St. Catharines has some of the most beautiful and well-kept cemetery grounds in the Niagara Region and southern Ontario. The city is also home to many privately run cemeteries, serving a diversity of faiths, cultures and religions, including the Victoria Lawn Cemetery, which is maintained by the City of St. Catharines.
Victoria Lawn Cemetery
Located at 431 Queenston St., the cemetery is open to the public for visits and business. The office is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the mausoleum is open to the public daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Purchase a plot
People are encouraged to call 905-688-5601 ext. 1557 for all inquires and to schedule appointments. At present the cemetery is experiencing a back-log of appointments and prioritizing “at-need” services and as a result may not be able to provide drop-in services in a timely matter.
Fees
View our Cemetery Rates and Fees for a complete list of burial fees including lots, graves, cremations, interments, niches, mausoleums and more.
If the burial takes place outside of our regular times, you'll have to pay additional fees:
- For burials on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. it costs an additional $450
- For burials on Saturdays after 11 a.m. it costs an additional $225 per half hour
- For burials on Monday to Friday after 3:30 p.m. it costs an additional $225 per half hour
Payment plans are available for pre-need sales of graves, lots, crypts and niche rights. For more information please visit the cemetery administration building during office hours, or call 905.688.5601 ext. 1557. All prices include care and maintenance fees and applicable taxes.
View the 2023 cemetery prices below, or download a copy.
Crypts, Gardens of Memories Mausoleum
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These rates are based on one burial maximum.
Please Note: For all persons not resident of the City of St. Catharines all prices will be increased
by 20% for lots, care & maintenance and all forms of interment.
Chapel crypt fees
| Levels | Price |
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Level B
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$14,639
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Level C
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$16,892
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Level D
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$18,017
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Level E
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$15,766
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Interior crypt fees
| Levels | Price |
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Level B
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$14,078
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Level C
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$16,328
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Level D
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$17,455
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Level E
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$15,203
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Niches
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All niche locations can contain two cremations.
Garden of Memories Mausoleum fees
| Location and service | Price |
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Interior niches, Levels A, B, C and D
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$2,478
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Interior niches, Levels I and J
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$2,928
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Interior niches, Levels E, F, G and H
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$3,378
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Exterior niches, all levels
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$2,252
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Bronze plate inscription
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$1,351
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Queenston Courtyard Columbarium fees
| Location/service | Price |
|---|
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Niche wreath
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$1,239
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Second niche scroll (includes installation)
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$226
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Roman bud vase
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$338
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Grave and lots, interment rights
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Grave, lots and interment fees
| Type | Description | Cost |
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Adult at need with flat marker single grave
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One burial and up to four cremains
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$1,240
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Adult preferred with flat marker single grave
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One burial and up to four cremains
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$1,986
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Adult upright monument single grave
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One burial and up to four cremains
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$2,494
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Adult two grave lot with upright monument
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One burial and up to four cremains and includes foundation
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$5,094
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Cremation grave with flat marker
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Up to four cremains
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$1,324
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Cremation grave with upright monument
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Up to four cremains and includes foundation
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$2,439
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Infant grave with flat marker
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One burial
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$788
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Infant grave with upright monument
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One burial with up to four remains and includes foundation
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$1,806
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Veteran's grave with flat marker
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One burial and one cremains
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Please contact office
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Opening and closing fees
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View the opening and closing fees:
- BAO (Bereavement Authority of Ontario) Disbursement Fee cost $30
- Casket opening and closings at regular depths cost $1,579
- Casket openings and closings at extra depth cost $2,368 (on sales prior to 1986)
- Cremation openings and closing cost $619 (earth)
- Niche openings and closings cost $567
- Crypt openings and closings cost $734
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Additional services
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Review the costs for additional services:
- Concrete liners including installation costs $903
- Disinterment costs $3,380 (minimum charge)
- Transfer of interment rights costs $86 each
- Declaration for transfer costs $86 each
- Declaration for interment costs $86 each
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Bronze products and specialty items
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We also offer inscription bronze products and specialty items:
Niche Inscriptions and Products
| Product / Service |
Cost |
| Colour pictures, all niches (includes bronze frame) |
$227 |
| Black and white picture (includes bronze frame) |
$200 |
| Garden of Memories Mausoleum |
|---|
| Niche plaque (includes installation) |
$1,351 |
| Niche plaque scroll (includes installation) |
$422 |
| Bud Vase (includes installation) |
$394 |
| Queenston Courtyard Columbarium |
|---|
| Niche Wreath (includes installation) |
$1,239 |
| Second Niche scroll (includes installation) |
$226 |
| Roman bud vase |
$338 |
Niche Emblems
| Product / Service |
Cost
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| Christ with thorns |
$141 |
| Praying hands (Facing left) |
$114 |
| Praying hands (Facing right) |
$114 |
| Madonna |
$141 |
| Angel (Facing left) |
$114 |
| Angel (Facing right) |
$114 |
| Rose (Facing left) |
$114 |
| Rose (Facing right) |
$114 |
| Holy Bible |
$114 |
| Together forever |
$114 |
| Praying cherub |
$114 |
| Cross – Flat bronze |
$86 |
| Cross with Christ |
$86 |
| Police Officer |
$198 |
| Firefighter (Maltese Cross) |
$198 |
Crypt Products & Emblems
| Product / Service |
Cost |
| Crypt Products |
|---|
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Mausoleum Crypt Inscription Lettering (90 letter maximum)
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$1,689 |
| Crypt Light Vase (Includes installation) |
$676 |
| Colour Picture and Frame |
$734 |
| B&W Picture and Frame |
$509 |
| Crypt Emblems |
|---|
| Crucifix with Christ |
$226 |
| Christ |
$197 |
| Madonna |
$197 |
| Angel (facing right) |
$141 |
| Angel (facing left) |
$141 |
| Pieta |
$394 |
| Madonna & Child with Halo |
$197 |
| Christ with crown of thorns |
$197 |
| Sacred Heart |
$197 |
| Praying hands |
$197 |
| Rose |
$253 |
Urns
| Product / Service |
Cost |
| Zinc & Marble Cremation Urns |
|---|
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8” x 8” x 4” (include Applicable Taxes)
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$507 |
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Marker rules and regulations
When honouring the memory of a loved one, you may want to add a personalized, homemade or sentimental marker to their plot. View the Cemetery By-law to find out about the rules and regulations that govern what can be added to a grave site.
Cemetery rules and regulations
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Review the rules and regulations for Victoria Lawn Cemetery:
- Funerals shall enter the Cemetery only at the main gateways near the office (unless going to the Cullinan mausoleum or Queenston Courtyard Columbarium)
- Children under the age of 12 in the cemetery must be accompanied by an adult chaperone, except with permission of the Manager
- Riding bicycles is prohibited except in driveways and bicycles should not be left on any lot
- No garbage or debris should be deposited in the Cemetery except in the appropriate garbage containers
- No person shall install, alter, repair, maintain, relocate or remove any marker or supplies, or any decorations on a lot except in accordance with the By-law
- No person shall write on, deface or injure any marker, fence or other structure, or any tree in the Cemetery
- No person shall break any tree shrub or pick any flowers (wild or cultivated) in the Cemetery
- Plants, flowers, holders or other articles shall not be removed without permission from the Manager
- Nothing shall be placed upon or added to a lot which shall interfere with the maintenance of the Cemetery by the Corporation
- Any structures, enclosures or additions to a lot which are not in good condition are subject to removal by the Cemetery
- Floral tributes and potted plants, plantings, artificial flowers and wreaths are subject to removal by the Manager at any time
- Permanent receptacles for cut flowers are permitted only if installed with the approval of the Manager either flush with the ground or as part of a marker
- The Manager may remove, prune or alter any tree or shrub in a lot
- Any grading, sodding, seeding, top dressing, fertilizing and watering of lots, sodding and covering of graves and planting of trees and shrubs shall be done under the supervision of the Manager
- The Corporation shall not be responsible for any damage to lots and structures, objects, flowers or articles removed from any lot
- No person shall bring or permit any animal to enter upon or remain in the Cemetery
- Any person disturbing the quiet or good order of the Cemetery by noise or other improper conduct, or who shall violate any of the provisions of this By-Law or any other by-law of the Corporation may be required to leave the grounds
- The Cemetery will be open to visitors from sunrise to sunset
- No person shall enter the Cemetery when the Cemetery is not open to visitors except only police officers, authorized employees of the Corporation, or persons permitted by the Manager
No person shall decorate a lot except in accordance with provisions of this By-law and the following:
- Ornamental shrubs may be placed by an interment rights holder on either side of an upright marker on a lot which is not a single grave
- A flower bed may be planted on a lot by an interment rights holder and maintained immediately in front of an upright marker of a length not greater than the length of such marker and in any event of width not greater than 18 inches
- A rose bush shall not be planted or maintained on a lot
- No object, including any statue or tripod, may be placed on a lot except markers which are in accordance with this By-law, and disposable containers for plants and flowers
- The earth of a flower bed shall not be changed, and no mound of earth may be made or maintained on a lot except with permission of the Manager
- Except in the mausoleum, artificial wreaths and flowers shall be permitted from the first day of November in each year to the first day of April in the following year
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Mausoleums and columbarium
The Victoria Lawn Cemetery has a mausoleum and columbarium with niches for cremations and burials.
Queenston Courtyard Columbarium
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The Queenston Courtyard Columbarium, gracefully blends the historic landscape and provides cremation inurnments for a maximum of two inurnments per niche. The Columbarium features five distinctive buildings:
- Serenity Court
- Tranquility Court
- Integrity Court
- Eternity Court
- Harmony Circle
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Garden of Memories Mausoleum
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The Garden of Memories Mausoleum is dedicated to the memory of your loved ones, allowing for the option of entombment in a crypt or inurnment in a niche.
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Walking tours
Take a walking tour through Victoria Lawn Cemetery and learn about the history and legacy of our community through the contributions of important individuals. Pick up our Walking Tour Brochure for a map and complete list of grave sites from the cemetery office.
The self-guided walking tour takes you past the graves of Dr. Theophilus Mack, William Hamilton Merritt, Reverend Anthony Burns and Fonce Val (Jack) Haney.
About Victoria Lawn Cemetery
Established in 1856 in the east end of the City beside the Welland Canal, Victoria Lawn Cemetery consists of 170 acres of grave sites today, with more than 79,000 people interred and 155 years of history.
The Town hired renowned landscape gardener Robert Mundy to plan the cemetery and plant the flower beds and trees. Originally named the St. Catharines Cemetery, Victoria Lawn Cemetery took its current name in honour of Queen Victoria of England at the turn of the twentieth century.
In 1918, the Cullinen Mausoleum on Queenston Street was constructed to include about 300 crypts. By the 1920s the original cemetery was running out of space, and the farm across Queenston Street was purchased and became the new cemetery. By the 1960s the new cemetery was again short of space, so additional land was purchased at the south end of the cemetery.
In the 1980s a few mausoleums were built to meet with the demands for entombment. In 2000, the Garden of Memories Mausoleum was established. Other buildings such as the Carillon Bell Tower, the Chinese Pagoda and Mountainview Homes Gazebo have been donated to make the cemetery more enjoyable and comforting.
Bereavement Authority of Ontario
The City of St. Catharines is a licensee of the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO). Visit the BAO for information about bereavement and death care in Ontario. Cemetery Operator Number: 32889221.
View the BAO’s Consumer Information Guide: A Guide to Death Care in Ontario.
