Lychgate Funeral Home has been a part of Wellington’s heritage since 1876, through the amalgamation of three long established Funeral Homes. They were E Morris Jnr of Kent Terrace, I. Clark & Son of The Terrace and J E Taylor and Sons of Karori.

Today, Lychgate has four modern Funeral Homes and a Crematorium providing full service to Wellington city and suburbs. The combination of modern facilities, new technology, experienced staff and personal service, ensure our clients receive service second to none.

The name ‘Lychgate’ means a roofed gateway to a churchyard. In days gone by, the undertaker would arrive with the casket and place it in the Lychgate, awaiting the arrival of the clergyman to greet the family and process into the church to begin the Funeral Service.

Funeral Home Locations

Wellington City Corner Willis and Aro Street, Wellington City Tel: (04) 385 0745 Fax: (04) 801 7203

Our main Funeral Home is situated in a rose garden setting and was designed and built to resemble a grand colonial residence. The three original firms had the foresight to amalgamate in these premises, as Wellington City evolved with a growing commercial centre, increasing numbers of inner city residents and changing traffic flows.

Our Funeral Home comprises a 164 seat chapel with a catered reception lounge for refreshments after the service and private viewing lounges that are available for family and friends to spend time with their loved one. Parking is available on site and we have disabled access and facilities.

To celebrate the new millennium, we established a chapel to serve the East Wellington community. Our facilities include a Chapel with Catered Reception Room for refreshments.

Karori 89 Karori Road, Karori, Wellington Tel: (04) 476 6472 Fax: (04) 801 7203

Our funeral home in Karori was built in 2002 to a villa design. This office serves the North Western suburbs of Wellington and is located opposite the entrance to Karori Cemetery. Car parking is available on site.

Our Funeral Home in Johnsonville was opened in 2005, to provide service to the Northern suburbs. We are located in the main street by the roundabout, with carparking at the door.

Our chapel seats 140 people with standing room for at least another 100 and a catered reception lounge for refreshments after the service. We also have a small lounge chapel for intimate private services. Our Funeral Home incorporates private viewing lounges that are available for family and friends to spend time with their loved one. Car parking is available on site and we have disabled access and facilities.

Funeral Home Facilities

Our Funeral Homes have been designed and decorated to give a homely atmosphere. Our intention is to create an environment where people feel relaxed, at what can be a stressful time.

The Rose Gardens give our funeral homes colour and beauty. The beautiful roses have become our symbol of remembrance.

A family lounge is available for family to gather and discuss funeral arrangements or as a private area to gather adjacent to the viewing lounge.

The viewing lounge is available for those families who wish to visit their relative at the Funeral Home during the days prior to the funeral service. If families prefer, we can transport their relative to a family home, Marae, Hall, or venue of their choice, until the funeral service.

Our Chapels have modern facilities, ranging from modern sound systems to air conditioning to ensure your personal comfort. We offer four chapels, two at our funeral homes in Wellington City and Kilbirnie and two in Karori. They range in size, accommodating from 24 to 164 people seated and with additional standing room.

Catering is available in our reception lounges or at a venue of your choice. This relieves the need for families to prepare food, hire items such as crockery, teapots and water boilers, serve and clean up afterwards.

Car parking is available at our funeral homes, either on site or on the street.

A library of books is available for anyone to borrow at no cost. We have books suitable for children to read, for families experiencing bereavement or for people wishing to obtain information on death, funerals or bereavement and grief.

Our Vehicles consist of a fleet of modern metallic silver funeral hearses. A discreet transfer hearse is used to transfer the deceased from their place of death to the funeral home. Cars with drivers can be supplied for family and friends, to convey them from their home to the service venue and return them home afterwards.