I’ll be honest with you. When someone dies, the last thing you want is a funeral director reading from a script or pushing expensive packages you don’t need.
Welham Jones Funerals & Memorials have served the residents of Tunbridge Wells since 2015. We are a family run business, not some corporate outfit pretending to be local. When you ring, you’ll speak to our Tunbridge Wells branch. When we arrange your funeral, we’ll be there on the day.
We’ve lived and worked in this town long enough to know most of the vicar at King Charles the Martyr [3] by name. We’ve done funerals at pretty much every church in the area, King Charles the Martyr [3], St Augustine’s Catholic Church on Crescent Road [4], St Barnabas up on Stanley Road, little village churches out in Pembury and Bidborough. This town’s got about 60,000 people in it, and over the years we’ve helped hundreds of families through what’s probably the worst week of their lives [1].
Here’s the thing about funerals, most people have never organised one. You’re grieving, you’re tired, and suddenly there’s paperwork and decisions and phone calls. We take that off your plate. All of it. Traditional church service, simple cremation at Kent and Sussex Crematorium [2], burial at Woodbury Park Cemetery, whatever feels right for your family, we’ll make it happen.
What actually is a “traditional funeral”?
A traditional funeral service takes place at a church or the crematorium chapel, somewhere people can gather. Lasts about 45 minutes, give or take. There’s music (whatever you want, not just hymns), a few readings, maybe someone stands up to speak about the person who’s died. A celebrant or minister leads the whole thing so you don’t have to worry about what happens when.
Most families we work with pick either burial or cremation. Burial’s straightforward, the coffin goes in the ground at a cemetery or churchyard. Cremation happens at Kent and Sussex Crematorium down on Benhall Mill Road [5]. The coffin goes into the cremator, and a few days later we bring you the ashes in whatever urn or container you’ve chosen.
You can have a full church service before either option. Or a simple graveside ceremony. Or something at the crematorium chapel. Religious, not religious, bit of both, honestly, there’s no rulebook here. We’ve done funerals where the vicar’s been involved, and we’ve done ones where someone’s friend got up and told stories for 20 minutes. Both were perfect because that’s what the family wanted.
King Charles the Martyr [6], that big church at 3 Warwick Park near the Pantiles, that’s where we do a lot of funerals. Beautiful building. Very old (1676, if you’re interested). There’s decent parking round the back, which matters more than you’d think when you’ve got elderly relatives coming.
St Augustine’s Catholic Church sits on Crescent Road, basically round the corner from our Tunbridge Wells funeral home. Modern building, lovely people. St Barnabas is up on Stanley Road, bit smaller, very welcoming congregation.
Each church has its own way of doing things. Some vicars want to meet you at home first for a chat. Others are happy to work from notes. The Catholic churches have specific requirements if you’re having a full Mass. We know all this stuff already, so you don’t have to figure it out.
Now, if the person who died wasn’t religious, or actively disliked churches, you’re not obligated to have a church service just because “that’s what you do.” We can arrange something at the crematorium chapel instead. Or a village hall. Or someone’s back garden, if that’s what they wanted. The point is making it feel right, not following some imaginary rule.
Kent and Sussex Crematorium [7], everyone just calls it Benhall crematorium because it’s on Benhall Mill Road. That’s where pretty much every cremation in Tunbridge Wells happens. It’s set back from the road, surrounded by gardens. Peaceful spot, actually.
The chapel fits about 90 people sitting down, more if some people stand at the back. You can book 20-minute slots (first thing in the morning or last thing in the afternoon), 30-minute slots, or 45-minute slots. Most families go for 45 minutes, gives you time to do things properly without feeling rushed [8].
The cost of a cremation: a cremation works out £2,000 to £5,000 cheaper than burial. The crematorium itself charges between £820* and £1,010* depending what day and time you book. Our fees stay the same whether you’re burying or cremating.
After the cremation, usually takes 3 or 4 days, you can either collect the ashes from the crematorium or we’ll drop them off to you. Then you decide what to do with them. Some families scatter them somewhere that meant something. Others keep them at home in an urn. Some bury them in a family plot. Some split them between relatives. There’s no deadline on this decision, take your time.
Burials happen at Kent and Sussex Cemetery, Woodbury Park Cemetery, occasionally at a local churchyard if there’s space available (most are full, to be honest), or even at green burial sites.
On the day, we lead the pallbearers carrying the coffin from the hearse to the graveside. Everyone gathers round. The celebrant or vicar says some words. Usually there’s a moment where family members place flowers on the coffin, or drop a handful of earth in, that final goodbye. It hits hard, that moment. But a lot of people find it helps with closure.
Cost: burial plots in Tunbridge Wells cost anywhere from £758 to £3,638* depending where you’re buying and whether you lived in the borough. That’s just for the plot itself, the actual patch of ground. Then you’re paying for someone to dig the grave (another £1,213* or thereabouts), plus the coffin, our services, and everything else. We’ll write it all down for you before you commit to anything.
Why do people choose burial over cremation? Usually it’s because they want somewhere specific to visit. A place to take flowers on birthdays or anniversaries. Or it’s a religious thing. Or there’s a family plot with space and that’s where everyone goes. All valid reasons.
Let’s talk funeral prices because this matters.
Our attended funeral package (that’s the Competition and Market Authority’s Attended (CMA A) – funeral package standardised one) costs £3,018.75*. That’s as of October 2025. This covers collecting your loved one from wherever they’ve died, looking after them until the funeral, providing a coffin, the hearse, and us conducting the service on the day.
But that’s not the full picture. On top of what we charge, there’s third-party costs, stuff we pay to other people on your behalf:
Work it out and you’re looking at roughly £5,000 to £6,000* for a straightforward funeral with cremation. Burial costs more, potentially a lot more, because of the cemetery fees.
We’ll give you everything in writing before you decide anything. No “oh and there’s also this charge” surprises three weeks later. That’s just not how we operate.
Direct cremation’s (CMA U – Competition and Market Authority’s Unattended – funeral package or a Purely Cremation) become pretty popular lately. No service. No one there. We collect your loved one, put them in a simple coffin, take them to the crematorium at a pre-arranged time, and that’s it. Few days later, we bring the ashes back to you.
Costs CMA U£1,582.50* with us, and Purely Cremation £1,773.50*
Why would anyone choose a direct cremation in Tunbridge Wells? Usually because they’re planning their own funeral and they genuinely don’t want any fuss. Or because the family wants to do something completely different, maybe a celebration of life at home two months later when everyone can actually get time off work, rather than rushing into a service within three weeks.
It’s not for everyone. Some families absolutely need that formal structure, that ritual of gathering together. And that’s completely fine. This is just another option, one that’s growing, especially among people who look at traditional funerals and think “that’s not really me.”
I’m not going to pretend we’re the only funeral directors in Tunbridge Wells. We’re not. But here’s what you get with us:
We’re actually independent. Father and daughter running our own business. We’re not a branch of Dignity or Co-op with “Jones” stuck on the shopfront to make it sound local. When you ring our number, you will speak with the funeral arrange at the Tunbridge Wells’ funeral home. When you come in for the arrangement meeting, you’re talking to a local person.
We know which celebrants are good with young families and which ones are better at traditional services. We know that the florist on the High Street needs three days’ notice, and we know where to park at basically every church and cemetery in West Kent.
That local knowledge, it sounds like nothing, but when you’re organising a funeral, it’s everything. You don’t want to be ringing round trying to work out if St Augustine’s has parking or what time slots are available at the crematorium. We already know. We’ve done this hundreds of times.
We’re members of NAFD and SAIF, the professional bodies that mean we carry proper insurance, follow codes of conduct, and keep up with training. Not because we have to, but because we reckon it matters.
Someone’s died. What do you do?
Call us. Doesn’t matter what time, 3pm on a Tuesday or 2am on a Sunday. We answer. We’ll come and collect your loved one from wherever they are, home, hospital, nursing home, and bring them back to our Tunbridge Wells funeral home on Crescent Road where we’ll look after them.
Then, when you’re ready (and there’s no rush on this bit), you come in and we sit down together and talk about the funeral arrangements. We’ll ask about the person who died. What they were like. Whether they left any instructions. What you’re thinking in terms of burial or cremation. What your budget looks like. If there’s religious stuff we need to know about.
Time-wise, most funerals happen about 3 to 5 weeks after someone’s died. Depends on crematorium availability mostly, they get booked up. Also depends on whether there’s family flying in from abroad, or if it’s a religious funeral that needs to happen on specific days.
All the paperwork, death certificates, cremation forms, burial permits, we handle that. We’ll coordinate with vicars, celebrants, florists, caterers, whoever needs coordinating. You just turn up on the day.
Speaking of the day: we arrive early, make sure everything’s set up right. We’re there throughout to guide you through what happens when. If something needs changing at the last minute, we sort it. And we don’t disappear the second the service ends, we stay until you’re ready to leave.
We’re at 39 Crescent Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2LZ. Officially open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. But if someone dies at midnight on Saturday, call anyway, we’ll answer.
Telephone: 01892 300330
Most people just ring rather than emailing. Funerals are too personal for forms and automated replies.
We cover Royal Tunbridge Wells and everywhere round here, Southborough, Pembury, Bidborough, Lamberhurst, Langton Green, Groombridge, all the villages across West Kent. If you’re further out, ring anyway. Either we’ll come to you or we’ll recommend someone good who’s local to you.
Here’s the thing: losing someone hurts enough without the admin and decisions and phone calls making it worse. That’s meant to be our job, handling all that while you focus on your family and getting through the next few weeks. So let us do it.
*NOTE: Prices are correct as of October 2025
Between £5,000 and £6,000* for a cremation funeral, all in. Sometimes a bit more.
Here’s how that breaks down: our fees are around £3,700 to £4,500* depending what you need. Then there’s the stuff we pay to other people on your behalf, crematorium charges (£820-£1,010*) [9], the two doctors who have to sign cremation forms (£164* total), celebrant or minister (£200-£350*), plus whatever you want for flowers, printed orders of service, that sort of thing. Usually adds another £1,300 to £1,500*.
Burial costs more, potentially a lot more, because you’re paying for the grave itself (anywhere from £758* to £3,638* depending on the cemetery), plus someone to dig it (another £1,213*).
Our CMA standardised package is £3,018.75* as of October 2025. We’ll write everything down for you in plain English before you commit to anything.
Usually about 3 to 5 weeks from when someone dies to the funeral actually happening.
The main limiting factor is the crematorium, Kent and Sussex Crematorium [10] books up fast, especially the decent time slots (nobody wants 9am on a Tuesday if they can help it). If you need specific religious dates, that can stretch things out too.
There’s also legal requirements. Before a cremation can happen, two doctors have to examine the medical records and sign certificates. That takes at least 5 working days, sometimes longer if the doctors are busy or there’s queries.
We can do faster if needed, if there’s family flying in from Australia who can only stay a week, we’ll move heaven and earth to make it work. But realistically, 3-5 weeks gives everyone time to sort travel, book time off work, and make proper arrangements rather than rushing.
Cremation’s when the coffin goes into the cremator at high temperature and you get the ashes back a few days later. Burial’s when the coffin goes in the ground at a cemetery or churchyard.
Money-wise, cremation usually works out £2,000 to £5,000 cheaper. You’ve also got more flexibility with ashes, you can scatter them, split them between family, keep them at home, bury them later, whatever feels right. There’s no rush to decide.
Burial gives you a specific place to visit. A grave you can put flowers on. Some people find that comforting. Plus certain religions require burial rather than cremation.
Both can have full services beforehand, church, chapel, celebrations, the works. The burial-or-cremation bit is just what happens at the end.
No, you can use any crematorium you want.
But Kent and Sussex Crematorium on Benhall Mill Road is the local one for Tunbridge Wells [12]. It’s a 10-minute drive from town. Most people’s family and friends can get there easily.
You could use Wealden Crematorium or Vinters Park in Maidstone if you preferred. They’re both about 30-40 minutes away. Sometimes makes sense if that’s where the person lived, or if there’s family up that way. But then you’re asking everyone to travel further, and travel time affects the whole day’s schedule.
We’ll help you figure out what makes most sense for your situation.
Absolutely. We do loads of non-religious funerals.
Most families go with a humanist celebrant or a civil celebrant, someone who conducts a ceremony without any prayers or religious content. They’ll still do readings, music, tributes, all that. Just no hymns or vicars.
Kent and Sussex Crematorium’s chapel is multi-faith, meaning there’s no fixed crosses or religious symbols stuck to the walls [13]. It works for any type of service.
We know several good celebrants who specialise in non-religious ceremonies. They’ll meet with you, get to know about the person who died, and write something that actually reflects their life rather than using generic religious templates.
Call us straight away, 01892 300330, any time, day or night.
We’ll come and collect your loved one and bring them to our funeral home where we’ll look after them until the funeral.
If the death was expected (they’d been ill, doctor’s been treating them), the GP will come out to certify the death. If it was completely unexpected, you should ring 999 first. Police will attend, which is standard procedure for unexpected deaths, nothing to worry about, just protocol.
Either way, once we’re involved, we’ll guide you through what needs doing next. All the forms, certificates, registration, we’ll explain each bit as we go.
Yes, you can visit at our chapel of rest. Just ring and book a time that works for you.
Some families find this really helps. Others prefer not to. There’s no right answer, it’s whatever feels right for you.
If you want your loved one dressed in their own clothes rather than a gown, we can arrange that (there’s a small extra charge for dressing). If it’s more than a few days between death and viewing, we might recommend embalming to preserve them better, but we’ll talk through all that with you.
We’d never push you into visiting if you don’t want to. It’s entirely your call.
Main thing you need is the medical certificate from the doctor, they’ll have filled this out after certifying the death.
Helps if you’ve also got: the person’s NHS medical card, their birth certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate (if they were married), and something showing their address.
You’ve got to register the death within 5 days at Tunbridge Wells Register Office [14]. The registrar will then give you the death certificates that you need for banks, insurance, pensions, all that admin.
We’ll walk you through this process and make sure you’ve got everything before you go. The register office staff are usually pretty helpful too.
We do, yeah.
Funeral plans let you arrange and pay for your own funeral in advance. Locks in today’s prices, saves your family having to make decisions when they’re grieving, and you get to specify exactly what you want.
You can pay in one lump sum or spread it out monthly. The money goes into a trust until it’s needed. You choose the type of service, simple cremation, full traditional funeral, whatever you want, and we keep it all on file.
No pressure to decide today. We’ll explain how it all works and you can go away and think about it. Or talk to your family about it. Whatever you need.
We’ve got a range, starting at basic veneered coffins (from £520*) up to handmade solid oak or mahogany ones (£1,600+).
At the arrangement meeting, we’ll show you the brochure and explain the differences. Some are light wood, some dark. Some are plain, some have fancy handles and details. Some are suitable for both burial and cremation, others just cremation.
There’s eco-friendly options too – willow, bamboo, cardboard even. They’re getting more popular, especially with people who care about environmental stuff.
Honestly, there’s no wrong choice here. Some families want something really traditional and expensive because that feels respectful. Others reckon the person who died would’ve thought spending £2,000 on a box was daft, so they go simple. Both are fine. It’s your decision based on what feels right for you and your budget.
You can. Quite a few people do, actually.
Some folk just want to make sure their family knows what they want, burial or cremation, which hymns, who should speak, that kind of thing. You can write that down and give it to relatives, or leave it with us.
Others want to sort the money side too, which is where funeral plans come in. You pay now (or pay monthly), we lock in the price, and when the time comes, everything’s already arranged.
Makes life easier for whoever’s left behind. They’ve got enough to deal with without having to guess what you would’ve wanted or scrambling to find five grand at short notice.
We’ll sit down and talk through all your options. No obligation to commit to anything, lots of people just want to know what’s involved first.
