S. Clarke & Son Funeral Directors

Compassionately supporting local families since 1918. In 1918 Samuel Clarke started the company to compassionately support local families and give their loved ones the send-off they deserved. With his wife Minnie, they quickly gained a reputation for treating each family with dignity and respect. The company proudly upholds these foundational values four generations and more than 100 years later. The young business outgrew its offices and moved to Movilla Street. This provided space for horses and with a spirit of innovation that has remained at the company’s core, the town’s first motorised hearse in 1929. Joined by his son John in 1940, further growth lead to the requirement in 1970 for a funeral church. This was built in Court square, the present day location of our Newtownards branch. John and Lyla’s son Jim joined the company in 1979 and oversaw the opening of a branch in Bangor in 2004 to better serve families living in North Down. That year, the company also became the first funeral director in the world to offer live-streaming which enabled families separated by distance or illness to remotely attend the funerals of loved ones. Johnathan, the 4th generation of the Clarke family to serve the business, oversaw a large investment into greener energy, starting with the installation of 20KW of solar panels across both locations. The company also introduced the first fully electric ambulance in Northern Ireland and the first plug-in-hybrid electric hearses and a limousine. Now, most of the company’s funeral services are powered by the sun.