Materials & Finishes
Do you need help selecting the appropriate memorial material? Read on to discover the four most popular types we offer. However, please keep in mind that natural materials may vary, and each stone may differ from one memorial to another.
Granite
Available in a wide array of colours, this beautiful and strong stone makes a perfect memorial. Granite memorials are a popular choice for their durability, versatility, and natural beauty. Whether you choose a simple design or something more intricate, with the correct care, a granite headstone will be around for generations to come and will provide a beautiful, lasting tribute for your loved one.
Popular finishes include polished and honed. Polished has a sheen to it and you can see a reflection on the surface, whereas honed gives a matte look. Both stone finishes are smooth to the touch. Most churchyards require a honed finish granite in a light colour, but usually, cemeteries are much more lenient on different shades and finishes of granite.
Naturally hard-wearing, granite is very easy to keep clean. A polished finish requires only a gentle wipe-over with a damp cloth. Whilst a honed finish might take a little more cleaning, both choices are by far the easiest of all memorial materials to keep clean, which in UK weather is just what you need!
For the lettering, granite is very versatile. Although we wouldn’t advise cut only for this material, cut and painted in black, white, light grey or silver will look beautiful. As will 22-karat gilded gold.
York Stone
York headstones are a timeless and elegant way to honour the memory of a loved one. As the name suggests, this beautiful sandstone is quarried in Yorkshire, UK. York memorials have been used for centuries in the UK, and are true churchyard classics.
Naturally, York stone is a porous material that often attracts lichen and moss. This means that over time this stone will weather and wear in a very natural way and blend beautifully in with its surroundings.
You will typically find York memorials in a deep, sandy-yellow shade, but you may come across grey shades too. All shades of York stone tend to deepen and get darker as the stone naturally weathers.
In terms of inscription, York looks fantastic as cut only, or cut and painted with black or brown.
Portland
Portland limestone is a stunning creamy-white material which is quarried in the Isle of Portland in Dorset, UK. Like York stone, Portland has also been used for many years throughout the UK for memorials, so you know it can withstand the test of time and commemorate your loved one for many years to come.
Although this limestone begins as a creamy colour, over time this tends to mellow out and ages beautifully to naturally settle into its environment. Although Portland is a relatively uniform material, upon close inspection you may find lots of lovely flecks within which makes each memorial unique. Some of these flecks may even be fossils!
We would recommend having cut-only lettering on Portland. Although it is possible to paint the lettering if this is something you would prefer.
Nabresina
A beautiful limestone quarried in Italy. Nabresina is a hard and dense stone that is perfect for British churchyards and cemeteries. Colourwise, this Italian stone is an off-white sometimes grey shade, and much like Portland, can often be found with fossil flecks within.
As with other sand and limestones, Nabresina does tend to attract lichen and moss to its surface. Whilst this is not so easy for a non-professional to keep clean, it does mean the memorial ages gracefully with its surroundings in mind.
Nabresina is suitable to have cut only inscriptions, or cut and painted in darker-toned enamel. You may find many aged Nabresina memorials in churchyards with lead-filled lettering. Whilst this is something we can repair for you, we no longer offer lead lettering on new memorials.
Get in touch
Address
Our Showroom address is:
PGH Memorials Ltd
Riddings Farm
Headley
RG198AU
Contact
email: courtney@pghmemorials.co.uk