Our family, here to look after yours
Arranging funerals for families across Marbury, Alderton and Ketton Green since 1908.
Photograph: the family outside the Marbury office Whatever time it is, ring 01632 960 100
A small firm, and we intend to stay one
Whitcombe & Sons was started by Albert Whitcombe in 1908, working out of a joinery workshop on Church Street in Marbury. Four generations later we are still on Church Street, and the business is still owned by the family.
Today there are three of us running it. Robert looks after Marbury, Helen looks after Alderton, and James opened our Ketton Green office in 2011. Between us we have arranged funerals for a good many families in this part of the county, and in a lot of cases for two or three generations of the same one.
We have never wanted to be the biggest firm in the area. We have wanted to be the one people recommend to their neighbours.
Nothing is handed to a stranger
A good deal of what a funeral director does can be bought in from elsewhere. We have chosen to keep this work in the family, so that the same people look after your relative from the moment we collect them.
Our own chapels
Each of our three branches has its own chapel of rest and preparation room. Your relative stays at the branch nearest you.
Our own vehicles
Two hearses and three limousines, kept and driven by us. We do not hire in on the day.
Our own florists
Whitcombe Flowers works from the yard behind the Marbury office. Tributes are made here, by hand.
Our own bearers
The men and women who carry your relative work for us and have done for years. They are not agency staff.
Reviews from the families we have looked after
Every review below is a verified Google review, shown exactly as it was written.
Robert sat with us for two hours and never once looked at the clock. Nothing was too much trouble, and he explained every cost before we agreed to anything. The Marbury team could not have been kinder… read more
They rang me the week after the funeral to see how I was getting on. I did not expect that. Helen at Alderton went well beyond what I thought a funeral director did… read more
We had a small budget and we were never once made to feel awkward about it. James went through the price list line by line and found us a way to do it properly… read more
Google rating: 4.9 out of 5, based on 214 reviews across our three offices. Read all reviews
Four things you can hold us to
We answer the phone
Day or night, one of the family or one of our staff picks up. Never an answering service.
We tell you the price first
You get a written estimate before anything is agreed, and the final invoice matches it.
We do not sell to you
You will not be steered towards a more expensive coffin or a longer service. Choosing simply is not choosing less.
We stay in touch
Our help does not stop on the day. Ashes, memorials, paperwork: ring us whenever.
Three offices, each with its own people
Every office has its own number and its own team. Ring whichever is nearest. If it is out of hours, use the number at the top of the page and it will reach one of us at home.
Marbury
Marbury
MB1 2AE
- Office hours
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Saturday, 9am to 12.30pm - Out of hours
- 01632 960 100, answered by Robert or James
- Areas served
- Marbury, Colefield, Stourton Ash, Nether Bramley, Marbury Heath and the villages along the Colefield road.
- Chapel of rest
- Two visiting rooms. Visits by arrangement, including evenings and Sundays.
Alderton
Alderton
AL8 3RG
- Office hours
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
- Out of hours
- 01632 960 100, answered by Helen
- Areas served
- Alderton, Winterbourne Cross, Little Hadfield, Ashcombe and the Alderton Road estates.
- Chapel of rest
- One visiting room, on the ground floor with level access from the High Street.
Ketton Green
Ketton Green
KG4 9BT
- Office hours
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm
- Out of hours
- 01632 960 100, answered by James
- Areas served
- Ketton Green, Ketton St Mary, Hollow End, Barrow Fen and the outlying farms.
- Chapel of rest
- One visiting room. Parking directly outside for four cars.
Telling people is one of the hardest jobs
For every family we look after, we will put a notice on this website free of charge. It carries the date, time and place of the service, what the family has asked for regarding flowers and donations, and a space for people to leave a message.
You get a link you can send to whoever you like. It saves a great many phone calls at a time when you may not want to make them.
Notices are only published when the family asks us to, and we will take one down the same day if you change your mind.
Our Standardised Price List
Every funeral director in the country has to publish a price list covering the same set of services, in the same format. It is there so that you can compare one firm against another without having to ask anybody an awkward question.
Ours is published in full on this website as a page you can read on your phone, and as a PDF if you would rather print it. We also publish our other charges, what the crematoria and cemeteries charge, and our register of charitable donations.
- SAIF, the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors
- British Institute of Embalmers
- The Good Funeral Guide
- Marbury Chamber of Trade
There is no wrong time to ring
If a death has just happened, ring us before anything else. You do not need paperwork, and you do not need to have decided anything. We will tell you what happens next.
Or write to us at office@example.invalid, and we will reply the same working day.
If it is not urgent and you would rather come in and sit down with somebody, ring the branch nearest you and we will make an appointment at a time that suits.