Levertons Since 1789

History of Levertons

Leases dating from 1789 show John Leverton of Henry Street (click to view map dated 1799) buying land and selling the houses he built on them. At this time, funeral work was conducted by local carpenters “undertaking” to make the coffins and transport the body. Leverton and Sons Ltd has been a family owned company of funeral directors based within the St Pancras area of London for two hundred and twenty years.

In 1763, John Leverton was baptised in the village of Meeth, Devon. One day he packed his bags and in 1789 he made the long journey to London to set up business as a carpenter. Coming from a Devonshire village, eighteenth century London must have seemed a vast place.

Initially, coffin-making would have represented only a small part of the work which employed John all those years ago, but as the area became more densely populated, the funeral side of his work expanded at such a rate that it soon dominated the business.


In the fourth generation of Leverton funeral directors, Henry John (1859-1935) was the eldest son. He moved our business premises to Eversholt Street in 1888. Our head office is in the same street today. His son Stanley (1883-1963) became a partner in 1909 and was later joined by his own sons: Derrick, Ivor and Basil. The seventh generation is represented by Ivor’s sons, Keith (now retired) and Clive. Our Head Office is in Eversholt Street where cousins Pippa and Andrew are based.

As children, Keith and Clive assumed that all houses had the phone ringing in the middle of the night and that everyone’s dads abandoned half-eaten evening meals on a regular basis. Funeral directing as a family trade is unusual because the business affects the lives of your nearest and dearest at all hours of the day. So, as children, the Levertons were always aware that the people on the other end of the telephone had to be treated with great care. This is without doubt where our training began.

Keith recalls meeting the school careers officer for the first time. The man had spent most of his day advising boys that they may not necessarily be selected for Arsenal and trying to convince them that perhaps a back-up plan might be a good idea. Keith sat down and firmly said ‘I want to be a funeral director’. The careers adviser was speechless for some time. Whether it was relief or disbelief, we’ll never know.

Modern communications have made our work much easier. The 24 hour nature of funeral directing can now be shared among several people as opposed to being the job of those who live above a Levertons branch. In the early days, it was the doorbell. Most people died at home 50 years ago and when that happened, we were around the corner - the first port of call for a family in distress.

Download a pdf of an article Basil Leverton wrote for the Camden Historical Society back in 1982 which gives more information about the History.

Immediate Assistance

In the case of someone dying at home, or if you need to contact us for immediate assistance out of our office hours, please do call us. We can arrange collection at any time of day or night:

Impeccable service. Very thoughtful, helpful and worry free especially during this difficult time.

Review by Ann E left on 12 May 2025

TRUSTist

I was extremely happy with the funeral I arranged with Levertons. Drew was extremely helpful and efficient throughout the organisation and I would definitely use Levertons again.

Review by Julia C left on 12 May 2025

Google

Over a period of years, this is the third funeral that Levetons have arranged for my family. The standard of service and attention to detail have been outstanding throughout. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Review by steve w left on 11 May 2025

Google

Very helpful, easy process at a difficult time. On the day everything went smoothly and the team from Levertons were great. Thank you

Review by natasha n left on 09 May 2025

Google

Staff in Leverton are highly experienced, very accommodating, sensitive to family needs and always do their best to meet the requirements

Review by Tt C left on 08 May 2025

Google

Excellent service from start to finish of a period of almost unbearable pain

Review by Martin E left on 08 May 2025

Google

Thank you for your excellent service. Your sensitivity and care enabled my husband's funeral to be a true celebration of his life.

Review by Bernadette M left on 08 May 2025

TRUSTist

Exceptional care & compassion always & so helpful with lots of advice

Review by Margaret l left on 08 May 2025

TRUSTist

From our very first meeting to the conclusion of my mother's funeral, the service we received from Levertons (and Drew in particular) was excellent. They were on top of everything, quick to respond, produced an excellent looking Order of Service, handled everything perfectly on the day of the funeral itself, and generally made us feel like we were in very safe hands during an emotional and difficult time.

Review by Toby M left on 07 May 2025

TRUSTist

Review by Pippa R left on 02 May 2025

TRUSTist

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