Here every step of the way
From the very first call, our experienced funeral directors provide caring support, clear guidance, and expert advice — so you never have to face this alone.
From the very first moment you contact George Scott Funeral Services you will be receiving our caring support, guidance and advice. Initially, we will ask a few simple questions about the proposed funeral arrangements and ascertain whether a burial or cremation service is required. We will then arrange a suitable time to meet you — either at your home or at one of our funeral homes.
If you are calling from a distance, all funeral arrangements can be made over the telephone. Our experienced funeral directors are available 24 hours a day.
Arrangements are usually made by either the nearest relative or the executor of the deceased's will. The person who makes the arrangements must be able to give instructions and make decisions regarding the funeral — and will also be responsible for arranging payment.
We are experienced in arranging and conducting funerals not only locally but elsewhere in the UK. We can even arrange repatriation overseas. We will take care of all practical arrangements, advise you of the options and choices available, and see that everything is carried out in accordance with your wishes. You will receive written confirmation of all arrangements together with a detailed estimate of the costs.
Our team is on-call around the clock — whenever you need us, we are here.
We can visit you at home, meet at our funeral home, or arrange everything by telephone.
We arrange funerals across the UK and can facilitate international repatriation.
We handle all paperwork and ensure you receive a written confirmation and cost estimate.
Every funeral is personal. Below we outline the main choices you will be asked to consider, and we will guide you through each one with care.
Most cemeteries and all crematoria provide a chapel for funeral services. It may also be fitting to hold the service at a local church or place of worship before the committal. For larger congregations, please note that Bournemouth Crematorium and Poole Crematorium each hold a maximum of around 90 people and the standard service time is 20 minutes (this can be extended at additional cost).
George Scott's offers a small, air-conditioned service chapel at our Kinson funeral home — a useful alternative for small congregations or when chapel times are limited. Our chapel can also be booked for evening and weekend services.
We have experience arranging funerals across all faiths, denominations and cultures, as well as civil and non-religious ceremonies. If you have a particular minister or officiant in mind, we will liaise with them. Alternatively, we can recommend an experienced local minister who will arrange a personal visit to discuss the service with you.
A carefully chosen piece of music can make a service far more personal. Families request everything from traditional organ music to pop, rock, and classical — the choice is entirely yours. There is usually time for up to two pieces of music during a service, plus music for entering and leaving the chapel. We require notification of music choices at least three days before the funeral.
We take great pride in our fleet of modern Jaguar XJ chauffeur-driven hearses and limousines. In addition, we can arrange at additional cost (subject to availability):
We supply a wide range of coffins and caskets — from simple to elaborate, including environmentally-friendly options in wicker, bamboo, or cardboard. Painted coffins with pictures reflecting the life of the deceased can also be arranged. All are suitable for burial or cremation. Please ask to view our brochure, or visit our coffins & caskets page.
Many families use their own local florist. Alternatively, we can recommend one or order flowers on your behalf from the brochure displayed at our funeral homes. Floral tributes are usually delivered to us on the morning of the funeral and displayed around the coffin in the hearse and at the cemetery or crematorium after the service.
If families prefer family flowers only, charitable donations in lieu can be accepted by cheque, cash or online. We acknowledge all donations and forward them to the relevant charity 3–4 weeks after the funeral, along with a full list of donors. Donations can be made online via our donations page.
We can assist in creating and placing obituary notices in the Bournemouth Daily Echo or any other newspaper of your choice. Social media announcements are also increasingly popular.
We can provide a gown matching the coffin interior, or dress the deceased in their own clothing (please deliver clothing to our funeral home as soon as possible). Private remembrance rooms are available at both our Boscombe and Kinson funeral homes, by appointment Monday–Friday 9.00am–4.30pm.
We always supply sufficient bearers to carry the coffin. Four bearers are included in our fees; where required for reasons of dignity and health and safety, six bearers are supplied at additional cost. Family members are welcome to participate — please advise us in advance.
There are many thoughtful ways to make a funeral service truly individual. Here are some of the additional options we can arrange.
Printed in colour or black & white with a photograph of the deceased or a chosen image — arranged by us or by you.
We can advise on local venues and caterers for post-funeral refreshments, whether at home, a hotel, church hall, club or pub.
We can provide name-listing cards for pews, giving you a record of all who attended the service.
Subject to the minister's approval, we can arrange for the funeral service to be recorded or filmed (additional fee applies).
White doves released from a wicker basket at the crematorium or graveside — a beautiful and moving farewell.
Subject to availability, we can arrange soloists or instrumentalists (flute, saxophone, clarinet, and more).
A bagpiper or bugler can be arranged subject to availability — a dignified and memorable tribute.
Balloons in a colour of your choice, with or without a farewell message, handed to family for a collective release.
We can arrange a photographic record of the flowers or a photographer to document the day.
A single flower, a framed photo on the coffin, a lock of hair keepsake, or a personal item placed with your loved one.
It is very important to us that we provide the very best service possible. Following the funeral, please feel free to let us know your views — whether complimentary or suggestions for improvement. If you were pleased with our service, we would be grateful if you could leave a review on our Google page to reassure future families.
An acknowledgement notice can be placed in the Bournemouth Daily Echo or another paper of your choice — thanking mourners for flowers, donations and sympathy cards, and acknowledging those who helped most. We will be happy to assist in creating and placing this notice for you.
We can recommend a specialist company who craft beautiful engraved oak and teak memorial benches for the garden. A display model can be seen at our Kinson funeral home.
If required, we can place a temporary six-month grave marker on the grave while the permanent memorial is prepared.
We can provide memorials for local cemeteries and churchyards, and advise on local restrictions and regulations. Choose from our brochure or we can prepare an estimate for a memorial you've seen. You may wish to consider:
Please allow six months from the date of the funeral before placing the memorial, and be aware that production typically takes around three months from the date of order.
You can register with The Bereavement Register to stop unwanted post addressed to your loved one.
Local Probate office details are in our booklet. You may wish to instruct a solicitor. For guidance on probate and letters of administration, please ask us for a booklet or visit gov.uk.
Many disbursements are paid on the family's behalf following the arrangements being made. The funeral account will be sent within 12 days of the funeral and may be paid by post, phone or in person at either of our funeral homes by cheque, Bank Debit Card, Bank Transfer or cash.
If you wish the invoice to be referred to a solicitor, please advise us as soon as possible. If the deceased has a bank account, we recommend visiting their local branch with our account and a death certificate — the bank will usually provide a cheque payable to George Scott Funeral Services if sufficient funds are available.
If there is a shortage of funds, please advise us as quickly as possible before the funeral. If you are receiving certain government benefits, you may be eligible for financial help from the Social Fund. We can provide an SF200 Form and advise on the necessary procedures. The Bereavement Service Helpline is: 0345 606 0265.
In addition to our pre-arranging service, you can pay for the funeral of your choice at today's prices. Funeral pre-planning can ease some of the emotional and financial worry your family might experience.
KEEP IT LOCAL: We do not recommend pre-paying through national charity or insurance-based companies, as you are typically tied into using a large national group of funeral homes. We provide expert, personal knowledge to our local community and can meet with you personally or send a brochure.
Learn about Pre-paid PlansTelephone the doctor. When someone dies at home or in a Nursing Home, the first contact should be with the deceased's doctor — or NHS 111 if the surgery is closed. The doctor (or locum/paramedic) will visit to verify the death. A doctor who cared for the deceased during their lifetime will then record the cause of death, and an independent medical examiner reviews it before it is sent electronically to the registrar. Someone from the medical examiner's office will contact you to explain the cause of death and give you the opportunity to ask questions or raise any concerns. Please note this review can take a few days — there is no certificate for you to collect.
Contact us immediately after the death has been certified. We provide a 24-hour on-call service and will arrange to visit and convey the deceased into our care.
The Ward staff will inform the Patients' Affairs Office, who will liaise with the doctors. The hospital doctors will record the cause of death and the hospital's medical examiner will review it before it is sent electronically to the registrar — the medical examiner's office will contact you to explain the cause of death and answer any questions. The deceased's belongings can be collected from the Patients' Affairs Office, and the deceased will be cared for by the hospital until the paperwork is complete.
Contact us as soon as possible between 7.30am–10.00pm. We will liaise with the hospital and arrange transport into our care once the paperwork is complete.
When someone dies suddenly, or the cause of death is unclear, the doctor will report the death to the Coroner — for example where the death was unexpected or unnatural, followed an accident or an industrial disease, or occurred in custody. The Coroner may decide no investigation is needed and return the case to the doctor to certify in the usual way, or may carry out a post-mortem, which can in some cases lead to an inquest. Where the Coroner is involved, they confirm the cause of death to the registrar directly.
Contact us as soon as possible between 7.30am–10.00pm. We will liaise with the Coroner and arrange to convey the deceased into our care as soon as clearance is issued.
The death should be registered within five days of the registrar receiving the cause of death from the medical examiner (or, where they are involved, the Coroner) — the medical examiner's office will let you know when you can book your appointment. Registration is normally completed by a relative of the deceased, or in their absence by a person present at the death, the occupier of the premises, or the executor.
The registrar will already have received the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death electronically from the medical examiner or Coroner — you do not need to bring it. Please take with you:
| Office | Address | Hours | Telephone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | Town Hall, corner of Bourne Avenue & Braidley Road, BH2 6DY | Mon–Fri, 9am–4pm | 01202 454945 |
| Poole | The Guildhall, Market Street, Poole, BH15 1NF | Mon–Thu 8.30am–4.30pm, Fri 8.30am–4pm | – |
| Christchurch | Civic Offices, Bridge Street, Christchurch, BH23 1AZ | Mon, Wed & Fri, 9am–4.30pm | – |
| Ferndown | King George V Pavilion, Peter Grant Way, Ferndown, BH22 9EN | Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, 9am–4pm | 01202 225153 |
| Ringwood | Ringwood Gateway, The Furlong, Ringwood, BH24 1AT | Tue, Wed & Fri, 9.10am–4pm | 0300 555 1392 |
| Lymington | Library North Close, Lymington, SO41 9BW | Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, 9am–4pm | 0300 555 1392 |
Email Bournemouth crematorium: crematorium@bcpcouncil.co.uk
Email Poole crematorium: admin.crematorium@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
There is limited new grave availability at Poole cemeteries. Please contact our funeral home for advice.
After the funeral, there are a number of organisations and people that will need to be informed. This checklist may help.
All hospital bereavement offices and Registrars offices operate an appointment system. Please telephone to collect death certificates and register deaths.
Our funeral homes, local cemeteries, crematoria & register offices
A carefully considered choice of music can make the service much more personal, reflecting the life of the person who has died. Families request everything from traditional organ music to pop, rock, classical — everything from Puccini to Presley.
During the service there is usually time for up to two pieces of music — perhaps two hymns, or music for a period of quiet reflection. You may also choose music for entering and leaving the chapel. The choice is entirely yours.
We require notification of your music and hymn choices at least three days before the funeral, to allow time for ordering on the music systems at the crematoriums and cemeteries. At certain venues you may be asked to provide original CDs.
If you would like help choosing suitable hymns, music and poetry, please ask us for our popular hymns and music booklet — or download our suggestions below.
Download our curated selection of hymns, music and poetry to help you choose something that feels right for your loved one.
Download Suggestions (PDF)Day or night, we answer.
01202 395827 Available 24 hours, every day Write to us or call in — every office listed
