Family-owned funeral directors in Bolsover mark 120 years of service

Since its inception it has been owned and ran by members of the same family and this year they celebrate 120 years of service. Now five generations later, they have an excellent fleet of Mercedes funeral vehicles, a recently refurbished chapel of rest, a hard-working talented team and have firmly established themselves as an integral and trusted part of the local community.

In 1904, Merrill Stubbins, a builder and carpenter, put his woodworking skills into manufacturing coffins, which started the funeral service business. This business, originally based on Scarsdale Street in Carr Vale, soon grew which led Merrill to move to High Street, Bolsover, and this is where the business has been ever since.A few years after starting the business, Merrill married Hannah Hope. The business continued to grow, and this is when Hannah’s nephew Stanley Hope joined the partnership. Merrill and Hannah had no children of their own so when the time came to pass the business on, it went to their nephew Stanley Hope and his wife Sarah. The business continued to flourish under their ownership, before being passed onto their nephew Arthur Hope and his wife Jean Hope in 1977.

Arthur and Jean continued to steadily expand on the success and reputation previously forged by their predecessors becoming an established and trusted funeral director in the local community. Following the sudden death of Arthur in 1990, his wife Jean took daughter Susan Hope and son Simon Hope into partnership. After Jean’s retirement, Susan and Simon are now the fourth generation of the family to currently own and manage Stubbins & Hope.

Simon started working alongside his father in 1978 where he learnt about the funeral service business from arranging funerals to conducting them. Simon conducted his first funeral in 1979 and has been passionate about the business ever since, gaining his diploma in funeral directing in 1989. Nicholas Hope joined the business on leaving school, gaining his diploma in funeral directing in 1992, before taking an early retirement. Susan joined the business in 1990, where she also gained lots of knowledge and expertise in the funeral industry, passing her diploma in funeral directing in 1993.

The new generation Susan and Simon, who currently own and manage Stubbins & Hope, are fully qualified and highly experienced funeral directors. They have, together, expanded Stubbins & Hope to where it is today and have always been keen to continue the family-oriented legacy that started 120 years ago.And so, with family at the heart of Stubbins & Hope, the family involvement continues into the next generation. Simon’s son, Benjamin Hope, started working with the business in 2009.

Susan’s daughter Rebecca Hope started working with the business in 2014. They have both worked extremely hard to learn the essential skills involved in delivering funeral services. Rebecca and Benjamin are extremely proud to be following in their parents and grandparents’ footsteps sharing the same passion for the funeral industry.Stubbins & Hope are extremely proud and honoured to congratulate and share the news that after much hard work and determination, Rebecca and Benjamin are now fully qualified funeral directors having recently completed the National Association of Funeral Directors Diploma in Funeral Directing. This is a great achievement and marks the fifth generation in the family business.

As members of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD), Stubbins & Hope strive to maintain the high standards expected from the NAFD. Commitment to their community, providing exceptional care for loved ones and professionalism are all at the heart of Stubbins & Hope, as they have been since 1904 and as they continue to be for many years in the future.