Our Family
Let our family take care of yours
We are a family run business, with friendly and experienced staff
Crabtree and Son is a long established, independent and family owned funeral directors. We live and work within the areas of Morley, Drighlington, Gildersome, New Farnley, Birkenshaw and Birstall where our family is well known and respected.
Mervyn Crabtree was born in Morley Hall in 1938, being the son of a modest Drighlington family. In 1965 Mervyn and his business partner bought a small joinery and undertakers firm in Bruntcliffe, Morley called Naylor and Warne. It was renamed Crabtree & Astin and the business started to take off. In 2002, after many successful years of joinery, Mr Astin had already retired and Mervyn decided to sell this side of the company to concentrate on the funeral business with his son Peter. By this time a modern and comfortable funeral home had been built in Drighlington, where Mervyn and his family had their roots. Mervyn has always been strongly supported by his wife Monica and sister Mavis who have both worked within the business for many years. Mervyn, in his retirement is much involved with the local community and took part in the campaign to save the local school. He is also a committee member of Morley Elderly Action and in his spare time enjoys his garden and is an active member of Birstall woodturning club.
Peter Crabtree was educated at Gildersome Primary School and then later at Morley High School on Fountain Street. He learned the business from his father, a traditional joiner and undertaker. However, Peter did not go straight into the family business because after school and college he went into the catering industry, ‘front-of-house’, and also travelled Europe for 2 years. On returning home, he served an apprenticeship as a joiner, and joined the family funeral business, which he has been building up for the last few years. Peter is now in charge, but still relies on his dad for invaluable support and advice when needed. When Peter is not working, he likes nothing more than a good meal in a good restaurant with good friends. He enjoys the theatre and music, runs most mornings, and enjoys skiing and snowboarding. Like many of the best funeral directors Peter has no formal qualifications in the industry. Funeral directing is not something you can learn by sitting an exam, it is something that comes naturally with working in and around people.