Our Funeral Service
Many of our clients come to us to discuss their own funerals, which helps to ensure their exact wishes are carried out and relives the burden from family members at a difficult time. If you do have the foresight to make prior arrangement with us it is, of course, advisable to inform your Executors or next of kin.
Others approach us when they have to make these plans for a loved one, which can be immensely distressing. We aim to make these consultations as straightforward as possible. Our ultimate goal is to allow you to say goodbye in a way that brings peace and closure, and for funerals to run without problems or uncertainties.
Discussing a funeral in advance
The nursing staff or the appropriate officer will advise you when and from where to collect the death certificate.
In all cases the death certificate must be taken to the Registrar of Births Deaths & Marriages for official record purposes (see "Registration").
Planning your own funeral
We are always willing to discuss and record, in confidence, your own wishes regarding your funeral. It can be of considerable benefit to bereaved relatives to know that preliminary discussions and outline arrangements have been dealt with. For instance, if one's choice of burial or cremation has not been made known in advance, additional anxiety or discord amongst family members can arise.
If you do have the foresight to make prior arrangement with us, it is, of course, advisable to inform your executors or next of kin.
We are proud to be nominated Funeral Directors for Chosen Heritage Limited and Dignity, the country’s leading companies specialising in pre-arranged funeral plans.
Death registration
By law, a death must be registered in the district in which it occurs. We will advise you of the whereabouts of the relevant office and can assist with transport and Registrar appointments. Under normal circumstances the death certificate should be taken to the Registrar with, if possible, the deceased's medical card.
We’ve provided answers below to some frequently asked questions:
Who can register the death?
- Any relative of the deceased
- Any person present at death
- The occupier of the house where the death occurred
- The person arranging the funeral (NOT the funeral director)
The procedure for registering a death is a simple interview with the Registrar who will require the following information:
- Date and place of birth and death
- The full name of the deceased
- Home address of the deceased
- The marital status of the deceased
- The occupation (if any) of the deceased
- If the deceased is female, her maiden name and her husband's full name and occupation.
The Registrar will issue what is known as a Green Certificate which should be handed to your funeral director as soon as possible. This is a certificate giving permission for the body to be buried. Copies of the entry of death (often known as death certificate) may be obtained from the Registrar upon payment of the appropriate fee and will be required for insurance purposes, probate, bank accounts, private pension schemes, national savings certificates, premium bonds, etc.
Death at home
Contact your doctor (or the doctor on duty) who will certify that death has taken place and, if he or she is able, issue a death certificate. These days, most families prefer that the deceased is conveyed to the funeral director's chapel of rest at an early stage, we can arrange this.
Death in hospital
The nursing staff or the appropriate officer will advise you when and from where to collect the death certificate.
In all cases, the death certificate must be taken to the Registrar of Births Deaths & Marriages for official record purposes (see "Registration").
Death in a care home
The above procedure is likely to have been carried out, with your permission, by the Matron or Warden who will advise of the whereabouts of the death certificate.