Rose Funeral Service (Wyke Regis & Portland)

11/10/2025

My wife and I visited Coronation Street recently. They have saved some coffin plates.
Nice touch 🙂
Sam

03/10/2025

We now have a lovely silver hearse (Mercedes) and limousine added to our company fleet. If you don’t want everyone dressed in black…
…Just a thought…
Sam

26/09/2025

This was the first hearse I used when I took the helm at Rose’s. (DS420- Daimler 4.2Itr. If the nuclear bomb was dropped back then, you’d’ve seen us riding out of the dust cloud in this!) She was hired per funeral, not owned by the company.
But, before this life, she was owned by Grassby’s (to service Stockting’s) and later sold to my, then carriage master, Andrew Neal, who supplied Rose’s with funeral vehicles…
Nice to see these photos 🙂

Anyway, this is her looking after a well known jazz musician in Weymouth a while ago.
Sam

11/09/2025

The commemorative stone marking the former location of the Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester, on a site that is now the Thomas Hardye Gardens estate, has been refurbished as a kind gesture by the skilled stone masons at Grassby Memorials. The stone was erected on Moynton Road almost 30 years ago when the new housing was built but in recent years the wording had become faded.

The state of the commemorative stone was highlighted by Cllr Stella Jones at a meeting of the Dorchester Joint Heritage Committee and, when approached for help, the Grassby family business agreed to help restore the stone as many of the Grassby family and company staff had attended the school on the Moynton Road site.

Cllr Gareth Jones, chair of the Dorchester Joint Heritage Committee, said “I am so pleased to see the commemorative stone so beautifully restored by the skilled masons of Grassby Memorials through a kind gesture of the Grassby family – a family well-known by so many in the Dorchester community. This is once again a fitting tribute to a well-loved local school that has played such an important part in the history of the town”.

In the photo, from left to right are: Cllr Gareth Jones (Chair of Dorchester Joint Heritage Committee), Cllr Stella Jones (Dorchester Town Council), Martin Cheeseman (Grassby Memorials Branch Manager), William Grassby (Stonemason at Grassby Memorials), and Nick Grassby (Director of Grassby Funeral Services).

09/09/2025

The loved chapel at Weston street on Portland has now been sold. It’s going into good hands with our neighbours, one of which I have known all my life, the other I’ve known for a very good while and she and her brother were christened in there. And, they have good memories there (preserved some doors that just have good memories!)
My purposes in life have assisted me in being gifted the original font that would’ve been used to christen them both and the font will remain in the chapel for them.
Really, really pleased with the way things have gone.

If there are any thoughts on another venue we could use for our purposes on the island, I’d welcome your input…
My front room is always available. (Lindsay might have an issue with that though!)

Even though we don’t have an actual venue on Portland at the moment, we have not lost our commitment to the needs of our neighbours. I’m a Portland boy and understand the romance and importance of staying put until the last minute so I am genuinely looking for a facility for a ‘place to rest’ prior to the celebration of life or simple cremation.

Myself, Paul, Nicola, Lara and our amazing extended team are always here when needed.. , always…

Sad Weston is gone but confident it’ll be ok…

Sam

12/07/2025

So…. Friday, myself and Chris travelled 160 miles to meet our friend Ged from Dorset Carriage Masters in Stevenage with his motorcycle hearse to do what we do.👌🏻
Sam

29/05/2025

We offer ‘direct cremations’ which seems to be our most popular pre-paid funeral plan selection at the moment. We are a bit more expensive than some providers but the difference is it’s all done locally. If you don’t care where it’s done, that’s fine.

Before you decide what YOU want, talk to your family, see how they feel. We all want something for ourselves but the people that will be left behind might need something more….
They might want a funeral, you may have been someone they want to celebrate(?) Have the chat. You only need to have it once then everyone will know.
Sam

27/05/2025

After bringing someone into care during the night in the past couple of weeks, sadly our (much loved) team member was on his way home when he encountered a rather large bit of wildlife after it jumped into the road in front of the private ambulance. Thankfully our colleague is ok but it’s not a nice thing to happen to anyone.
Sam

22/05/2025

Sam Wilding

Our hearse having a well earned kip in her garage

22/05/2025

Our hearse having a well earned kip in her garage

03/04/2025

It’s really nice that families are happy to take more time to plan services so they and we can get what they need.

When I was 16, if someone died at the weekend the funeral would have probably been the next Thursday or Friday with the usual service at the ‘Crem’ with the local minister, and the organist playing either/or Jesu joy of man’s desiring/where sheep may safely graze as the coffin came in and we left after those horrid curtains closed and took our beloved away from us.
But then… It worked fine, it’s what happened…

Now we all want more involvement with the services, it’s all very different today.
If you lose someone now, your 80 year old relative would be astonished that the funeral is in 3/4 weeks… your other relatives would be pleased to have time to arrange to get there and support you and say goodbye properly.
Other family birthday/anniversary gatherings are organised months/years in advance… take your time with a funeral too.. We know you NEED it but, we also know you need it to be right and perfect.
Don’t be pressured by other people to ‘get it done’.
Sam
(Now aged 51!)

27/03/2025

I love that my Portland Parish Bier is getting so much use within the company.
That’s why I acquired her.
And, a local charity benefits from me personally to keep her from disappearing.
Sam