1918
Samuel Clarke started the company to support local families and give their loved ones the send-off they deserved.
With his wife, Minnie, the young business quickly gained a reputation for treating families with dignity and respect.
With a spirit of innovation which runs in the company to this day, Samuel introduced the first motorised hearse to the town in 1929.
1938
With further growth, we moved to larger premises closer to the town centre, with space for a joinery workshop, stabling and a garage.
Samuel’s son John joined in 1940, and a fully motorised fleet was implemented.
John married Lyla in 1952 and she helped with book-keeping and engraving coffin plates.
1970
By 1970 a funeral church was required. This was built in Court Square, Newtownards. With pew seating and only 60 seats it was very different to the recently refurbished church located there today.
After Samuel’s death, John and Lyla’s son Jim joined the company in 1979.
In 1984, the fleet expanded which led to the Greenwell street garage feeling cramped.
1990
A solution to the space problem was found by expanding the Court Square premises adding offices, comfortable family rooms, a new garage and extra parking. Further renovations resulted in a spacious, modern funeral church.
An expansion in 2019 into the adjoining historic “Flax House” has provided further space for families to meet with relatives and make arrangements.
2004
To better serve our client families living in North Down we opened a branch in Bangor. The bright, air-conditioned funeral church offers comfortable seating for guests. A movable wall allows the choice of having a more intimate 130-seat gathering or up to 200 attendees if required.
2004
In 2004 we become the first funeral director in the world to offer live-streaming. This free service allows families separated by distance or illness to remotely attend funerals.
The idea of live-streaming funerals rapidly spread and we were encouraged to see live-streams from funeral churches all over the world providing some comfort to locked down familes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
2018
The company’s Centenary celebrations were bitter-sweet with the passing a few months before of John Clarke, aged 91.
In his memory a living legacy fund was established, offering grants to local charities and helping to build a primary school in Uganda.
2022
Johnathan joined in 2019 as the 4th generation of the family to serve the business. Recognizing our environmental responsibility towards future generations we installed solar panels at both branches. This was followed by the arrival of the first fully electric ambulance and the first plug-in-hybrid hearses and limousine in Northern Ireland.
The majority of our funeral services and vehicles now run on clean solar energy.
About Us
The loss of a loved one always hits hard, and it’s a time when families rally around to get each other through the tough moments.
At S Clarke and Son, we’re a fourth generation family business that provides a caring, compassionate approach to everyone who walks through our doors. The family values that we encompass began all the way back in 1918, when the company was started by Samuel Clarke in Newtownards.
Since then, we’ve been by the side of thousands of families, supporting them as they grieve, remember and commemorate the memory of their loved ones.
Today, we’re run by the third and fourth generations of the Clarke family.
A brief historyServing the Community for Four Generations
Over the last century, we’ve grown and developed including opening a branch in Bangor.
We continue to supply the community with a classic and elegant range of funeral services, while also providing contemporary options that offer everything you’d expect from a modern funeral.
In 2006 we became one of the first funeral directors in the world to offer live-streamed funerals for those unable to attend. More recently, with the addition of plug-in-hybrid hearses and limousines, a fully electric ambulance and extensive solar panels, we became the first in the country to power most of our funeral services using environmentally friendly solar energy.
To find out more about our extensive history and proudest achievements, click here.
Get in touch with S Clarke and Son today, and let our family help yours. Simply give us a call, or drop us an email and we’ll be in touch.
