H.C. Townsend & Son Ltd

H.C. Townsend & Son is an independent, family-owned funeral directors based at Oakfield House in Follifoot, serving Harrogate, Wetherby, Boroughbridge, Ripon and the surrounding area across four generations. The firm was founded in 1927 by Henry Claude Townsend, who trained as a joiner before moving into coffin-making and funeral work; his son Kenneth Brian joined the business in 1952, and Kenneth's son David joined in 1981 before taking full control alongside his wife Ann in 2004.

The firm grew through the acquisition of Cundalls Funeral Directors in the late 1970s and Backhouse of Hunsingore in 2005, and opened a second office in Boroughbridge in 2022. Alex, the fifth generation of the family, joined the business in 2014 and conducted his first funerals in 2019, continuing a family tradition now spanning nearly a century, with David Townsend, who has over 40 years' experience as a funeral director, still active in the firm today.

H.C. Townsend & Son maintains its own Chapel of Rest and a Mercedes funeral vehicle fleet, and is SAIF-accredited and inspected, complying with CMA transparency requirements for funeral pricing. The firm works with CMA-registered providers for prepaid funeral plans and offers support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.