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Clarabut & Plumbe Funeral Directors

Serving your family wherever you are in Bedford

Here at Clarabut & Plumbe Funeral Directors we understand how difficult it can be to lose a loved one, which is why we will do everything we can to make things easier on you. Wishes will be listened to and respected, to ensure that the funeral service is organised exactly the way you want.

Our funeral directors in Bedford specialise in Italian funerals and repatriation and our funeral home has wash and dress facilities suitable for our Sikh and Hindu families. We strive to provide the utmost care and high quality service, whilst honouring your cultural or religious requirement. Our team strive to provide the utmost care with a high quality service, whilst honouring your cultural or religious requirements.

Arranging a funeral can be hard and emotional, so please know that you are not alone, as we are here for you.

01234 354547
Clarabut & Plumbe Funeral Directors

Our locations

Clarabut & Plumbe Funeral Directors in Bedford

Bedford

11 Kingsway, Bedford, MK42 9BJ

Serving the local community of Bedford since 1895

Our community is very special to us, and we are proud to have such close ties with many places of worship, ministers and local businesses in Bedfordshire.

We understand that life with those you love is deeply personal, so it is a privilege to honour the final wishes of families as they say farewell to their loved ones.

We cater for funerals of all faiths and cultures, burial and cremation services and non-religious funerals. If an alternative funeral is most fitting, then we can arrange for bespoke services, such as woodland burials, green funerals and burials at sea.

We are also here to give you careful guidance wherever it is needed, such as what to do when someone dies, legal advice and emotional support. Your wellbeing is paramount to us and we will do everything we can to make a difficult time a little easier for you.

01234 354547
Clarabut & Plumbe Funeral Directors

Our services

Explore our funeral packages below, so we can arrange the funeral you have in mind for your loved one.

 

If you’re looking for a traditional or contemporary funeral with a service, you should consider our Attended Funeral. If you want us to arrange a simple cremation without mourners present, our Unattended Funeral may better suit your needs.

A tailored funeral

The Attended Funeral

The Attended Funeral provides a tailored and dignified goodbye for your loved one. Whether traditional or contemporary, you can pay your respects in the supportive company of family and friends.

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The Unattended Funeral

The Unattended Funeral is a lower cost option that allows family and friends to remember your loved one in their own way, without the need for a traditional service or ceremony.

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Memorials

Commemorate your loved one's life with a Memorial to keep their memory alive. Choose from a variety of options, from headstones, urns to memorial plaques, vases, benches, statues, jewellery, and more, allowing you to create something special that reflects their life, love, and cherished memories.

Frequently asked questions

If a loved one has passed away and you need help to arrange a funeral, our Funeral Directors at Clarabut & Plumbe are here to support you every step of the way. Below are some frequently asked questions about how to arrange a funeral, which you may find helpful. If you have any further questions, please call us anytime on 01234 354547

At Clarabut & Plumbe, we are proud to be a Dignity Funeral Director. Our funeral business sits in the Dignity family which means we are supported by an organisation that provides stability and holds us to a very high standard of care, facilities and service.

If a loved one has passed, our step-by-step guide will help support you on the actions to take, including getting started on how to arrange a funeral. If you feel that you would benefit from additional support and personal guidance, please get in touch with us and we will talk you through everything.

When someone dies, you should aim to call your Funeral Director as soon as possible, after you have called the doctor. This allows for you to arrange for the deceased to be collected and to be brought into our care as soon as they are ready.

Your loved one will be cared for by our Funeral Directors. Once they have been brought into our care, they will be thoughtfully looked after at either one of our funeral homes or one of our care centres. Your Funeral Director will be able to confirm the details of this so you will know where your loved one is at all times.

If you wish to visit the Chapel of Rest during the time before the funeral, please speak to one of our Funeral Directors who will be happy to arrange a suitable date and time for you to visit. It is important to make an appointment so that the Chapel of Rest is available for you to use and your loved one is prepared for your visit.

If the cause of death means that visiting could be distressing, or if their death was caused by a hazardous illness, you should seek the advice of your Funeral Director.

Having to let people know that someone has passed away can be a very difficult and stressful situation to go through. The way you break the news to people will completely depend on how well you know them and their relationship with the person who has passed away. If you’re in the position of having to inform family and friends, we hope you find this guide to announcing a death useful.

We can take care of helping you to action your loved ones funeral plan, as the process is very straightforward. To get started, please call us on 01234 354547 and we can talk you through what happens next.

We are a member of the National Association of Funeral Directors and as such we abide by The Funeral Director Code. We also have a legal obligation to try and ensure the person who is arranging a funeral has the right to do so, or has permission from those who do. If you are aware that someone has been appointed as the administrator, you should only arrange the funeral with this person's agreement. If there is no Will or Letters of Administration, then the responsibility would pass to the next of kin.

A Memorial is a way of creating a lasting memory to help remember a loved one.

Dignity has been established for over 200 years and is one of the UK’s leading providers of Funerals and with an ‘Excellent’ Trustpilot rating (03/24). We are proud to help our customers every year with a diverse range of Memorial products and services to help remember their loved ones.

We offer a wide range of products – from traditional headstones, kerb sets, urns and benches to remembrance trees, plaques and vases. We also offer more personal and modern options such as jewellery, pin badges and photo related memorial products. As well as completely customised items.

From 9 September 2024, there will no longer be a doctor's fee in England and Wales when arranging a funeral. This is because from this date, all deaths in England and Wales will be independently viewed, either by a relevant coroner or by a Medical Examiner and the cost will be met by the NHS.

A Medical Examiner is a specifically trained independent senior doctor who will scrutinise all deaths across a local area that do not fall under the coroner's jurisdiction. By providing a greater level of scrutiny over the cause of deaths; it is hoped that the introduction of Medical Examiners will make it less likely that unnatural causes of death will go unnoticed; that the number of deaths unnecessarily referred to the coroner will be reduced and that national data about causes of death will be captured with greater accuracy.

Medical Examiners, or Medical Examiner Officers, will also be available to meet with families, or their representatives, if they wish to discuss the cause of death.

Our reviews

4.95
based on 93 reviews
Helen Woods
16th Jun 2025

When my father died, after a short illness, we were absolutely lost. We picked a funeral director based on driving past the location each day on our way to visit him in hospital (after checking that the reviews supported our choice). Thank goodness we picked Clarabut & Plumbe. From the very start, they were supportive and respectful of us and my father, guiding us through the arrangements and ensuring that we understood each step of the process. The whole team made an unbearable situation bearable, and I and my family will always be so grateful for that.

The funeral itself was absolutely beautiful, and brilliantly organised - a great send-off for Dad. If I could give more stars, I would.

Carol Andrew
18th Mar 2025

Kind thoughtful staff. They showed respect for my father, knocking on the door when I went to see him and gave me all the time I needed

jo valentine
2nd Nov 2024

Well what can l say?

From the moment you took Mum ( Brenda Haggerwood ) into you care ,until the moment you left us at the Red Lion in Elstow, you were absolutely fantastic, everything was dealt with as if Mum was your own, with the upmost respect and dignity.

Simon- if ever anyone was born to a job, then this is you. Please don't ever change and l thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I can not recommend Clarabut and Plumbe high enough.

THANK YOU 💖

Tracey Watkins
25th Oct 2024

The staff were so kind and helpful after my partner suddenly passed.

Special thanks to Simon - who went the extra mile.

Alison Barnes
4th Jun 2024

We cannot fault the care, love and dignity that the people at Clarabut and Plumb gave to us while we were arranging mum's funeral especially the care for my mum. All our wishes were carried out..Special thanks go to Tamsyn who helped us make the arrangements and Heidi who looked after us on the day itself. We would not hesitate to recommend you and to use you again.

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Head Office

4 King Edwards Court,
King Edward Square,
Sutton Coldfield,
West Midlands, B73 6AP

0800 456 1047Contact us
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Calls are recorded for monitoring and quality purposes. All calls made to 0800 and 0808 numbers are free of charge whether made from a landline or mobile phone. Dignity Funerals Limited is a company registered in England No. 00041598. VAT registered No. 486 6081 14. Registered office: 4 King Edwards Court, King Edwards Square, Sutton Coldfield B73 6AP. Dignity Funerals Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under Firm Reference Number 967130. Please note that the selling and administering of funeral plans is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), however if you are purchasing a funeral without a funeral plan this will not be covered by FCA regulation.