The British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM) officially came into existence on 24 February. The first eight masons have undergone formal assessment and 178 forms from other masons have been received by the National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM), who are running the register.

There have also been requests for information from 80 burial authorities. The success of the scheme has always depended on burial authorities using the register as a form of accreditation for allowing masons to fix memorials in their cemeteries. The early signs are encouraging.

The idea of such a register was first presented to the annual general meeting of NAMM at their conference in Slaley Hall, Northumberland, in 2000. Theresa Quinn, the chief executive at the time, said then: "There\'s going to be a hell of a lot of opposition from within our ranks."

And there has been. Masons have objected to the criteria for being registered, which some long-established businesses believed could close them down by denying them access to the register because they did not have showrooms. Others have objected to having to pay a fee to be on a register, even though many already do pay a fee to be on individual council registers, which BRAMM is intended to replace.

There have been several lively meetings at which such issues have been discussed. There has been some easing of positions and legitimate masons should be able to achieve the criteria necessary to be registered.

The scheme includes fixer accreditation to ensure that memorials are erected safely, which was one of the main reasons the register was proposed in the first place.