About Us
service, serving Poringland, Chedgrave and the surrounding communities, we were first established in 1935 when the funeral service was based at Shotesham, we moved to our office in Poringland in 2011 and acquired our office in Chedgrave in 2016.
As a family run independent funeral service we strive to provide the best care to all our families and are on hand 24 hours a day, we do not use call centres to answer our telephone lines out of hours.
We understand that this is a stressful time for families and we strive to provide all arrangements as straightforward as possible, remaining calm and approachable at all times. We are here to offer guidance and have a wealth of experience helping families chose the correct service for their loved one, we treat everyone with dignity and respect and look after loved ones like they are members of our own families.
Our History
Founded in 1935
R.B Copping Funeral Services was founded in 1935 by Reginald Basil Copping in the rural village of Shotesham, Norfolk. He started his business as a private building contractor and like many small local building companies at that time diversified into the funeral trade. As both businesses started to expand Reg found that he enjoyed the satisfaction of the funeral profession – offering personal support, advice and peace of mind to those distressed at having lost a loved one. Reg began to dedicate more and more of his time and efforts into developing the funeral business. Over time the business gained a strong and increasingly trusted reputation as an independent local family concern.
Emma joins the team
Following his untimely death, the family felt very strongly that all of the good work, the strong local community connections and the respect and trust that Nigel had built up over the past 20 years should continue. It was decided to look at ways to restructure the company in order to secure the future of the business and to safeguard the reputation that has been created and nurtured by both Reg and Nigel – that of a highly respected provider of local independent funeral services.
Betty & Nigel
Goodenough
become partners
Nigel continued his work as a fully qualified Funeral Director in the family firm, and further enhanced the reputation that had been developed by R B Copping Funeral Service in the local area. Nigel worked to exceptionally high standards demonstrating the highest levels of kindness, care, sensitivity and dignity in dealing with people at this most difficult time of need.
Emma leads the team
Moving forward
In September 2011 we moved to our new premises on the street in Poringland, the site used to be garage and car sales
and also a funeral directors back in 1904. The move opened up a new chapter in our business, better, more modern facilities,
we have a large lounge which is used as the arranging room, it is spacious with a sofa and chairs, we have a nice fire and fireplace,
the room is light and comforting.
We also now have two Chapels of Rest with a private seating area, which allows families to have their
own time in peace while visiting their loved one. After our move to Poringland we purchased our own Daimler/Jaguar hearse and limousine.
The team is led by Emma Stork who has worked in funeral service since leaving school which is now coming up for 30 years, she has been a funeral director for 25 of them, Emma has a wealth of experience and is a proud holder of the Diploma in Funeral Directing. Emma is known locally by so many families that she has looked after over the last 16 years which she has been at Coppings. Assisting Emma and based at the Chedgrave office is Linda Tonks, many people know Linda locally as she grew up in Brooke and went to the local schools. Linda came to work with us 9 years ago after wanting a career change working in the care sector. Linda has studied and has attained the Diploma in Funeral Arranging and Administration. Supporting both Emma and Linda is Joanne Frost, Joanne is a great niece of Reg and Irene Copping so she has been around funeral service all her life, Joanne mainly looks after all the administration including the handling of donations. Joanne also arranges and conducts funerals when necessary and has now worked for the family business for almost 30 years.
Linda worked for the firm for nearly 10 years and left at the end of 2024 to spend more time with her family.
In December 2024 we welcomed James Myers to the team. Working in the funeral industry for over 20 years James brings with him a wealth of experience gained from his time spent working for larger corporate funeral service providers. Living in Poringland with his wife and two young daughters, James is delighted to have been given the opportunity to join R.B. Copping and sees it as a privilege to be able to serve his local community.
Our Team
Emma Stork
James Myers
Joanne Frost
Martin Frost
Alan Shields
John Newby
Colin Keeler
Nick Gibbs
Jem Keeler
Emma Stork
James Myers
Joanne Frost
Martin Frost
Alan Shields
John Newby
Colin Keeler
Nick Gibbs
Jem Keeler
Contact Us
Our primary goal is to be available to you and perform the professional and caring service needed, in order to reduce the burden to you and your family.
Simply contact our team
to find out more about our services
