By John Prince
Half a century is a long time in any line of work, but for a funeral director it is a lifetime of dedication and committed service.
Charles Allott – or Charlie as he likes to be known – is Hornsea’s longest serving funeral director, and it is 50 years since his late father started the business on June 1, 1976.
Based on Southgate, the firm has served generations of families with continued respect and dignity, in a job that a lot of people wouldn’t necessarily think of taking up. But it is one that is essential when the inevitable comes.
The story began with a redundancy notice and a newspaper advert. Charlie’s dad – also called Charles – was a mechanically minded man who had spent years maintaining forklift trucks at Catfoss, and suddenly faced losing his job.
“He was puzzled with what he was going to do,” Charlie recalls. “So I happened to see in the newspaper an advert which was a funeral business for sale. And I correctly presumed it was Frankish’s business at Brandesburton.”
After writing to the owner Mr Frankish, within a week the family were invited to view the premises. “He popped in to see us and invited us to go and have a look and give us a chat, and he would help us get the business to continue.
“I helped my father out behind the scenes. I would be going to dig graves, maybe help out as a bearer if he was short handed, and then he’d get me out of bed on a night to help him move someone in the middle of the night. So I was getting familiar with the job.”
Back in the 1970s the job was mainly to provide assistance, a chapel of rest and vehicles to several village joiners who also acted as funeral directors.
Even as a younger man, Charlie had been drawn to the craft. “I was always interested in coffins,” he says. “I used to watch men making them, and I was intrigued how they got the wood to bend.”
He smiled at the memory, but his interest was real. “It was a job I always wanted to do. My father didn’t really want it, so I sort of pushed him into it. But like I said to him, ‘we come into the world with nothing, we go out with nothing – just do what we can, and try our best,’ and it worked.”
The business was built on long hours and quiet reliability. Charlie’s father worked relentlessly. “He’d come in at maybe half past eleven at night on New Year’s Eve or Christmas Eve, sit down in his armchair, have a kip for half an hour, then he’d get up and go out at four in the morning.”
His dad was also dyslexic, something that made school for him brutal.
“He was treated like an imbecile,” Charlie says warmly, using the vernacular of the time. “He spent most of his school days digging the school garden. He could count money, but he couldn’t spell to save his life. His writing was a cross between Morse code and hieroglyphics.”
Charlie took on more and more of the work, eventually becoming the face of the business. For decades, the family firm has been established as Hornsea’s main funeral directors, a responsibility he has carried with quiet steadiness.
“People keep coming back,” he said. “They don’t have to come to us, do they? But they do.
“You’ve got to have a deep understanding of how people are feeling at such an awful time. And you’ve not really got to pester them. You’ve got to give them time to consider what their requirements are. You don’t get two families alike.
“When we started, funerals were very straightforward. They’re not so straightforward now. They’re more complicated. People want more now and they’re more like an event.”
Cremations now far outnumber burials, and unattended cremations are increasingly common, which isn’t for everyone, Charlie said.
“We can do that, but we also offer funeral plans so people can make sure they have enough money when the time comes. We can compete with the people that advertise on the television. Those firms are miles away, so viewing will not be possible. But with us, people can view.
“Being available when people want us. That’s the important thing.”
When Charlie and his dad first started out, their first hearse cost them £200, compared to the vehicles they have now, which can easily set you back over six figures. The average cost of a funeral these days can range between £3,000 and £5,000.
“It can be down to what people want. If there is any great distance involved that puts the charges up. But there’s a big choice of what people can have now. We’ve got four different crematoriums in the area. You can have a cardboard coffin, a wicker coffin, a normal coffin or solid oak. You can have what you want.”
The work can be emotionally demanding, especially in a small community. “It can be quite difficult,” he says. “You’d be no help to people if you were visibly upset. But there are times when you do feel… not good. But you’ve got to get on with it.”
He added quietly that over the years he has buried many of his friends – the reality of serving a small community for so long.
The job has also taken its toll on family life, he says. “My wife was very, very patient when I look back. There’s not many wives would put up with all that.”
In the early years, funerals happened quickly, often within three days, and the work was constant.
“If you died on Monday, the funeral would be Thursday. So things had to be done urgently. I’d dash home, bite to eat, quick shower, change, out to see some people. That was the nature of the job.”
Despite the demands, he has never considered another profession. “I’ve never wanted to do anything else, but I don’t enjoy the job as much now as I used to. It’s changed. I’m not into technology as much as I’d like to be.
“But a lot of people are familiar that we are members of both the National Association of Funeral Directors and also the Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors. Each of those societies regularly visit to make inspections, to make sure that everything that we’re doing is above board.”
Fortunately, the next generation is ready. His son Tom Allott and long-serving colleague Mark Williamson, who has been with the business for more than 30 years, now take the lead.
“Tom will be taking over eventually,” Charlie says. “Probably sooner than he thinks.” He smiles. “He loves it. People take to him. He’s got a very kind manner, our Tom.”
Mark’s story is equally rooted in the profession. “This is the only job Mark ever wanted to do. You could just tell by his manner that he was the right type of person to be with people in that type of situation.” When Charlie finally offered him a job, Mark accepted on the spot without even discussing wages.
There have been standout moments over the years such as horse-drawn funerals that stopped traffic, ashes scattered at sea, and the quiet dignity of families who want nothing more than simplicity. Allotts have also arranged funerals for eight members of the clergy, and five members of local aristocracy.
“You meet some lovely people,” he said. “At the saddest time of their lives.”
Allotts has also dealt with bringing people home who have died in Canada, Australia, America and across Europe.
Charlie says he has no plans for retirement. He and his wife keep nine dogs, eight rabbits, 16 guinea pigs and an aviary of birds.
These days, he spends more time reading, walking the dogs, and watching TV.
In his younger days, Charlie was also a busy musician playing the pubs and clubs of East Yorkshire, and still keeps a keyboard in the office to play in quieter times, often to the amusement of his son and staff.
Tom has followed in his dad’s musical footsteps and is a keen guitarist, while Mark is a committed marathon runner, currently taking on a series of ultra marathons for charity.
Even now, after 50 years, the heart of the job remains the same – respect, trust, and service.
“We’ve put an awful lot of effort in,” Charlie added. “Non-stop effort.”
And that, perhaps, is why the community keeps coming back: not out of habit, but out of trust built over generations.
Charlie may prefer to stay in the background more these days, but his work has touched almost every family in Hornsea.
“It’s at the heart of what we do,” he says. “And always has been.”