Funeral services

Hearse and Limousines

The hearse for the funeral, with chauffeur and sufficient bearers, is also an essential part of our service to you, especially when your family’s request is to go into church or place of worship. You may wish the bearers to be family members.

Limousines are charged for separately. This ensures that the family is not charged for something they may not need or want. The charge for limousines is fully inclusive to cover transport from the address at which your family requires to be picked up, through to your return to the final destination, within a limited distance. Each limousine is chauffeur driven and will normally carry up to six mourners.

Funeral Services – Disbursements

Disbursements are essentially fees that we pay out on behalf of the family, i.e. doctor’s fees where appropriate, Crematorium/Cemetery fees and Parochial fees etc. Our written estimate will detail the approximate cost of any disbursements. However, you will appreciate that we will have no direct control over these charges, and they could therefore be subject to slight variations. These costs can then be settled by one single payment, rather than by many different bills to be settled by the estate.

Doctors fee or cremation forms
No one can be cremated until the cause of death is definitely known. There are two cremation certificates (Form 4 & 5). Each must be signed by a different doctor. These certificates must be paid for and listed under disbursements on our estimate and account. The cremation certificates are not required when the death is referred to the coroner.

Help with funeral costs
The following information should be treated as general guidance. We are not able to guarantee the availability of a loan, but we do understand how the Department for Works and Pensions makes a decision.

Who is entitled to help?
If there is not enough money to pay for the funeral and you are responsible for making the funeral arrangements you may be able to get a social fund funeral payment to help you with the cost. To qualify, you or your partner must be in receipt of a qualifying benefit. Claim packs are available from your local social security office.

Check what amount of money is available from:

  • The estate of the person who has died, such as money from bank or building society accounts.
  • Any insurance policies or charities, lump sum payments made by a pension scheme or relatives (either yours or those of the person who has died).
  • Any savings you have in a bank or building society, National Savings (including certificates or premium bonds) or in cash at home.
  • The savings may be in your name or the name of your partner. 
  • The widows payment does not count as savings.

The social fund may make a contribution towards the cost of a simple funeral within the United Kingdom. This includes:

  • Bringing the body home if the person died away from home but within the United Kingdom
  • Contribution towards fees of funeral director
  • Cemetery fee or Crematorium fee
  • Doctors fees

Funeral Services – Costs and Charges

In all aspects of the funeral arrangements we will point out the procedures and legal requirements.

Whilst arranging the funeral, we will advise on costs and charges to be incurred, culminating in a full written estimate that should be agreed and signed so that you feel confident with the funeral commitment you have arranged.

The funeral account itself is divided into two separate parts; the Funeral Director’s charges and the disbursements. These contain our professional fees and overhead costs, which include the provision of a 24-hour-a-day on-call rota, our professional services in making the funeral arrangements and arranging documentation and necessary personal attendances, the conveyance of the deceased to our private chapel rest rooms and the use of the same until the day of the funeral.

Relatives and friends often wish to visit the deceased and pay their last respects before the day of the funeral. We will only allow this on the specific request of the family.

Hygienic treatment and attendances to the deceased are also considered to be very important by our company. The last time you saw a loved one might have been a distressing memory, perhaps in hospital or for the purposes of identification. In any event we believe that, in asking us to look after a member of your family, you would like to be certain that the best that could be done for your relative has been done whether you wish to visit the deceased before the funeral or not.

Please see our Our Prices for detailed information on costs.

Please see our Terms & Conditions.

Ministers, Priests and Non-Religious Services

We will contact your local parish minister/priest or funeral officiant. If you wish, they will be happy to help and give support during and after your bereavement and will visit you prior to the day of the funeral.

Floral Tributes

The gentle beauty of flowers expresses your personal remembrance and brings comfort to the bereaved. Choose from a selection in our Flower Book or you may prefer to discuss your requirements further with us.

Donations to Charity

If donations are requested in lieu of flowers we will accept and list donations on your behalf and forward them in due course to the charity of your choice.

Funeral Services – Cremated Remains

At the time of making funeral arrangements, it is not always easy to realise the emotional benefit that is gained after the funeral by having somewhere to go, a place that you and your family can go back to, knowing that loved one is there.

It has only recently been acknowledged that simply having a relative’s cremated remains scattered or buried in a garden of remembrance does not assist the healing process after the funeral. Today most cemeteries and crematoria that are administered by local councils offer the facilities of small graves that can be purchased solely for cremated remains.

These “Cremated Remains” graves can be visited by your family, allowing you to pay your last respects and mark the grave with a headstone.