Bennetts Funeral Directors (Billericay)

Jane Bennett is the managing director and the inspirational heart of this award winning, well-known and highly respected funeral business. She has been at the helm of Bennetts Funeral Directors Ltd since leaving a career in the City in 1988, and is the third generation of the Bennett family to serve the local community.

Bennetts was first listed as an undertaker business in the 1891 census, but it is about as far from a stuffy Victorian company as you could imagine. When Jane took over, she set about bringing the business up to date and today it is a perfect blend of contemporary practice and traditional values.

The Bennetts team are among the nicest people you could meet, and all of them share Jane’s dedication to the community they live and work in. This isn’t limited to ensuring that every single funeral is carried out perfectly for the families who choose them but also involves a huge amount of support for charities and local events, and a real commitment to looking after families before, during and after bereavement.

Many of the Bennetts staff members have undergone training in bereavement support by Dr. Bill Webster, Director of Grief Journey. Jane is so supportive of the skills that this training provides that she has paid for some trusted celebrants to go on the courses to enable them to facilitate bereavement groups too.

Bennetts run two bereavement support groups: the first group has been running since 2007 and is open to everyone of all ages. Members renamed the group ‘New Era’, and it is very much run by the members (with support from Bennetts staff members), organising regular outings as well as monthly meetings in a local church hall. During the pandemic, the group was unable to meet in person but a WhatsApp group was set up and people stayed in contact this way; although the group is meeting again cheery messages pop up on WhatsApp from time to time.

The second group, ‘Our Grieving Hearts’, was set up in 2011 for parents who have lost children. This group is facilitated by Bridget Holley, whose daughter Emily died in 2012.

Both the bereavement support groups are open to anyone who would like to attend, whether or not Bennetts carried out the funeral. Bennetts were also instrumental in helping a local Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide group start in the area.

Bennetts’ involvement in the community extends to regular fundraising for local charities, supporting events and providing sponsorship and raffle prizes. Their Facebook page shows the many, many events they are involved with such as the Tea Dance, which is enabled by Bennetts and is attended mainly by those from local care homes.

The large window of their premises in Brentwood High Street regularly showcases local charities and community events and at both Billericay and Brentwood there are stunning installations of memory trees designed and sculpted by father and son artist metalsmiths Gary and Thomas Thrussell. Anyone can have a leaf on a tree in memory of a loved one, with the proceeds donated to a charity of their choice. The memory trees were installed as part of the 125 year anniversary celebrations in 2016, along with the planting of 125 trees in the area and many fundraising and legacy events.

During 2017, Bennetts installed their Billericay Heritage Tree which can be seen on the flank wall of their premises. Each roundel on the Heritage Tree depicts a different element of Billericay heritage and history. The Heritage Tree also raises awareness – and supports the work of – St. Luke’s Hospice, with whom Bennetts have a close association.

Jane’s personal fundraising efforts have involved many adventures, trekking in Nepal, reaching Everest base camp, fire-walking, walking Hadrian’s Wall and sky diving, and on one of our visits we found Jane sporting a close cropped head of hair after having her head shaved the previous month to raise money for charity.   In 2023 a football tournament, the idea of Jane’s son Joss, raised funds for men’s mental health, an issue which Jane is keen to support.

Raising awareness about dying, death and bereavement is also important to the team, and as well as sponsoring regular training courses for care home staff and events for professionals and participating in Grief Journey Essex with free structured courses for anyone coping with grief, Bennetts also offer occasional events such Grief in the Workplace seminars.

Alongside all the community work and fund raising efforts, Bennetts also ensure that the many funerals they carry out locally are all done to the highest standard. Their fleet of classic Rolls Royce vehicles is a familiar sight in town, with the Phantom VI hearse commissioned by Jane’s father Arthur in the seventies a firm favourite for local people. In 2016 Bennetts had a Land Rover Defender hearse built, and thereafter bought a matching support vehicle, the Land Rovers are regularly chosen by families and travel over a great area when hired out by other funeral directing companies.

Bennetts have been at their prime corner plot location at the south end of Brentwood High street since 1932 and Fern House is a familiar landmark as you approach the town centre. There is a car park for visitors located through an archway adjacent to the building, and the reception area is accessed up steps next to the memorial tree. Visitors who have difficulty with stairs can be seen in a ground level accessible office next to one of the chapels.

Inside the main building there is a spacious private room for discussing funeral arrangements on the ground floor, and a back office where staff see to the administration and organisation of the daily business. Upstairs there is another large room where arrangements can be made, or meetings take place, and more offices and a kitchen. Behind the building, the premises extend past the pretty memorial garden to a yard where the chapels are located, along with the mortuary and coffin showroom, with the garage area for the vehicles further along. Most of the Bennetts staff are based here, and as far as possible the person you meet and make the arrangements with will be the person who looks after you all the way through.

Jane remains at the helm; all of the team can be seen on the company website here, funerals are arranged by Craig, Martyn, Bridget, Lisa and Nicola; Denise also assists and deals with monumental masonry too.

Brentwood is the main centre of the business, with a second branch in Billericay.  The Billericay branch is a smaller premises located at the far northern end of the High Street. The Old School House has a small parking area behind.  A large arranging room is to the right of the front door, and the office is on the left. At the rear of the building there are two small chapels and a room where doctors can come and see the person who has died to complete the cremation paperwork. In the hallway, the Billericay memorial tree. The team take turns in being at Billericay, so you may meet any of the Bennetts funeral directors here.

Specific Gravity

Unrivalled dedication to supporting families throughout their bereavement, and a real commitment to the community around them. Bennetts is an exceptionally caring and considerate business. You will be in the safest of hands here.

What’s Important?

A real attention to detail alongside genuinely warm and caring support. Bennetts people have all learned how to be the best from Jane herself, and she is passionate about empowering her staff with training, both formally with qualifications, and internally, with staff learning how to do things ‘the Bennetts way’.

All of the team have had ‘Virtual Dementia Tour’ training to help them understand the lives of those with dementia, many of the team are also dementia friends.

What’s Different?

The sheer amount of community work, charity fundraising and bereavement support marks Bennetts as an exceptional business. Add to that their highly qualified and dedicated staff and their trademark beautiful vehicles that are so well known in the area, and you can see why this company has won so many awards.

Services

• • Your first call may be answered by any of the team.
  • Home visits – yes if that’s what you want. Whichever is best for you.
  • Same sex person to wash and dress? Yes, if you want this. Generally it will be done by male colleagues, but if you would like female staff to care for your relative then just ask.
  • Embalming? This is suggested (but not insisted upon) if families want to spend time with the person who has died in the chapel or at home.
  • Ethnic specialism? Bennetts are used to working with all ethnic groups and familiar with different customs and practices.
  • Home arranged funerals – yes, this is not uncommon for Bennetts, they are practiced at assisting with regular home visits and can make all the arrangements necessary for people to remain at home after death.
  • Local celebrants – Bennetts have some excellent local celebrants that they can suggest – they will generally meet you first and then suggest the person they think right for you.
  • Vehicles – Bennetts have run their Rolls Royce fleet for over 40 years and are well known for their cars. They also run a contemporary Mercedes fleet. The Land Rover Defender fleet added recently is frequently chosen as an alternative.
  • Website – Comprehensive, informative website and active social media accounts. Prices are shown online.
  • Client support – Unsurpassed. Every client is informed about the Bennetts bereavement support groups, and they can also offer individual counselling if it is required as they have a trained and qualified counsellor on the staff.
  • Money matters –Excellent value for the service you receive. They ask for a 50% deposit, although there are exceptions to this rule.
  • Parking – Available at both offices.

Remarks

Bennetts is an example of the best kind of funeral directors. Completely integrated in the local community and constantly seeking to do the best they can for families. There is a real attention to detail here, and getting it right is what is important to everyone. It is unsurprising that their reputation is so high, both locally and further afield, and the dedication and commitment of the staff is a tribute to the leadership that Jane provides.

Any decisions you take on engaging the services of a funeral director should be based on your views and research. You should not rely solely upon the views and opinions offered by us.