Kirstie Allsopp has said that the “carnage” of burying her mother in the back garden made her realise the importance of funeral specialists.
In 2014, the Location, Location, Location presenter buried her mother, Lady Fiona Hindlip, in a plot at the end of her Dorset garden, next to the burial site of the family pony and in accordance with her last wishes. Allsopp immediately had regrets, however.
“I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone,’ Allsopp told Times Radio. “I think there’s a reason that we hand over the bodies of people we love to people who are specialists in that field.”
Lady Hindlip fought breast cancer for 25 years, before leaving detailed instructions about how she would like to be buried and what clothing she would like to wear. Allsopp only learnt her mother’s cancer was terminal when she discovered that she had bought her own coffin, which had been stored in her mother’s attic.
“It is a little bit of a tyranny feeling that someone has left these very strong instructions you must adhere to,” Allsopp said, while recalling the series of disasters that occurred on the day of her mother’s funeral.
Lady Hindlip died during a period of heavy rain, which meant her burial plot filled with water. The family also had to abandon the outfit she had requested to be buried in, after struggling to dress her in it. Similarly, the “smart clothes” Lady Hindlip requested her mourners wear had to be slightly altered, with the family wearing wellington boots due to the “knee-deep mud” that had appeared in the garden due to the rain.
Allsopp said that she was now able to see the funny side of her mother’s funeral, adding: “I can describe it in a completely humorous way, that it was just fantastically dark and British.”
Allsopp, who also revealed she would like to be cremated in order to minimise fuss, most recently defended her decision to shoot a TV series under coronavirus lockdown.
