Cradle toGrave Willow

Cradle to Grave Willow is run by Cath Pratley, who learned basketmaking while living in a yurt in the early 1990s and trained in coffin-making under the craftsman Terry Bensley in 2004, before starting the business with her son Jim the following year. The workshop stands on its own plot at Withysmythe Meadow in Stour Row, near Gillingham, where the willow used in the coffins and baskets is grown on site rather than bought in. Tosh Abbott has since joined the workshop, bringing blacksmithing, leatherwork and knife-making alongside the weaving, and the range now extends to Viking-style ship caskets and woven shroud carriers as well as everyday baskets. The business has been named Coffin Supplier of the Year at the Good Funeral Awards three times, in 2015, 2021 and 2023. Orders and workshop visits are arranged directly with Cath and her small team rather than through a shop counter.