Description
The Natural Death Centre is a British charity that gives free, impartial advice on natural burial, do-it-yourself and environmentally friendly funerals, and on consumer rights when arranging a funeral, through a helpline and its website.
It is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1091396. It runs the Association of Natural Burial Grounds, helps people set up new natural burial grounds and advises existing operators who want to offer natural burial. Councils and bereavement directories refer people who are looking for a green funeral director or a natural burial ground to its helpline, and its website lists green burial sites and gives advice on woodland burial. Its advice also covers dying, bereavement and the rights of families who want to organise a funeral themselves, which is legal in the UK.
Directories give different phone numbers, a Winchester number (01962 712690) and a mobile number on the Charity Commission register, and the register showed the charity’s accounts as filed late at one point. Its website couldn’t be reached when checked in November 2026.
Strengths
- Its advice is free and impartial, from a charity rather than a funeral company.
- It covers natural burial and do-it-yourself funerals, which conventional funeral directors rarely explain.
- It runs the Association of Natural Burial Grounds and lists green burial sites.
Weaknesses
- Its website couldn’t be reached in November 2026, so its current activity is uncertain.
- Directories give different phone numbers for the helpline.
- The Charity Commission register showed accounts filed late at one point.
Who it is for
People in the UK planning a funeral, for themselves or a relative, who want a natural burial or a simpler, cheaper ceremony without a full funeral package.
Sources
- Natural Death Centre: home (not reachable in November 2026)
- Charity Commission: The Natural Death Centre
- Surrey County Council: The Natural Death Centre
- Newcastle-under-Lyme: Natural Death Centre information leaflet
- At a Loss: Natural Death Centre
- Manchester City Council: you can have a burial on private land