F. W. Paine Museum
In Old London Road, Kingston, near the "Out of Order" toppling telephone boxes, is the little-known museum of Frederick W Paine, the undertakers.
A lot of our members didn’t come for the visit, possibly because our older members might have found it a bit disturbing, so five intrepid members met by the phone boxes.
We had a warm welcome from Brian Parsons and two other staff members with tea, coffee, cakes, biscuits and fruit. Then, far from disturbing, we listened to a fascinating, illustrated talk on the history of undertaking in Britain and specifically Surrey.
Scroll past the photos for more about this visit ...
Brian Parsons is a staff member and prolific researcher. He is the author of several books on the history of undertaking and gives talks to anyone interested.
Paine’s was established as a small firm in New Malden in 1884 and expanded to 12 branches across South West London and Surrey. We heard how undertaking, cemeteries and the company progressed over the years, and how funeral practices and transport have changed.
We visited the museum where heavy, leather bound ledgers hold details of all funerals since 1884, and saw various exhibits and artefacts. The staff were very friendly and we heard that they need to be prepared to be on call 24 hours a day and often have to deal with distraught relatives.
An excellent and unexpected visit. Three of us then settled in the Cornerstone pub for lunch.
If you would like to read more about the history of F.W.Paine, go to their web site at www.frederickwpaine.co.uk.
