

What This Guide Covers

• How the inscription should start.
• What details your inscription should include.
• How it should be formatted.
• Suggestions for personalisation.
• Quotes, verses, poems and messages.
• Future-proofing your memorial.
• Ornaments, symbols and photo plaques.
• Example inscriptions for inspiration.

How to Start Your Inscription

There are multiple ways your inscription can begin, which can make it difficult to decide. In our experience, the vast majority of people start with something like ‘In Loving Memory Of’, or simply ‘In Memory Of’.

Following this, the most important detail is the name of your loved one. Their nickname can be added here too if they commonly went by one. Rules surrounding inscriptions vary between burial grounds, and churchyards can have stricter requirements, so it is important to check before finalising the wording.

The next lines will typically include their date of birth and date of death. There are several ways these can be displayed. Two of the most common formats are:

• 30th June 1920 – 20th May 2026
• 30/6/1920 – 20/5/2026

Some people prefer to display just the years:

• 1920 – 2026

This is less common, but can give the inscription a simpler appearance. If this is your preferred format, check with the burial authority or your memorial mason first, as regulations can vary.

What Details Should the Inscription Include, and How Should It Be Formatted?

We've now covered the basic details normally found at the beginning of an inscription. From here, there is much more freedom to make the inscription personal.

A typical inscription might follow this structure:

In Loving Memory Of
First Name – Last Name
Date of Birth – Date of Death
Family Relationships
Quote / Verse / Poem / Personal Message

When it comes to family relationships, these are often listed in an order that feels natural to the family. For example:

Loving Mother, Wife, Sister, Grandma, Great-Grandma & Friend

There is no need to include every possible relationship. This section is personal to you and can be changed to reflect the relationships that were most meaningful to your loved one and your family.

Personalisation Suggestions

Purchasing a memorial is a deeply personal experience, so a copy-and-paste, generic approach is generally not appropriate. Although burial authorities may have regulations surrounding what can be displayed, the memorial itself is a tribute to someone you knew and loved personally. It makes sense for the finished memorial to reflect that.

Over the years, we've helped thousands of families create tributes to their loved ones. Naturally, we've had lots of our own ideas, as well as customers coming to us with some great ones too.

When it comes to personalisation, there are several routes to explore.

First and foremost is the memorial itself. There is an enormous amount of choice, with hundreds of types of granite and natural stone available, along with countless shapes and sizes.

To get an idea of what we can provide, try our memorial designer by clicking here. The designer contains almost everything we can offer in terms of granite colours and memorial shapes. If you don't see what you want, please contact us, as we can source and produce a much wider range of memorials.

Once the memorial has been chosen and the inscription has been decided, you may feel you'd like to add something else to make it even more personal. The good news is that there are plenty of options.

Ornaments and Artwork

One of the most common choices is adding an ornament or piece of artwork to the memorial.

There are many designs to choose from in our brochure, or we can create something completely custom and unique to your memorial. If you have an idea in mind, speak to us about what is possible.

Sandblasted ornament

We offer sandblasted artwork on granite memorials, as well as deep-blasted ornaments.

On softer natural materials, such as York stone and marble, we can also offer hand-carved ornaments.

Pictured here is a thistle and rose ornament, inside a gold heart.

Laser Engraved

Laser engraving is another option.

This is particularly suitable for highly detailed images, including portraits. It is typically produced on black granite, where the engraved image has good contrast against the polished stone.

Photo Plaque

Another personalisation option is a photo plaque. You can experiment with adding these using our memorial designer.

A photo plaque is made from glazed ceramic, with an image of your choice permanently fired into its surface. It is then attached to the memorial, usually towards the top and centre, although its placement is largely your choice.

_{*Burial-ground regulations can affect whether photo plaques are permitted, particularly in churchyards, so this should always be checked before the memorial is finalised.}

Handwriting converted and sandblasted.

We can also replicate a piece of handwriting directly onto granite. We do this by digitally converting the original handwriting into the stencil used during the sandblasting process. This allows us to reproduce the character and shape of the original writing extremely closely. In some cases, the thickness of the writing may need to be increased slightly to ensure that very fine lines transfer correctly when sandblasted.

Future-Proofing Your Memorial

When purchasing a memorial, there are some important considerations to make for the future.

Once you've decided on the first inscription, consider whether further inscriptions are likely to be added later. If you've purchased a memorial for one of your parents while the other is still with us, for example, it is important to leave sufficient space for a second inscription.

As a general guide, we would normally avoid using more than around 40–45% of the available inscription space for the first person when another full inscription is expected in the future.

The same principle applies to a family grave and memorial, which may eventually contain five or six inscriptions. Planning the available space from the beginning can prevent problems many years later.

Typically, you'll want the format of subsequent inscriptions to complement the original. This helps ensure that the memorial feels equally dedicated to each person remembered on it.

This is something we advise on when helping you choose a memorial. We can plan the layout with you from the beginning, taking future inscriptions into consideration.

Example Inscriptions

If you're looking for further inspiration or would like to see how your inscription could look. Visit our Memorial Designer.

Or take a look at our Recent Work section.

More questions?