Church grants rare consent for cremated remains to be exhumed from Spalding Cemetery

Rare consent has been given for the cremated remains of a woman buried in Spalding Cemetery ten years ago to be exhumed so they can be sent to her home country of Poland where they will then be buried with the remains of her husband who died earlier this year.

A judge has ruled that the plan for the couple to be reunited in death in a grave in Poland can go-ahead despite strict Church of England rules that exhumation from consecrated ground can only be allowed in the most exceptional circumstances.

The church’s view is that a last resting place should be just that and many applications for exhumation are refused on that basis.

However, in the case of Mrs Adela Dolata, Mark Bishop, Chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln, in his role as a judge of the Church’s Consistory Court, that the circumstances were sufficiently exceptional to give consent for exhumation.

The plea for exhumation was made by the couple’s daughter, Ms Bozena Dolata, who said that her father’s wish had been for his ashes to be buried in Poland and that his wife’s ashes should join his in the same grave. It was backed by the Rev John Bennett, vicar of Spalding, who said he considered the circumstances were sufficiently exceptional to allow exhumation.

Get LincsOnline stories delivered straight to your inbox every morning - sign up to The Briefing here

Granting consent Judge Bishop said: “It is always exceptional to grant an exhumation, however I am satisfied that exceptional reasons do exist in this case for an exhumation to be permitted.

“The reinterment with her late husband’s remains will be an expression of their family unity and I take into account that Ms Dolata has cared for her mother’s grave in Spalding over the last 10 years and is returning permanently to Poland. Thus, the whole family will now be in Poland.”