Undertaker, Funeral Director & Early Brighton Resident
Location: Meth*D*173
Joseph Monkhouse, one of Brighton’s earliest and most enduring undertakers, was born in early 1847 in the Cockermouth registration district of Cumberland, England. He was the son of Isaac Monkhouse and Martha née Williams, a family of modest means whose name appears frequently in the parish records of northern England. Like many young men of his generation, Monkhouse migrated to Victoria during the mid‑nineteenth century, part of the steady flow of British settlers seeking opportunity in the colony.
Trained originally as a carpenter, Monkhouse settled in Brighton, where he established himself as an undertaker — a profession that would define both his livelihood and his family’s legacy. On 5 March 1870, he married Ellen Johns (Victorian marriage 1870/2591), beginning a family whose presence in Brighton would span generations. The couple lived at 116 Carpenter Street, within the township in which he served, and remained part of the Brighton community throughout their lives.
By the 1870s Monkhouse had become a familiar figure in the district, conducting funerals under the name J. Monkhouse & Son, a business that later evolved into the well‑known firm Allison Monkhouse, one of Melbourne’s longest‑running funeral directors. His work placed him at the centre of community life, attending to families in times of grief and becoming a trusted presence in Brighton and surrounding suburbs.
One of the earliest burials he conducted at Brighton was that of George Ballantyne Tisdale, a gardener of Bay Street, Brighton North, who died on 7 October 1895 aged forty‑eight. The funeral, held on 8 October and officiated by Rev. J. E. Harrison, was typical of Monkhouse’s quiet professionalism. Tisdale’s burial in the Baptist section (BapA83) illustrates Monkhouse’s long association with the cemetery and his role in serving the district during a period when undertakers were central figures in local life.
Tragedy struck early in Monkhouse’s own family. His first wife, Ellen née Johns, died at Brighton on 2 November 1885 aged thirty‑five. Her inscription — “none knew her but to love her, none mentioned her name but to praise” — reflects the affection in which she was held. The monument, now weathered and damaged, originally commemorated Ellen alone before later inscriptions were added for Joseph and their daughter Ruby.
Monkhouse later married Jane Jennings, with whom he raised a large family: Arthur Middleton, Frederick Joseph, Bennett Johns, Lucy Ann (later Smith), Walter, and Ruby. Ruby, born in 1880, remained with the family throughout her life and is buried with her parents. A related Monkhouse grave lies nearby at Meth*D*193, purchased by the family in 1912, indicating the broader presence of the Monkhouse and Johns families in the Methodist section.
For decades Monkhouse conducted funerals across Melbourne, building a reputation for reliability, dignity and quiet professionalism. His firm’s later transformation into Allison Monkhouse ensured that his name remained part of Victoria’s funeral history long after his death. Clergy records show that Rev. H. Yeo officiated at his burial, reflecting Monkhouse’s long association with the Methodist community.
Joseph Monkhouse died at Brighton on 26 October 1931 aged eighty‑three and was interred the following day. His grave contains three family members: Ellen (1885), Joseph (1931) and Ruby (1955). Though the monument has suffered damage over time, it remains a significant marker of one of Brighton’s early tradesmen whose quiet work supported the community for more than half a century.