The Various Types Of Mausoleum Crypts

Types Of Mausoleums

There are three main types of mausoleums in a cemetery:

• Indoor: A shared space where the crypts are located indoors
• Garden/outdoor: A shared space where the crypts are located outdoors
• Private mausoleums: Private spaces, where the crypts can be located indoors or outdoors

Types Of Mausoleum Crypts

There are a number of different types and configurations of crypts available. The most common include:

• Single crypts: Single crypts are the most common type of crypt in a mausoleum. Single crypts contain the remains of one person in a casket.
• Side-by-side crypts: Side-by-side crypts are designed for two people. The caskets are positioned next to each other horizontally, and may each have its own engraved marker or the crypts may share a single large marker.
• Companion crypts or end-to-end crypts: Companion crypts are designed for two people, but only take the space of a single crypt. The caskets are lined up “end-to-end” and a single marker is shared. Companion crypts are the mausoleum equivalent of “double depth.”
• Westminster family crypts: Sometimes referred to simply as “Westminster crypts” or “family crypts,” this style of crypt can accommodate as many people as you’d like. Sometimes the arrangement is end-to-end crypts stacked on top of each other, and sometimes the arrangement is side-by-side crypts stacked on top of each other. Each person may have his or her own marker, or the crypts may share a single large marker.

Columbariums For Cremated Remains

A columbarium is like a mausoleum, except that the wall spaces, called "niches," are much smaller. Like spaces in a mausoleum, the prices for columbarium niches will vary depending on the location of the niche in the columbarium. Once the urn containing the ashes has been interred in the columbarium, a bronze plaque will be placed on the outside of the niche identifying whose remains are interred inside.

Crypt Costs

The price of a mausoleum crypt usually depends on:

• Whether the mausoleum in indoor, outdoor, or private
• The location of the crypt, including the crypt’s height from the floor and location within the mausoleum
• The type of crypt

Mausoleum crypts tend to cost more than ground plots. That said, mausoleum crypts do not require outer burial containers, which ultimately increase the cost of ground burial, essentially evening out the total prices of ground burial and crypt interment.

Related Resource: Guide: Finding a Cemetery