About The Ashes Register
Because every last resting place deserves to be remembered
For centuries, graves and burial records have helped families understand where their loved ones were laid to rest. They give future generations a place, a name, a date and a connection.
But cremation has changed that.
Today, cremation accounts for around 80% of funerals in the British Islands. Many families choose to scatter ashes in places that are deeply personal: a favourite walk, a family garden, a stretch of coastline, a river, a woodland glade, a golf course, or somewhere only the family truly understands.
These places matter. They are often chosen with great care and love.
Yet, in most cases, no permanent record is made.
Over time, memories fade. Family stories become unclear. People move away. The person who knew the exact place may no longer be there to explain it. A meaningful last resting place can simply disappear from family memory.
The Ashes Register was created to solve that problem.
What we do
The Ashes Register provides a safe, permanent online record of where ashes have been scattered, buried, interred, kept or otherwise laid to rest.
It allows families to record important details such as:
– The name of the person who has died
– The location of their ashes
– The story or reason the place was chosen
– The date of the ceremony
– Photos, memories and notes for future generations
It gives families a lasting point of reference — not just for today, but for children, grandchildren, family historians and loved ones in years to come.
Why it matters
A grave gives people somewhere to return to.
A scattered ashes location can do the same — but only if it is remembered.
The Ashes Register helps preserve that connection. It turns a private family memory into a lasting record, while allowing families to choose how much information they wish to share.
Some records may be public. Others may be private. What matters is that the information is not lost.
Supporting funeral professionals
The Ashes Register also supports funeral directors, crematoria, celebrants and other funeral professionals.
It provides a simple, sensitive way to help families complete the ashes journey after the funeral. It can also help with the growing issue of uncollected ashes, giving funeral homes a more structured way to record, manage and reconnect families with ashes held in storage.
For funeral professionals, the register is not just an administrative tool. It is a way to offer families a more complete, thoughtful and lasting service.
Our founder’s story
The idea for The Ashes Register came from a personal family experience.
My father died in 1993. He was a keen golfer, and as a family we decided to scatter his ashes at his golf club. We also placed a memorial bench at one of his favourite spots, close to the fairway of the last hole he had played.
A few years later, we returned to the club and discovered that the bench had been moved. That led to a long family debate about exactly where Dad’s ashes had been scattered.
It struck me that if this could happen in our family, it must be happening to many others.
Even after a short time, memories change. Recollections differ. People remember details in different ways. And when ashes have been scattered somewhere informal, there is often no official marker, no grave record and no lasting note of the place.
When you consider how many people in the UK have been cremated over recent decades, and how many families choose to scatter ashes, the scale of the problem becomes clear. Millions of last resting places may already be unrecorded.
In many ways, this is the first period for centuries when a person’s final resting place can easily vanish from the public and family record.
The Ashes Register was created to make sure that does not have to happen.
A lasting record for future generations
Our purpose is simple: to help families record, protect and share the final resting place of someone they love.
Whether ashes are scattered, buried, interred, kept at home, divided between relatives, or still held by a funeral director, the record matters.
The Ashes Register exists so that these places, stories and connections are not lost.
Richard Martin
Founder, The Ashes Register