© Brian Parsons 2018 | Contact Me | Site Map
Photo courtesy Richmond Local History Society
Hello, and welcome to my website.
I work freelance providing a training, consultancy and research service under the banner of Funeral Service Training (London).
My website provides further information about me, my publications and my lectures. Links to all of these can be found above.
Meanwhile, you can contact me by emailing info@brianparsons.org.uk
My New Book: The Evolution of the British Funeral Industry in the 20th Century
The Evolution of the British Funeral Industry in the 20th Century examines the shifts that have taken place in the funeral industry since 1900, focusing on the figure of the undertaker and exploring how organizational change and attempts to gain recognition as a professional service provider saw the role morph into that of ‘funeral director’. As the disposal of the dead increased in complexity during the twentieth century, the role of the undertaker / funeral director has mirrored this change. Whilst the undertaker of 1900 primarily encoffined and transported the body, today’s funeral director provides other services, such as taking responsibility for the body of the deceased and embalming, and has overseen changes such as the increasing preference for cremation, the impact of technology on the production of coffins and the shift to motorized transport. These factors, together with the problem of succession for some family-
Part of the series Emerald Studies in Death and Culture edited by Dr Ruth Penfold-
Available now ISBN 9781 7874 36305 Price £60.00
Forthcoming Lectures
Lectures on the History of Funeral Service at F W Paine Kingston
A poster for these lectures can be downloaded here
Tuesday 22 May 2018
The History of FW Paine
(Brian Parsons)
Tuesday 19 June 2018
‘The Brookwood Necropolis Railway’
Tuesday 10 July 2018
London and the Spanish Flu
(Brian Parsons)
For further details please call Sue on 0208 547 1556
Forthcoming Publications
From Undertaker to Funeral Director -
London Cemeteries in Old Photographs. Due for publication in 2018
Current Research & Articles in Preparation
* Funeral Directors and the 1977 Strike
* The Transportation of Coffins by Rail
You can contact me by emailing info@brianparsons.org.uk
W. S. Bond Funeral Directors: A Brief History
By Brian Parsons
Paperback, with 20 pages, and profusely illustrated with black and white and colour illustrations
Published by Dignity.
Price: Free
Copies are available direct from
Brian Parsons -