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 Associations initial foundation has remained the driving force behind all NAMM endeavours..

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 organizations started in the 1940s. 1976 saw the Scottish Association joining forces with NAMM and 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 laid on 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 ‘Approved Training Organisation’.

NAMM training and certification has achieved the highest accolade in way of City&Guilds Assured status which enables courses and content to be tailored to meet our specific trade requirements.



NAMM trainers are City&Guilds qualified as are all NAMM NPTC assessors.

Setting standards.The NAMM Code of Working Practice implemented in the 1980’s has since its initial introduction been accepted as the Nationally recognised standard to which memorials in the UK should be fixed. The NAMM Code of Working Practice was the founding document for BS8415. Current editions of the Code are free to view on the home page. 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 the various consumer organisations, Citizens Advice Bureaux 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 of the English-speaking countries of the world 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 memorialisation.