Closed pub to become a funeral parlour

A former pub in Halifax, Yorkshire, is to be converted into a…funeral parlour.

In a move which some will see as summing up the prospects for the on-trade, the Falcon pub on Salterhebble Hill will soon become a resting place for the dearly departed.

Amanda Dalby, who bought the closed pub as premises for her funeral services business, said she wanted to turn the property into a "beautiful funeral home".

"My business needed some premises and this site and its position was ideal," she said.

"I know a lot of people round here have fond memories of the building when it was a pub and I hope that if they have need of its services for a loved one they will see what a beautiful job has been done to the place," she said.

There will be no mortuary in the building, Amanda said, since a business partner will prepare bodies for burial or cremation at another site.

However coffins containing the deceased would reside in what used to be the main bar of the pub, en route to being taken to a cemetery or crematorium.

Amanda, who has experience of working behind a bar and will live in the flat above the former boozer, said she felt a bit guilty about the Falcon being converted into something other than a pub, but added: "It will still be offering a service to the community."

The pub's bar will be removed as part of the building's refurbishment programme as Amanda didn't think it would be appropriate for a funeral parlour. "You've got to be a bit sensitive," she added.