ARKA Original Funerals

21/01/2026

A stunning piece of felted art has arrived from a wonderful maker in Estonia.. we love it! This is the before and we will show the after once we’ve sewn it onto a stretcher cover. Then we will have yet another cosy beautiful option to cover people when we come to gently collect them.

15/01/2026

New post on our website about caring for your dead - as we have noticed a move towards delays between death and the funeral that we wanted to talk more about, encouraging all to consider the dead as well as the living when planning a funeral.

16/12/2025

Ooh look at ARKA being all cutting edge! Thank you Norman, we appreciate the praise. Are we your role model?! 😉

20/11/2025

Just here to sing the praises of our wonderful neighbour who produce delicious food Weds-Sun with an especially appealing array of sweet treats that changes to new delights every day! They are just two doors up from us and may have contributed to some weight gain amongst the team! Fantastic brunches, great coffee.. just lovely having such a nice space to suggest to anyone nearby to pop in to.

19/09/2025

Countdown to our move! Surrey Street is where the ARKA mission began in October 2003. We are moving everything to our main premises in Islingword Road. We will keep you posted!

17/09/2025

Audrey with her new ID badge, although seems to often be caught sleeping on the job!

03/09/2025

Highly recommend catching the exhibition, amazing display of embroidered dusters!

Also here to give an apology our phones have not been behaving recently, very much hoping to all will be fixed in a day or two but if all else fails email is working fine and 01273766620 should get you through to us.

12/08/2025

Wonderful crows now living on our meter boxes on our forecourt for all of the neighbourhood to enjoy!

08/05/2025

The The Good Funeral Guide CIC would love to hear from anyone who has experience of someone dying and then having a direct cremation. If you can spare a moment to answer a few questions please do so here

The number of people in the UK choosing direct cremation has risen significantly in recent years, with some indicators suggesting as many as one in five are opting for an unattended cremation.

22/04/2025

Our latest window display of a beautiful painted coffin by illustrator .burr. Her design is inspired by Mexican folk art and the backdrop is a nod to the wonderful starling murmurations often seen by the West Pier. Worth a look in person if you’re passing!

13/02/2025

We would like to let you know that lovely Sarah is leaving Arka after 14 years with us. Sarah has been central to our development and our customer care for all this time, she has helped Cara steer the ARKA ship through the most brilliant (and some pretty hair-raising) times! She will be missed by all of us here and I know that people in our community will miss her as well. We wish Sarah all the best in the future and hope that she will stay in touch with us as we continue to forge forward in the ARKA way.

10/02/2025

A mushroom coffin now available to view in our Surrey Street window! Made by the impressive Loop Biotech, comes with a beautiful moss mattress and is fully biodegradable. What innovation for the funeral world! Feel free to come by to see for yourself.