Black Country funeral directors celebrate 100-year milestone

One of the West Midlands’ longest established independent funeral directors is marking 100 years of trading in September.

NE Downing, headquartered in Blackheath, is a family-run funeral business with branches in Brierley Hill, Halesowen, Kingswinford, Hagley, Dudley, and Gornal.

It was founded in 1919 by Charles Taylor, the grandfather and great-grandfather of the business’ current directors.

As part of its 100-year anniversary, the firm is also celebrating a century of banking with Lloyds Bank, which over the years has supported the acquisitions of JT Brookes, JR Jones and Dainty & Downing funeral directors.

More recently, NE Downing secured a six-figure funding package from the bank to invest in a new fleet of Mercedes Benz hearses and limousines.

Stephen Downing, chairman at NE Downing, said: “In the early 1900s, my grandparents began buying horses which were used to pull funeral carriages. This was the beginning of NE Downing.

e’ve now expanded to service the entire Black Country and have a 28-strong team.”

Claire Carr, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Supporting family-run, independent businesses like NE Downing forms part of our commitment to helping Britain prosper. It’s a privilege to be able to mark 100 years and four generations working with the firm, which has grown significantly over the past century.

“Family businesses play a key role in helping to boost the local economy and it’s crucial that they have the right guidance and funding to continue to succeed and prosper.”

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