Focus on Middleton: S.Wellens and Sons Ltd Funeral Directors

S.Wellens and Sons Ltd Funeral Directors

S. Wellens and Sons Ltd Funeral Directors began in 1870. To date five generations of the Wellens family have been involved in the business, with one member of the Wellens family still working there today.

The Wellens family were responsible for the building of the first chapel of rest in Middleton and today they remain in the same premises they moved to in 1955;
121 Long Street has everything under one roof – offices, seven chapels of rest, a coffin shop and two garages.

When S Wellens and Sons was set up they were one of 17 undertakers in Middleton, with a much smaller population than today, now they are one of just two.

Wellens also have chapels of rest in New Moston and Chadderton.

Rochdale Online reporter Laura Wild met up with the company’s General Manager, Kathryn Turner, to find out more.

Ms Turner joined S Wellens and Sons five years ago. Whilst at university she worked at the funeral directors on a Saturday morning and eventually she was asked to manage the business, although she never thought she would end up there.

Ms Turner explained why she thinks the service is still there with so many other undertakers closing down, “I think it is price and service, we have a lower price but we provide an excellent service. Nothing is too much trouble and we aim to do as much as we can. The staff have been here for a long time too and whilst times may have changed since 1870, we all work hard to ensure that everything we do is done with care and consideration at what is obviously a difficult time for the families we deal with.

Of course, working in a funeral directors must be different to any other job, Ms Turner said: “It can be hard, it is hard, you have to have a strong character and a good sense of humour.

“There isn’t a typical day, it is hard to describe because of the nature of what we do. There could be an array of things to do in a day, it could be sitting down with a family to arrange a funeral, it could be repatriation, arranging for a body to be flown home, sourcing an unusual piece of music, it could be pre-planning a funeral with someone – that is becoming more popular. Then there is organising the logistical elements, like the staff and the drivers.

“It can be a very frantic job. It isn’t a job where you go home at 5pm and you’re done. If somebody asks for something it isn’t about doing it next week, you drop everything and you do it then.

“We can’t make mistakes because we can’t go back and do it again, but nobody is perfect, and if we do make a mistake it is about how we handle it – thankfully, it isn’t something that happens often.”

Ms Turner explained what she enjoys the most about her job, she said: “It is being able to make things easier for a family, being able to say when a family is at their lowest point that we will do whatever needs doing to take the pressure off them.

“I can’t imagine doing anything else. It is very male dominated and lots of people expect to be dealt with by a man but it is gradually becoming more common to see women in the profession which is definitely a good thing!”

“It is a very serious job, we are very professional, courteous and kind at all times. Sometimes though there are times to laugh, families often want to talk about their loved ones and tell funny stories but we have to know when it is appropriate to have a laugh and when it isn’t.”

Part of Ms Turners role is to help people pre-plan their funerals, these may be the terminally ill planning their own funeral, or somebody of a younger age with no illness who wants to make their funeral arrangements.

“These can be very specific arrangements,” said Ms Turner “A list of want you don’t want is often as useful as what you do want. Making your own arrangements gives you peace of mind because the decisions have been made.

Ms Turner added: “One of the best things about this job is the people you meet – I have met some really interesting people and have developed friendships with both individuals and families over the years. This is certainly the case with the whole team here – if one of the Funeral Directors arranges a funeral with a family, it is often the case that the family will ask for the same funeral director for subsequent funerals within their family.”

Ms Turner believes one of the reasons the business is still going is because the staff at S Wellens are local people who get involved in the community and take great pride in everything they do. “At the end of the day, it’s about trust – families are placing their trust in us and we have to deliver”.

Ms Turner said the stories surrounding funeral directors and crematoriums worry people and they can be very concerned. To help them Ms Turner said nothing at Wellens is a secret and people can have a look round “If we said no, it would seem we were hiding something and we have nothing to hide,” she said. As a business that’s been trading for 140 years in Middleton, we’ve realised along the way that people need an honest, straightforward response and this is what we give. Geoff and Norman Wellens, who between them ran the business for over 50 years, and are still active members of the community, have placed great emphasis on this over the years. That’s my role now – to ensure that S Wellens & Sons continues to provide a traditional and professional service to every family we serve. It’s a role I take very seriously !

Being a funeral director means working 365 days a year and being on call 24-hours-a-day seven days a week. Ms Turner said: “All the staff are flexible, I think you have to be prepared for that when you enter this profession.”

Although just one member of the Wellens family remains in the business Ms Turner is keen to emphasise that little has changed.

“There is a real family touch, we still treat everyone the same, the whole feel of the place is really quite homely.”