Our History

A warm welcome from a unique family-led team since 1958 with The Same Care & Advice as for Friends.


Same Family, Seventh Decade

After his years in the army, Thomas began using all the trade skills he had learnt. A trusted and organised man, with skills essential to funeral undertaking at that time, he began accepting requests to carry out funerals; but soon realised that a separate company was required for this work.

Thomas’s wife, Margaret, was similarly inspired by her mother Ethel Stuart Morris.  Ethel was a Hackney Hospital “ward orderly,” at the same time as looking after children and her war hero husband, then affected by illness in the 1950s.  Nothing was too much trouble. Sensitively looking after practicalities of her patients’ end of life was second nature to her, and comforting their families.

The Old Morning Lane Funeral Parlour

In 1958 Thomas and his wife Margaret established a funeral parlour in Morning Lane, Hackney. But Hackney families were fast relocating – there were whole sections of the community moving to gain better housing further toward the countryside, often to Havering, Redbridge, Chigwell and Debden.

The Transition to Harold Wood

The old Morning Lane Funeral Parlour moved with the families it served – firstly to new premises in Station Road, Harold Wood. Thomas and his brother Frederick purchased a private house in 1967 which they converted. In the following year it opened to local appreciation and renamed for the area.

Second Premises Opened in Collier Row Lane

In 1972 the second branch of Harold Wood Funeral Services opened in Collier Row Lane. Previously occupied by a gentlemen’s hairdressers, it continues to provide a local service to Collier Row and the surrounding neighbourhoods and villages.

Our Third Funeral Home in Harold Hill

In 1984 the company purchased a hall from St George’s Church in Chippenham Road, Harold Hill, which Thomas “hands-on” converted into a modern funeral home, becoming our largest premises.  It is next door to the current modern St George’s Church and at the top of the Hilldene Shopping Centre.

Our Hainault & Chigwell Funeral Home, making the Local “Quartet”

And in 2010 we proudly opened a new premises in New North Road, Hainault, and look forward to extending our respectful work to a community where we have deep roots, and much affection. We dedicated the Hainault office to our dear Tricia, our dear cousin, friend and fellow director who was so important to the company with her hard work and compassion for many years, until her death in 2003. Tricia lived in and loved Hainault where she lived since a little girl, across the road from the Forest, within sight of Chigwell Row.

Continuing in the Tradition

After Thomas’s death in 1999, Margaret took on the role of Managing Director, appointing son and daughter Peter Coyte and Carol Lawrence, as directors.  The future of Harold Wood Funeral Services was cemented as an independent, family-run company, offering the personal attention that only a smaller, independent company can.

Our ethos is always to provide the Same Care and Advice as for Friends, and we continually update our facilities for the comfort of our clients, where everyone feels welcome.

Our reception rooms are now furnished “country-style.”  Our visiting areas are spacious and light.

Our Mercedes fleet has been recently enhanced with new custom made vehicles.

Our colleagues remain the most knowledgeable, sympathetic and understanding you can hope to meet, benefitting from good training and immediate access to the Coyte family.

We are still committed to providing the best of modern professional practice.  We easily accommodate the wishes of all nationalities and faiths as they join our neighbourhoods.  For those who wish to help with the washing and dressing of their loved ones we have provision for this in both our Harold Hill and Hainault premises.

The Same Dedication as When We Started

Whilst modern times demand modern ways, our service and commitment to you remain as traditional as when we began in the 1950’s.


“Harold Wood Funeral Services has always been a company comprising family and friends, where trust is paramount”

Mrs M M Coyte ⋅ MANAGING DIRECTOR