Natural Endings – Old Todmorden Mail Sorting Office
Rosie Grant is the owner of Natural Endings, a leader in the field of eco and unique funeral services. Working with her colleague Lisa van der Zanden, Rosie has established one of the few independent female-led funeral service businesses operating in the UK.
One day Rosie noticed that the old mail sorting office in Todmorden had been put up for sale. The building was constructed circa 1924 in the style of the adjacent Todmorden Old Hall and had been unused for over 5 years. Rosie was struck by how the window pattern flooded the space with natural light - ‘It's such a beautiful building with history. It is held with affection by people in our town. A place where love letters, telegrams, gifts have landed’. Rosie became excited about the possibility of creating 'a dream funeral home and ceremony space’ in the building and made a ‘cheeky offer’ which was accepted by the Post Office.
After a number of adaptations, including the creation of a mortuary in the Postie’s former bike shed, the large central hall has been made available to bereaved families enabling them to design their own bespoke funeral services. According to Rosie this has led to some inspired ways of saying final goodbyes-
‘One of the clients was a former local artist. The day before the service his son turned up outside in a van packed full of 300 of his art works. These were then displayed all-round the coffin and the room – his final exhibition displaying his life time works.’
Rosie describes the personality of the building as ‘elegant but practical and unfussy. Calm.’ And her relationship to it as being ‘love in the summer- tolerance in the winter!’
In the longer term Rosie is planning to develop the outbuildings to offer workspaces creating a cluster of like-minded enterprises.
