The family of a much-loved parent have said they are “blown away” after an award-winning company agreed to preserve their mum’s ashes in a memorial bench installed in the iconic surroundings of Manchester Monastery.
Stockport-based Marie Worthington said she was forever grateful to Derbyshire firm TDP which went above and beyond to find a home for mum Norma Copeland’s ashes inside a memorial bench – the first time the company had been asked to accommodate such a request.
Marie said: “It was suggested to us that a recycled plastic bench as opposed to a wooden one would be a good way for us to go, because it would last for a very long time, would not need maintenance, and there’s the environmental aspect too.
“We wanted to put her ashes in the memorial bench and when we asked TDP, they said they would try to find a way to do it, and I thought ‘wow’. Their kindness just blew me away.”
TDP founder and managing director Rob Barlow said: “This was the first time we have been asked to put the ashes of a loved one inside one of our memorial benches, but we were determined to try and make it work.
“We were able to create a space at the back of the bench so that Norma’s ashes could be placed inside. We’re very happy we managed to find a solution and we hope that the family will be comforted by the presence of the ashes as they remember Norma.”
The memorial bench for Norma has been installed in the healing garden of the Manchester Monastery, a Gothic revivalist building designed by EW Pugin, son of Augustus Pugin who was responsible for Big Ben and the interior of the Houses of Parliament.
Also known as the Gorton Monastery, the grade II* listed building fell into disrepair and was saved by the efforts of loyal fundraising volunteers and millions in lottery funding.
Marie said her family were delighted that the TDP memorial bench for Norma had been placed at the monastery, as it was where her mother had converted to Catholicism under the guidance of Franciscan monks, and where she married her husband.
“The monastery is a very special place for us,” she said.
“We were so happy to have Michelle from TDP hold our hand through the process of finding a way to put mum’s ashes in her memorial bench. It’s so lovely for us to know that she is safely sealed inside that bench and we can sit in the monastery’s healing garden and think of her. It means everything to us. The quality of the bench is wonderful and its location is perfect.
“This memorial bench has been made from recycled plastic waste equivalent to 40,000 bottle tops which has then been saved from going into landfill and the seas. My mum was a real giver and cared about everyone as well as the environment so that gives us great pleasure too.”
Elaine Griffiths OBE, chief executive of The Monastery of St Francis & Gorton Trust, said: “The Monastery is still owned and run by the very same charitable trust that saved it from ruin many years ago and I have fond memories of Norma Copeland. Norma visited often and shared our vision to put the Monastery back at the heart of the community once again. We were very grateful that the family sponsored this special memorial bench to honour her memory as their generous donation has also helped to support the Trust’s charitable work in the local community.”
Norma’s memorial bench is one of TDP’s ‘Peak’ designs, which uses around 1.65 cubic metres of recycled plastic, equating to a saving of 58 days of CO2 emissions from the average UK home.
TDP won a rare and coveted King’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainability in 2023.