F.W. Paine Funeral Directors

F.W. Paine Funeral Directors

Funeral directors' premises dating to the mid 19th century with a 1908 shop interior.

The building is two storeys with attic and basement levels. The front façade is constructed of stock brick, painted, with four bays. Mid 20th-century casement windows light the upper storey, while below sits a late 19th-century shop frontage with modern glazing. The shop frontage retains its original stall-risers, pilasters, consoles and fascia, though modern signage has been added. A lamp bracket remains between the first and second windows. The front door features a brass letterbox bearing the company name. The rear façade is rendered with four bays of 20th-century casement windows and a 19th-century shop frontage beneath with modern glazing. The building is roofed in slate.

The ground floor contains the 1908 funeral directors' premises, lined throughout with oak panelling featuring fluted pillars and pilasters. Two quatrefoil vents sit at ceiling level. The reception area has walls fitted with purpose-built drawers, cupboards and glass-fronted cabinets with brass fittings designed to display items such as coffin furnishings and urns. An original fitted umbrella stand, original radiators and a small arched glass-backed recess are also present. A carved shelf in an oak leaf pattern sits beneath the large arched recess. Three arched doorways lead from the reception area to arranging rooms and back office. A door from the reception area to the hallway at the foot of the stairs bears painted lettering on glass reading 'Way Out'. The ceiling is formed of thin wooden timbers creating square panels.

The front office retains fitted desks, shelves, cupboards and an original radiator. The arranging office, two chapels of rest and record stores (containing the company's registers dating back to its establishment in 1884) are divided by wood and glazed panels, some with frosted glazing featuring elongated hexagonal leading edged with red or yellow stained glass. A general storage area and back office are oak panelled with shelves. The back office contains a safe painted to resemble a tall wooden cupboard and a large panelled glass partition. The kitchen retains a ceramic sink, wall tiles and panelling. Two water closets retain ceramic sinks, wall and floor tiles and original toilets. A long flip-top counter spans the back corridor area.

The first floor is accessed via a mid 19th-century stick baluster staircase. The hallway and back boardroom are oak panelled, though not to ceiling height. The hallway has windows overlooking a central light well. The boardroom contains a simple painted arched brick fireplace. The remaining first-floor rooms have been converted for staff accommodation or general storage and are not of special interest.

The attic comprises two rooms used as general storage.

The basement is an open space used for record storage.

The boardroom was used until recently as an office by The Necropolis Company (formerly The London Necropolis and National Mausoleum Company, established 1852), whose records remain in the basement.

F.W. Paine represents a nationally rare survival of a complete Edwardian funeral directors' interior, complete with original fixtures and fittings including glass-fronted cabinets for displaying coffin furnishings and urns. The special interest of the building is confined to the bespoke undertaker's premises on the ground floor and parts of the first floor.