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Barnes & Sons – serving local families
for nearly ninety years
The family owned funeral directors Barnes & Sons, at 128 Askew Road and 112 Devonport Road, was founded in 1919 as a car hire business by Sidney George Barnes. The original premises were located in Hansard Mews W14 but in the late 1920’s Sidney opened a Funeral Directors in Bramley Road W11.
By this time Sidney had been joined by his two sons Sidney and Leslie and in 1932 the family moved from Hansard Mews to 112 Devonport Road, Shepherds Bush. In 1936 the branch in Bramley Road was closed and a new premises at 151 Askew Road, Shepherds Bush was opened.
In 1950 Leslie’s son Allan joined the company prior to being called up for National Service and returned to the business two years later.
The founder of the business Sydney George Barnes died in 1956.
Leslie’s youngest son Roy came into the business in 1964 after spending five years working for the Midland Bank. By this time Leslie was quite ill and he died in April1966 and Sydney decided to retire in the following June.
In July 1966 Allan and Roy took over the running of the business as the third generation of the Barnes family. Within a few weeks they were handling the major funeral arrangements for the three Shepherds Bush policemen who were dramatically gunned down in Braybrook Street on August 12th 1966.
Allan and Roy finally sold the business in 2000 to Lodge Brothers, another family of local funeral directors. The Lodge family are in fact a seventh generation of local funeral directors, originally founded in Feltham in 1780.
Commenting on the purchase of Barnes & Sons, Robert Lodge stated “When Allan and Roy agreed to sell their business to Lodge Brothers we felt they chose our family to carry on their good name and personal service to the deceased and their bereaved loved ones.”
In recent years the Askew Road branch has been moved from 115 to modern, peaceful and comforting surroundings at 128 Askew Road. The Devonport Road branch has also been refurbished along with a branch in Paddington operating under the family name of E.A. Langley.
Today, Barnes & Sons is wholly owned and managed by six members of the Lodge family (Andrew, Christopher, Michael, Beverley, Janet and Robert) who are the seventh generation of the family to serve as funeral directors. A family you can turn to in your time of need.
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