How to choose the right type of stone for a memorial

Written by: Annissa Cole
Published: 26^th November 2025

J.Gumbrill has been an expert in Monumental Masonry for over 120 years and prides itself on the quality of its service, as well as being an authority in terms of the advice it can offer when choices about memorials have to be made. Here, Annissa, the company’s Monumental Masonry Administrator, talks us through some of the factors that impact your decision about what a memorial is made of.

There are a lot of different materials that a memorial can be made of. All of them have their own characteristics, and the choice of stone often impacts other parts of the memorial’s design, such as how it can be lettered. Some of the main considerations that will affect your decision include:

Where is the memorial to be sited?

Most churchyards have rules about the material that can be used to make a memorial sited within them. These are set by the Diocese and are designed to maintain the quality of the churchyard as a public place with an element of uniformity. Memorials in churchyards are, of course, to remember the individuals commemorated, but the church views the space itself as a place for collective memory, where no one person should be more prominent than others. You can therefore expect that regulations might prevent anything too unusual in terms of colour, style or shape- which means that, for example, many of the deeper-coloured granites would not be allowed.

How big is the memorial to be?

Some types of stone are relatively scarce, and it can be hard to find large pieces in memorial-grade. For example, slate memorials will only ever be a maximum of two inches thick, because it isn’t possible to create them any larger than this with the type of material available.

What shape is the memorial to be?

The same as the above applies. It may be that the shapes and sizes of stone available are not conducive to being created into certain shapes. For example, most headstones shaped into books are made of granite, as sand- and limestones and slate are not quarried in large enough blocks to then be made into a book. Horsham stone is quarried in boulder shapes which are often best left as they are.

What are our preferences for lettering style and other details?

Some letting types look better on some materials than others. For example, many granites have distinctive mottling which means letters will need to painted so they stand out from the background. In contrast, limestones such as Portland and York suit more subtle, unpainted inscriptions and carvings, as paint can ‘bleed’ into the stone’s surface and impact the finish. Light nabresina has a fine structure which makes it suitable for detailed work.

How do we want the lettering and detailing to be added to the memorial?

Our letter cutting team are experts with all kinds of materials, but there are differences as to what is practically possible. For example, granite is such a hard material that it cannot be carved by hand. The contrast between the inner and outer colours of slate mean that it is particularly suitable to be hand carved.

How much maintenance are we prepared to carry out over the life of the memorial?

Every material has its own characteristics in terms of how much it will wear. Granite memorials are highly durable and are not susceptible to weather damage. Marble discolours quickly so, although it is easily restorable with a professional clean, it represents a commitment in terms of ongoing cost investment- or, you have to be reconciled to its rapid change of appearance once installed.

J.Gumbrill prides itself on the quality of the advice our team gives, and our ability to work with you to choose a memorial most suitable for your requirements. For further details about the different types of material available, why not visit our ‘stone types’ page or, alternatively, you can contact us for more information and, if you wish, a no-obligation quote.