C. Bastock (Funeral Directors) Ltd

27/04/2026

Dying Matters Week, runs between 4th and 10th May. This year's theme is "Let’s Talk About Death and Dying," and aims to break the stigma surrounding these topics and encourage open conversations, which can help people prepare emotionally and practically for the end of life.

We have been invited to be in attendance at Solihull Hospital on Tuesday 5th May and Birmingham Heartlands Hospital on Thursday 7th May to engage with members of the public and help in these conversations as part of arrangements for this event.

As our role as a Funeral Director is not only to arrange a funeral but to also offer guidance and support to grieving families at their time of need, we will be there to answer any questions.

06/03/2026

It was an honour to help the family of the Late Ronald Charles Gumbley celebrate his life and all he achieved.

Lest we forget.

14/12/2025

This afternoon we held our annual Memorial Service for the loved ones of families we have had the privilege of looking after in the last twelve months. Once again a lovely service and a big thank you to all those involved, especially to Olton Friary.

20/10/2025

We often get asked how we do what we do. I think this poem sums it up perfectly. Everyday is a privilege.

The Funeral Director

The old lady stood before me,
Dressed in black and so forlorn
Her hair was neat and snowy white,
Her face creased and so careworn.

'My husband died this morning,
at the age of eighty two,
so I have come to see you,
To arrange what I have to do.

'We've been together sixty years'
She whispered as she sighed,
Her eyes filled up, her shoulders slumped
And she broke down and cried.

I comforted the old lady,
Took the burden from her mind,
Arranged the funeral, and she said,
'Thank you, you are so kind.'

After the funeral was over,
Grasping my hand, she said aloud,
'Bless you for all your efforts,
You certainly did him proud'

Now when people ask me
How I can do the job I do,
I think of that old lady and tell them,
Professional satisfaction - that's the clue.

10/10/2025

More and more people are now choosing Direct Cremations for their loved ones. Sometimes it is the personal choice of the person who has passed. You can contact us as your local independent funeral director for this type of funeral. We can also help personalise the funeral and provide options that are not always offered by other providers. If you would like more details about this please contact us at C. Bastock Limited on 0121 562 1816 or on our main telephone line 0121 706 4040.

02/10/2025

As we have been trading since the 1850's we thought it would be nice to share some of our history. The photo's below are from a funeral in the 1920's somewhere in Small Heath where the business was founded.

10/12/2024

More often than not, donations are collected for various charities at funerals and are administered by us on behalf of our families. Now and again we receive an acknowledgement from these charities to recognise the amounts that are sent on in memory of those loved ones. We received today one such letter from Alzheimer's Research UK. Individual donations, added together, make such a difference.

08/12/2024

Our annual memorial service takes place today. We have had to limit numbers this year due to restrictions in place for health and safety of those attending. The service is however being streamed through the Olton Friary Website and the link is below for anyone wishing to join us on line. The Service starts at 3.00 p.m. today.

We now have livestream in the chapel. The stream goes live 5 minutes before the start time.  Please click https://www.youtube.com/ go to our YouTube channel  where you will see the list of upcoming recordings and past recordings.

05/12/2024

We have a full time position available for a funeral arranger at our Yew Tree Office in Yardley. For more information about the role and to apply please contact us via WhatsApp button below.

07/08/2024

Our Full Time Funeral Operative Position has now been filled. Thank you to everyone who applied, I'm sorry if we didn't get back to you individually, we had a very large number of applicants as always.

10/04/2024

It was delivery day yesterday for our new fleet. The three hearses shown and four matching limousines looked stunning. Many thanks to Jon at Superior UK Automotive Ltd

06/02/2024

Through the generosity of everyone who attended we raised £995 at our annual Memorial Service in December. As always, we divided the money between Edwards Trust and Olton Friary who let us use their church for the event. Edwards Trust is such a worthwhile cause we are happy to continue to support.