Ascension & Cliff Small Funerals is Garstang’s only independent family-owned and run funeral directors. Robert and Kathryn are familiar faces in the town along with their children, Thomas and Rebekah. Kathryn grew up in the industry – her dad, Leonard Robinson was a funeral director at Arkholme in the Lune Valley.
After helping Leonard for many years, Robert, with Kathryn, opened their own funeral directors at Garstang in 2005. Ascension Funerals offers personalised services to the local community and bought Cliff Small Funeral Service in Caton, Morecambe & Bolton-le-Sands, combining the two companies. Thomas joined in 2011 and became a qualified funeral director involved with every aspect of the funeral industry. Daughter Rebekah joined in 2013, arranging funerals and handling all admin and in-house printing. Rebekah’s husband, Anthony Binding, joined at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and has learned all aspects of the funeral industry. David Holmes and Sarah Gardner are also valuable members of the team.
The family are proud members of the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors where Robert was on the Executive Committee for several years. Robert says: “The family brings a wealth of experience and a deeply personal aspect to our work. We can arrange an affordable funeral to celebrate the deceased’s life with total dignity and travel all over the UK. “We incorporate the requests of the deceased and relatives, whether for a traditional funeral or cremation, conventional or woodland burial or any other request such as a horse-drawn or motorcycle hearse.
We are on call 24 hours, 365 days, to ensure your loved ones’ needs are met at a difficult time.” They offer Golden Charter Funeral Plans which arrange a funeral in advance and ensure wishes are met for such things as music or poems. The family provide monumental masonry, ashes-into-glass (cremated remains made into bespoke jewellery), choice of urns and meet special requests.
