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: Funerary Practices in England and Wales

Funerary Practices in England and Wales sets English and Welsh funerary practice in its wider legal, national and local governance framework, including the continuing role of the Church of England. It provides the historical context for current practice, provides data on new trends in burial and cremation and examines recent developments including direct cremation and alkaline hydrolysis. It provides detail of current practice and includes a detailed description of a typical funeral, including commemorative practice, and discussion of funeral costs. Chapters address the legalities and technicalities of burial and cremation, explaining the concept of burial rights and the technicalities of grave construction, and outlining cremation certification requirements and the process of cremation. This book is a valuable desk-top resource to give a broader frame of reference for policy makers, and to provide explanation of key concepts for practitioners who may be new to this area of work. The text will be of particular value to academics that may be unfamiliar with the legal, technical and professional aspects of the funerary industry. The text is fully referenced, with an additional bibliography of further reading, and includes illustrations, charts, tables, diagrams and boxed text including key information.

Part of the series Funerary International edited by Dr Julie Rugg, University of York, UK.

Available now ISBN 9781787692268   Price £40.00

Forthcoming Lectures

 

2019

 

The Changing Face of Funerals in London

31 October 2019

Westminster Archive Centre

 

Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory: Anglo-Catholics and their Funerals

4 November 2019

Lecture for the Friends of St Cuthbert’s Church Earl’s Court

2020

 

The Cemeteries of South London

1 February 2020

North West Kent Family History Society

Title to be confirmed

12 February 2020

Society of Genealogists

 

 The Cemeteries of London

31 March 2020

Monuments and Mausolea Trust

 

 

Using funeral and burial records for research and genealogy

4 June 2020

Society of Genealogists

Title to be confirmed

27 June 2020

British Institute of Embalmers (Midlands Division)

 

Forthcoming Publications

The Honoured Dead: London Cemeteries in Old Photographs.

Due for publication shortly by Strange Attractor Press.

Current Research & Articles in Preparation

* Funeral Directors and the 1977 Strike

* New edition (with Hugh Meller) of London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer

‘North Surrey and the 1918 Spanish Flu’ Surrey History

‘The Proposed Rail Service to the City of London Cemetery’ Great Eastern Journal

‘Well-known in Literary and Scientific Circles’. Who was Mrs Pickersgill, the first person to be cremated at Woking? Pharos International

You can contact me by emailing info@brianparsons.org.uk

W S Bond Bunny France Committed to the Cleansing Flame Evolution of the British Funeral Industry From Brooke Street to Brookwood Funerary Practice in England & Wales Glades of Remembrance J H Kenyon State Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill London Cemeteries London Way of Death Frederick W Paine T H Sanders & Sons Undertaker at Work

Burial Cremation Cremation (Early History) Embalming Funeral Directing Funeral Service History Reviews Other Publications Current Research

Earlier Lectures