Burgess & Harper Funeral Directors

Pippa was phenomenal! Everything she handled was done in the kindest and most dignified ways. For the courtesy calls and assistance at times where I came to the directors, I honestly can’t praise her enough. The team were amazing and how they went above and beyond to work around our family whilst Dad was in their care is something I will never forget. Tony and the team were so attentive on the day, and carried the day with the utmost respect and professionalism. Everyone at B&H were so kind and welcoming on every occasion, now having such a personal loss I understand why B&H have been a go to in my community for so many generations and I will without doubt use them in future. From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of my mother and our family, thank you so much to Pippa, Tony and the entire team at Burgess & Harper

The service at Burgess & Harper was excellent. Everyone was kind and professional and Pip who was our main contact was extremely compassionate and efficient. We would highly recommend them to anyone who wants a professional and compassionate team to support the home going of a loved one.

I would like to make clear that the staff we dealt with were kind and polite throughout, and I appreciate their manner during a difficult time. However, the overall handling of matters and standard of service was not acceptable. I was not kept properly informed about important matters relating to my father’s funeral, despite being his eldest child and the person who paid for his burial plot. Communication throughout the process was poor and left me feeling excluded and distressed. Most upsetting of all, the coffin collapsed during the funeral. This caused embarrassment and distress in front of family and mourners on a day when my father should have been treated with dignity and respect. Comments were made by attendees about the poor quality of the coffin (comments like "the coffin looks like something from Temu") While I understand the cost of the coffin has been deducted from the funeral charges, I do not feel this properly reflects the seriousness of what happened or the impact it had on myself and my family.

The whole team were exemplary throughout from purchase of a funeral plan to the planning and conduct of my father’s funeral. Pip and Jill were extremely sensitive and caring. A particular mention to our funeral director on the day, Tony Kellar and his team, who guided us through the day with great calm, presence and dignity. We would have no hesitation in using Burgess and Harper again in the future.

Letting a loved one go into that unknown country from which none returns is one of the hardest farewells we’ve faced, especially with this loved person. From the moment I called Burgess and Harper, to say our beloved had passed at home, their compassionate professionality immediately shone through when speaking with the office manager, Jill Till, to tearfully ask “what now?” It was then, after speaking with Jill, that we knew this was a service whose team were offering expert guidance with profound sympathy, when she reassured us, we will look after your loved one with care, kindness and respect. Thereafter, their distinguished specialist, Funeral Manager, Andrew Foster, came to our home. He was amazing; a calm presence who took beautiful care and charge of our beloved to begin their final journey on earth. Andrew, an amazing man with gravitas and grace along with his colleague Tim Deans, is outstanding. Taking our beloved with them, they left us with a sense of tranquillity, knowing she was in the care of excellent dignified, kind people. The Burgess and Harper team is incredible. Their conscientious mindfulness in dealing with people - who are stunned by grief and discombobulated by the unexpected - is a deeply moving experience. They are, in their different roles, along with, Pip Owens, Helen Roberts, are anchors of calm, providing steady, compassionate expertise in moments when being so overwhelmed, we felt we’d be drowned by our sadness. They assisted us with gentleness and attentiveness as we finalised plans; their actions, showed their peaceful acceptance of death as a part of life, so working with them on this Celebration of Life, made us remember our joys and love for our cherished one. Besieged with grieve, the day arrived for our loved one to complete the last chapter of their journey. This momentous day, was taken on by elite specialist, funeral director, Tony Kellar, and his superb team,- each one brilliant and thoughtful, - consisted of: Neal Kelshaw, Dan Chapman and Karina Mitchell. Tony, like a great orchestral conductor, directed everyone and everything beautifully. He created movement and flows, like a musical genius moving all participants through this final ritual and celebration with such expertise, we could show undeterred our grief and joy inside our tears. With grace and dignity, Tony, with a touch of the sublime, helped finalise our joyful graveside ceremony. Definitely if you want to have a ‘Celebration of Life,’ for someone you love who is now passed into the non-physical, then Burgess and Harper are the exceptionally accomplished team who will give you that gift to remember that significant day, with happiness and love. I would say that team may be touched with the Divine. But that’s just our incredible experience with them. "For those who seek to understand it, death is a highly creative force. The dying are the ones who teach us about the meaning of life."