What a funeral costs with us
Asking about money after a death feels wrong to a lot of people. It is not, and you should never have to ask twice. Everything we charge is on this page.
A funeral bill is three separate things
This catches nearly everybody out. A large part of what you pay us is not ours. It passes straight through to somebody else and we take nothing from it.
One: our own charges
What we do. Making the arrangements, the paperwork, bringing your relative into our care and looking after them, the coffin, the hearse, and the funeral director and bearers on the day. This is the part we set, and the part you can compare between firms.
Two: other people's fees
The crematorium, the cemetery or the churchyard, and the minister or celebrant. These are set by them, not by us. They appear on our invoice because we pay them on your behalf, at cost, and we add nothing.
Three: anything you choose to add
A different coffin, limousines, flowers, orders of service, a notice in the paper, catering. Every one of these is optional. A funeral with none of them is still a proper funeral.
Three ways of doing it
Attended funeral
from £3,295
Our full service, with a funeral you choose the shape of. Your own date and time, any coffin from our range, cars if you want them, and the service wherever you would like it.
Nothing is restricted.
Simple attended funeral
£2,650
The same care, with the parts that cost most taken out. There is a service and you are there.
What is limited: the crematorium gives us the day and the time, it is our simple veneer coffin, there is a hearse but no limousine, and the service is at the crematorium rather than at a church.
Unattended cremation
£1,395
The cremation happens early in the morning with nobody present, and the ashes come back to you. There is no service and no procession.
The crematorium fee is already included. There is nothing further to pay.
The first two prices are our charges only. You will also need to pay the crematorium or the cemetery, and the minister or celebrant. Those figures are further down this page.
Standardised Price List
All funeral directors are legally required to publish this price list for a standardised set of products and services. This is to help you think through your options and make choices, and to let you compare prices between different funeral directors, because prices can vary.
Prices correct from 1 January 2026. These prices apply at all three of our branches. Download this list as a PDF if you would rather print it.
| What this includes | Price |
|---|---|
| This is a funeral where family or friends attend the burial or cremation. Taking care of all necessary legal and administrative arrangements. | Included |
| Collecting and transporting the deceased person from the place of death, normally within 15 miles of the funeral director's premises, into the funeral director's care. | Included |
| Care of the deceased person before the funeral in appropriate facilities. The deceased person will be kept at our premises in a refrigerated chapel of rest. | Included |
| Providing a suitable coffin, a simple veneer one. | Included |
| At a date and time you agree with the funeral director, taking the deceased person direct to the agreed cemetery or crematorium, normally within 20 miles of the funeral director's premises, in a hearse or other appropriate vehicle. | Included |
| Total price of our attended funeral | £3,295 |
In addition, you will usually need to pay for a cremation fee or burial fees, and for a minister or celebrant. These are shown below.
| Fee | Price |
|---|---|
| Cremation fee, Marbury Vale Crematorium | £995 |
| Cremation fee, Alderton Road Crematorium | £1,040 |
| Burial fee, Marbury Cemetery, new grave (interment £1,190 plus exclusive right of burial £1,450) | £2,640 |
| Burial fee, Marbury Cemetery, reopening an existing grave | £1,190 |
| Burial fee, parish churchyard, set by the Church of England | from £395 |
| Minister or celebrant fee | £230 |
Burial fees are the charge made for digging and closing a new grave, or for reopening and closing an existing one. For a new grave you will also need to pay for the plot; for an existing grave with a memorial in place you may need to pay a removal and replacement fee, and the cemetery may charge other fees on top.
There are no longer any doctors' fees for a cremation in England and Wales. The two medical certificates that used to be required were removed in September 2024 when the medical examiner system came in. If you are quoted a doctors' fee by anybody, ask them about it.
Third-party fees are shown as at 1 January 2026. Crematoria and councils usually change their charges in April, and we will tell you the current figure when we arrange.
| What this includes | Price |
|---|---|
| This is a funeral where family and friends do not attend the burial or cremation. Taking care of all necessary legal and administrative arrangements. | Included |
| Collecting and transporting the deceased person from the place of death, normally within 15 miles of the funeral director's premises, into the funeral director's care. | Included |
| Care of the deceased person before the funeral in appropriate facilities. | Included |
| Providing a suitable coffin, a simple veneer one. | Included |
| Taking the deceased person to the crematorium at a date and time set by the crematorium. | Included |
| The cremation fee. | Included |
| Returning the ashes to you at one of our branches, or delivering them to your home within 15 miles. | Included |
| Total price of our unattended funeral | £1,395 |
There is nothing further to pay for an unattended cremation.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffins other than the simple veneer coffin | £185 to £1,650 |
| Willow, wicker, bamboo or cardboard coffin for a natural burial | from £320 |
| Hygienic treatment (embalming), where you ask for it or the circumstances require it | £145 |
| Additional limousine, per vehicle | £280 |
| Collection from more than 15 miles away, per mile | £3.50 |
| Collection outside office hours | £185 |
| Bearers beyond the four included, each | £45 |
| Service on a Saturday | £395 |
| Visiting your relative in our chapel of rest, during office hours | No charge |
| Visiting your relative outside office hours or on a Sunday | £95 |
| Orders of service, printed by us, per 50 | £120 |
| Casket or urn for ashes | from £75 |
| Keeping ashes at our premises | No charge, no time limit |
| Notice in the local newspaper | at cost, from £85 |
| Funeral notice on this website | No charge |
| Flowers, by Whitcombe Flowers | from £48 |
Every item on this list is optional. Prices correct from 1 January 2026.
Funerals for children
We make no charge for our services for a child under 18, including babies lost before birth. Cremation and burial fees for children are also waived locally under the Children's Funeral Fund. In almost every case there is nothing for you to pay at all.
Our interests and donations
Funeral directors have to tell you about any business interests they hold, and about any money they give to the sorts of organisation that might recommend them. Here is ours.
Business interests
Whitcombe & Sons is owned entirely by the Whitcombe family. We do not own, and are not owned by, any crematorium, cemetery, burial ground, coroner's service or funeral plan provider.
We own Whitcombe Flowers, which supplies floral tributes to families we look after. If you would rather use a different florist, that is entirely fine and it makes no difference to anything else.
We receive no commission, referral fee or other payment from any hospital, hospice, care home, nursing home, hospital trust, coroner's office or police force, and we do not pay any of them for referrals.
Donations we have made
In the year to 31 December 2025 we made the following donations:
- Marbury Hospice, £1,200 towards the day therapy unit
- Alderton Community Hospital League of Friends, £500
- Ketton Green Cricket Club, £250 for ground maintenance
- Marbury & District Bereavement Support, £750
None of these donations was made in exchange for referrals, and none of the organisations above recommends us to families.
If you are worried about paying
Tell us at the start rather than at the end. We have this conversation most weeks and there is nothing embarrassing about it.
Three things worth knowing:
- The Funeral Expenses Payment. If you receive certain benefits, the government may pay towards the funeral. It does not usually cover all of it. Apply within six months of the funeral.
- The estate normally pays. Banks will often release money from the deceased's account to settle a funeral bill before probate is granted. We can invoice the bank directly.
- Our invoice is not due on the day. Our terms are 30 days from the funeral, and if that is going to be difficult, ring and say so. We would far rather agree something with you than send a letter.
We will also give you a written estimate before anything is confirmed, and the final invoice will match it unless you have asked us to change something. If it does not, we have made a mistake and you should tell us.