About

NAMM: A Brief History. The Association was founded on 12th March 1907 by a group of memorial masons anxious to raise standards in the trade, and which, from the Association’s initial foundation, has remained the driving force behind all NAMM endeavors.

As in any membership-based organisation, providing help and support to members whenever possible has always been high on NAMM’s agenda. The current regional organisations started in the 1940s. In 1976, the Scottish Association joined forces with NAMM, forming the Scottish Region. In 1978, the Wholesalers and Manufacturers, then in associate membership, were accepted as full members, and the ‘Wholesale Section’ was born.

Training members: From the early days, NAMM organised specialised seminars for members, but in 1986, it took the very large step of becoming the managing agent for a City & Guilds validated training course devised by its Technical and Training Committee in conjunction with Bath College. This move resulted in the Department of Employment conferring upon it the status of ‘Approved Training Organization’.

NAMM training and certification have achieved the highest accolade in the form of City & Guilds Assured status, enabling courses and content to be tailored to meet our specific trade requirements.

NAMM trainers are City and Guilds qualified, as are all NAMM NPTC assessors.

Setting standards: The NAMM Code of Working Practice, implemented in the 1980s, has, since its first publication, been recognized as the industry-accepted standard to which memorials should be fixed in the UK. The NAMM Code of Working Practice was the founding document for BS8415. Current editions of the Code are free to view here. In 1990, a Code of Good Business Practice was introduced, which all members must adhere to. The Association’s Conciliation and Arbitration Service has now become well-known and respected by various consumer organisations, Citizens Advice Bureau, etc., and, through them, the public.

NAMM is a trusted, ethical, non-profit Incorporated Trade Association.

International relationships: In the early 1980s, the Association became an active member of the Council of British Funeral Services; in 1981, it was involved in the founding of the International Monument Federation, to which the memorial associations in most English-speaking countries now belong; in 1989, it joined the European Federation of Natural Stone Associations ‘EuroRoc’ (then known as ‘FIMIGCEE’). NAMM was also instrumental in setting up the Memorial Awareness Board in the UK, with the primary aim of promoting memorialization.