Mason & Stokes traces its roots to 1853, when Thomas Stokes founded Stokes Funeral Service in the Cotswolds. In the 1950s, David Mason — then a car mechanic — began helping Eric Stokes by driving the hearse, and as the childless Eric came to see David's family as his natural successors, David's children Richard and Joy joined the firm in 1984 and 1990 respectively. The business moved to its current Tudor Lodge premises on Hewlett Road in 1987, and following Richard's death in 2022, Joy Mason now runs the firm with her daughter Jessica Bryars — three generations of the same family in continuous charge.
The firm provides bereavement support and funeral arrangements, pre-paid funeral plans through Golden Charter (FCA-regulated, FRN 965279), chapels of rest and transportation, serving Cheltenham and the wider Gloucestershire area. Its team of funeral directors, administrative staff, mortuary technicians and bearers reflects a business that has grown steadily while remaining genuinely family-run.
Describing itself simply as a "family run, local business," Mason & Stokes continues to draw on more than 170 years of continuous service to Cheltenham families.
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