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The ICCM Journal | Summer 2021 | V89 No. 2
Stourbridge reopens its doors! It is often said that timing is everything, with regards to our crematorium refurbishment project, I don’t think ours could have been worse! Stourbridge crematorium opened in 1960 following extensive work carried out to incorporate a crematory building onto what, since 1879, had served as the town’s burial chapel. Since opening, the crematorium has welcomed bereaved families from the local community and farther afield and currently carries out approximately 1,300 cremations each year. In 1995, two L & P Furnace cremators were installed at the crematorium. The machines were reliable, regularly serviced
upgrading the cremation facilities whilst, at the same time, taking the opportunity to extend the chapel capacity from sixty-eight to ninety. Amongst other improvements, building a new flower room and road re-surfacing were also included in the £2m project. The council accepted that it would be necessary to close the crematorium for the duration of the work but as we own and manage two crematoria (Gornal Wood being the other) and originally intended to carry out the work during the generally ‘quieter’ spring and summer months, we hoped that disruption would be minimal. The project was explained in a number of press releases and communicated to all local funeral directors who I must say, have been both understanding and supportive throughout.
and looked after by the suppliers, Kevin Evans and Malcolm Baines (latterly of The Phoenix Partnership). The longevity of the machines is a testament to the build quality and to the expert maintenance carried out by Kevin and Malcolm. Although having a recommended operational life of 15 years, with regular maintenance - including the usual new hearths and relines, we nursed the machines with the aim of extending their lifespan up until late 2019 early 2020. We had not however planned for the events of last year which, although challenging, further demonstrated the resilience and goodwill of those involved in bereavement services. We are fortunate in Dudley that local councillors and senior managers acknowledge and support the need for excellent services for the bereaved, and this was once again demonstrated by the willingness to significantly invest in facilities at Stourbridge crematorium. Following the usual capital budget allocation process, the council committed to
As COVID-19 started to take hold in March, we made the decision to postpone the upgrade work and attempt to extend the life of the existing cremators even further despite their deteriorating condition, as we recognised the disruption that would be caused by closing in March. This was a huge risk which funeral directors supported, and which fortunately paid off. We did however ultimately have to close the crematorium in August as we feared a major breakdown was imminent. So, onto the project. One of the major challenges was that the building was not originally purpose-built. Although not listed, the Victorian chapel is considered to have local historic importance with the borough’s planners therefore all changes had to be agreed with both the planning and historic environment divisions. In addition, COVID-19 caused a myriad of issues such as a lack of supplies and labour, restrictions on the number of people able to work at any one time and the need for additional health and safety controls. Furthermore, the existing cremators had originally been cleverly shoehorned into a relatively small crematory; this proved to be problematic
