About Us
All about us
Norfolk - our county area
Our services for you
Goldfinch Grave Tending
Based in North Norfolk we are a local independent service providing general upkeep, maintenance & respectful visits of your loved ones final resting place on your behalf.
For many reasons such as busy lives, long distances and travelling being an issue, physically managing the task
or maybe you find the emotional bearing of a visit to a grave or memorial is too much, we can provide on your behalf a dignified
and caring service.
30 years working in hospitality has taught us the skills to provide thoughtfulness and attention to detail, always making our visits with the upmost respect to your loved ones.
We cover the whole North Norfolk, Breckland, South, City and Broadland districts and visits can be made to observe all occasions and anniversaries such as Birthdays, Anniversaries, Mothering Sunday, Easter, Father’s Day, Christmastime.
Where tending to a schedule we will endeavor to meet those dates specific to you and your loved ones.
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Headstone Deep-Cleaning
Using safe and effective biodegradable products recommended for all types of headstone, such as marble, granite and Portland stone, we can clean them up for you.
No mechanical methods used
and work done on site with respect and care.
The products we use not only restore appearance considerably, they keep working with the elements to maintain and further improve the condition.
All work covered by Public Liability insurance and prices vary so please contact Vanessa for a friendly chat and quotation.
T: 07485 555 882
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Other Services -
Levelling of burial plots
Grass re-seeding & weeding
Grave Planting
Re-lettering of headstones
Replacement of decorative aggregate
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Our services for you
Norfolk - our county area
Our services for you
A typical 'one-off' visit will include -
Clearing of any previous decayed floral arrangements, debris, weeds or litter.
Grass & turf trimmed back and tidying of decorative aggregate.
Vases and ornaments cleaned on site.
Light-cleaning of the headstone
(dependent on condition)
with environmentally friendly detergents tested and recommended for headstones of all different types,
ie: marble, granite, portland stone
(Headstone deep-cleaning offered as an additional service)
A posy of fresh flowers left on the day and your personal message if required.
After the tending I will send you a ‘before & after’ photo of the visit, by post or email as preferred.
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Our tending work all complies with Diocese of Norwich and local town council cemetery regulations, also working to guidelines from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and their Churchyard Conservation Scheme.
We are fully covered by
Public Liability Insurance.
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Alternatively, we can provide a tidy-up only service should you prefer to take your own flowers and plants to the graveyard. We can trim and cut back overgrown grass & turf, weeds and shrubs. We remove any previous arrangements and debris off-site and clean ornaments and vases ready for your own visit.
You may book a ‘one-off’ grave tending visit or several visits throughout the year, these can be evenly spread or we can make a planned schedule for certain dates or anniversaries.
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Prices for visits start from £28.00
Variable on distance
We can supply replacement vases
from £10.00 as required
We use local nurseries, florists and markets for our fresh flowers and
no plastic or cellophane is used on displays. All waste removed from the site is composted or recycled as standard.
Specific floral arrangements, Christmas wreaths, bulb bowls, all available on request for our Norfolk Grave
Tending Visits
Norfolk - our county area
Norfolk - our county area
Norfolk - our county area
Grave tending visits are available across all Norfolk districts and further across the county on request.
From our home in Sheringham, at the heart of beautiful and restful
North Norfolk, our service covers firstly our most local parishes such as Upper Sheringham, East & West Beckham, Bodham and Aylmerton.
Then we travel up through Weybourne, Salthouse & Cley-next-the-sea, all around the coastline as far as
Wells-next-the-sea, Holkham, Brancaster & the Burnhams, to Hunstanton and West Norfolk, inland towards Sandringham, Docking, Grimston, Sculthorpe, Fakenham & Thursford, Melton Constable, Corpusty, Holt, Hempstead & Gresham.
Easterly down the coast through the Runtons to Cromer, Overstrand, Mundesley, Bacton, Happisburgh and as far as Sea Palling & Potter Heigham.
Inland covering from Erpingham to North Walsham, Worstead, Tunstead, Coltishall, Ludham, Catfield, Stalham and Hoveton.
All parish churchyards in North Norfolk, Breckland, South, City and Broadland districts, plus all our other main town and city cemeteries can be visited for tending.
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We are happy to quote for graveyards and cemeteries out of our main area, and can also recommend other grave tenders across the UK through our membership of the Association of Grave Tenders.
The association has now been launched and the website now live. I've been involved with the inception and so great getting to know and learn from like-minded business people across the UK. Other members from across the UK currently in the process of joining too.
https://www.associationofgravetenders.org/
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Please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Contact Vanessa On
T: 07485 555 882
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'White Balloon' is a funeral hub that helps with the difficult task of planning a funeral and give a platform for the many wonderful providers within the funeral and end-of-life sectors.
Grave Tenders across the UK are featured -
https://www.whiteballoon.co.uk/providers/grave-tending-and-memorial-cleaning?page_subtitle=Providers
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Read more about my business via this link to our local newspaper:
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/vanessa-pritchard-grave-tending-service-7810826
Photo Gallery
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"Why Goldfinch?"
For several years I have been entertaining a ‘charm of goldfinches’ in my garden on an daily basis. Watching them interact with each other in their family hierarchy is a delight. The flash of yellow, skittish yet intelligent and busy nature and their bossy chatter brings so much joy.
I decided to investigate them a little more..
The goldfinch is a bird rich in symbolism, featuring in hundreds of Medieval and Renaissance paintings. It’s symbolic meaning stems from its elaborate plumage and its feeding habits. Goldfinches have red cheeks and in the medieval mindset, these were acquired while the bird was trying to remove Christ’s crown of thorns in an act of mercy and his blood dripped onto their faces. Goldfinches also eat thistle seeds and together these two things associate the bird with Christ’s Passion and his crown of thorns.
Another layer of meaning has been attributed to the eating of thistle seeds, in Europe they were used as a medicinal ingredient to combat the plague. So through this association the Goldfinch also became a good luck charm. Bestowing good heath and warding off disease from those who either saw a goldfinch or owned one.
The popularity of goldfinches as a caged bird in Victorian Britain led to huge numbers being trapped to supply demand, causing the population to crash, however they are now one of our most common garden visitors, due in no small part to lots of well-stocked bird feeders I’m sure. Long may this continue.