Undercliffe Cemetery is located between Otley Road and Undercliffe Lane in the
Bolton and Undercliffe
Bolton and Undercliffe is an electoral ward in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, England.
The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 16,365. Bolton and Undercliffe covers the area east of Bradford Beck, between Shipley ...
ward,
Bradford,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
The cemetery stands atop a hillside overlooking the city and contains some very impressive Victorian funerary monuments in a variety of styles.
It is a notable example of a
Victorian cemetery where a number of rich and prominent local residents have been buried, notably mill owners and former mayors.
Undercliffe Cemetery is grade II* listed by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
in their
Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.
History
In the early 1800s Bradford's textile industry underwent rapid growth and with it Bradford's population, consequently there was pressure on housing then on burial ground space and this eventually became a health hazard.
As a result, many of the existing cemeteries were closed by an
Order in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...
.
Partly in response to this situation the 'Bradford Cemetery Company' was set up and provisionally registered in 1849.
Membership of the company included local notables Henry Brown,
Robert Milligan, William Rand, Edward Ripley and
Titus Salt
Sir Titus Salt, 1st Baronet (20 September 1803 in Morley – 29 December 1876 in Lightcliffe), was a manufacturer, politician and philanthropist in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, who is best known for having built Salt's Mill, a ...
.
The land used for the cemetery had previously been agricultural land with a farmhouse on part of the Undercliffe Estate of the Hustler family.
The plot was purchased in 1851 by John Horsfall
with £3,400 of monies from the Bradford Cemetery Company
and the Bradford Cemetery Company properly founded in 1852.
The cemetery was designed and laid out over the years 1851–1854 by park and cemetery designer
William Gay (1814–1893)
and architect John Dale for the sum of £12,000 for landscaping, planting and building
involving the building in 1854 of two chapels on the main promenade.
The
Anglican western section of the cemetery was
consecrated by the
Bishop of Ripon
The Bishop of Ripon is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The bishop is one of the area bishops of the Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York. The area bishop of Ripon has oversight o ...
on 1 August 1854
and on the 21st the cemetery was opened.
William Gay was appointed the first registrar for the cemetery
and Joseph Smith (1800–1858) the first land agent.
With its laid out gardens, lawns, shrubbery and few graves the cemetery became popular for
promenading in an age before Bradford had its first public park.
In 1876 the planned westward extension of the cemetery did not happen
and the land instead went for housing.
The two chapels built on the main promenade in the historic core of the cemetery were replaced in 1878 by two larger chapels designed by
Lockwood and Mawson.
Recent history
Following a decline in the number of burials the Undercliffe Cemetery Company was liquidated in 1977.
Bradford Council at that stage could not justify the cost of adopting the cemetery.
In 1980 the site was sold to a property developer
then the chapels were demolished along with the lodges at the north and south entrances and some kerbstones were removed.
It emerged that the registration of the cemetery to the property developer had been refused by the
Land Registry
Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, ...
under a clause that prohibits the sale of consecrated ground that has been used for burial.
In 1984 after a local campaign, Bradford Council applied to compulsorily purchase the cemetery and the area was made a
conservation area.
A £360,000 three year Community Programme Scheme funded by the
Manpower Services Commission
The Manpower Services Commission (MSC) was a non-departmental public body of the Department of Employment Group in the United Kingdom created by Edward Heath's Conservative Government in 1973. The MSC had a remit to co-ordinate employment and tr ...
cleared up the results of previous years' neglect
and a lodge from Bowling Cemetery, Bradford was moved to the site and rebuilt at the southern entrance.
In 1987 the management of the cemetery was given over to 'The Undercliffe Cemetery Charity' and in 1988
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
added the cemetery to its Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest as grade II listed and upgraded it to II star the next year.
Layout
The cemetery is at a height of 210 m above sea level with an area of 26 acres (10 hectares) accommodating some 124,000 burials and about 23,000 marked graves.
A major feature of the cemetery is the long east west promenade with the western end having excellent views over Bradford.
Also at the western end is a small
bandstand
A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...
.
At the historic core the land to the north of the promenade is terraced down to the northern entrance on Otley Road.
Both entrances have a car park but only the south entrance on Undercliffe Lane has a lodge used for administration.
Most of the western half of the site is consecrated for
Anglican burials while the eastern half is set aside for
non-conformist burials such as
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
,
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
, and
Quaker.
The Quaker graves are characterised by their identical horizontal ground level memorial stones.
The northern area of the cemetery was set aside for the un-baptised and those who had been
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
or committed suicide.
Communal graves known as 'company plots' are to be found on the southern side of the site where up to thirty coffins at a time were interred in one grave.
Memorials
The cemetery contains the graves and memorials of the rich and famous, local industrialists, ex-mayors, businessmen, professionals, mill workers and their relatives.
Listed buildings
Six of the memorials in the cemetery have
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
status and all are in good condition except for the Swithin Anderton monument.
* Joseph Smith Obelisk (mid/late 19th century), a prominent 30 ft tall grey granite
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
to Joseph Smith, surveyor, businessman and land agent to the cemetery company.
* Mawson Monument (1889), a monument to
William Mawson
William Mawson (17 May 1828 – 25 April 1889) was an English architect best known for his work in and around Bradford.
Background
Mawson was born in Leeds on 17 May 1828 to parents William and Mary Mawson. His father was a prominent paper ...
, architect partner of
Henry Lockwood – a granite obelisk on a
pedestal
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
.
* Swithin Anderton Monument (1860), a
Scott Monument
The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí monument in Havana. It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, oppo ...
inspired memorial to Swithin Anderton,
JP and family, signed I S L Thornton.
* Illingworth Mausoleum (~1860), a grey granite
mausoleum of the Illingworth family, owners of Whetley Mills on Thornton Road, in the style of an Egyptian
mastaba.
* Behrens Monument (1889), a monument in
renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
style to Sir
Jacob Behrens
Sir Jacob Behrens (13 November 1806 – 22 April 1889) was an Anglo–German textile merchant. His company, Sir Jacob Behrens & Son Ltd., was established in 1834 and still operates today. Behrens was Jewish and was a prominent member of the Ang ...
and family.
* Miles Moulson Monument (~1856) a monumental sculpture to the Moulson family of Horton by John Throp,
sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
.
Miles Moulson himself was a
monumental mason.
Other notable burials
* Sir
Anthony Gadie (1868–1948) Military officer, Bradford Mayor and MP.
*
William Gay (1814–1893) Landscape gardener, surveyor and first registrar of Undercliffe Cemetery.
*
Stafford Heginbotham (1933–1995) Business owner and former Chairman of
Bradford City A.F.C.
* Sir
Isaac Holden, bart (1807–1897) inventor and manufacturer.
*
Robert Milligan (1786–1862) Bradford's first mayor and Liberal MP.
* Sir
Henry Mitchell (1824–1898) Founder of the Technical School, Mayor and first Freeman of the city.
* Sir
Henry Ripley
Sir Henry William Ripley, 1st Baronet (23 April 1813 – 9 November 1882), was a British businessman, philanthropist and Liberal Party politician who switched to the Conservative Party.
Ripley became a principal partner in Edward Ripley and So ...
, bart. (1813–1882) Industrialist and MP.
*
Alfred Angas Scott
Alfred Angas Scott (1875–1923) was a British motorcycle designer, inventor and founder of the Scott Motorcycle Company. A prolific inventor, he took out over 50 patents between 1897 and 1920, mostly concerning two-stroke engines and road vehic ...
(1875–1923) Motorcycle designer, inventor and founder of
The Scott Motorcycle Company
The Scott Motorcycle Company was owned by Scott Motors (Saltaire) Limited, Shipley, West Yorkshire, England and was a well-known producer of motorcycles and light engines for industry. Founded by Alfred Angas Scott in 1908 as the ''Scott Eng ...
.
*
John Henry Bell (1832–1906), physician and researcher best known for his work on
Anthrax.
War Memorial
Close to the car park at the southern entrance onto Undercliffe Lane is a war memorial in the form of Cross of Sacrifice to those who died in the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
s.
Behind the Cross of Sacrifice a low kerb memorial lists Commonwealth service personnel buried in the cemetery whose graves could not be marked by headstones.
In all 135 Commonwealth service personnel – 92 from the First and 43 from the Second World War are buried here.
Many of the former were burials from the Bradford War Hospital.
The Undercliffe Cemetery Conservation Area
After the opening of Undercliffe cemetery several surrounding properties were built on a speculative basis; a row of houses on Undercliffe Lane known as Guy's Cliffe
and properties on Undercliffe Old Road named Westfield Crescent and West View—all these properties now constitute the Undercliffe Cemetery
Conservation Area (1984), one of nearly 60 such areas in Bradford.
The Undercliffe Cemetery Charity
The site is owned by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council but is operated and maintained by the 'Undercliffe Cemetery Charity' and their volunteers, and it is still an operational cemetery with ongoing burials.
Approximately 30 monuments are cleaned each year to remove dirt and
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
.
Cultural references
The cemetery was used as a location in the films ''
Billy Liar'' (1963),
''
L.A. Without a Map
''L.A. Without a Map'' (also known as ''Los Angeles Without a Map'' and ''I Love L.A''.) is a 1998 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mika Kaurismäki, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Richard Rayner, based on Rayner's 1988 semi-autobiog ...
'' (1998),
and ''King Girl'' (TV 1998).
It was also used as a location in the television series ''
Peaky Blinders
The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, rack ...
'' (2013).
Undercliffe Cemetery was photographed by pioneering Victorian documentary photographer Samuel Smith
and more recently has been a subject for
anaglyph 3D
Anaglyph 3D is the stereoscopic 3D effect achieved by means of encoding each eye's image using filters of different (usually chromatically opposite) colors, typically red and cyan. Anaglyph 3D images contain two differently filtered colored ...
photography.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Bradford (Bowling and Barkerend Ward)
Bowling and Barkerend is a ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It contains 31 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade ...
References
Further reading
* ''In Loving Memory – The Story of Undercliffe Cemetery'', Colin Clark & Reuben Davison,
Sutton Publishing.
External links
Undercliffe Cemetery CharityEnglish Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in EnglandCirty of Bradford MDCFind a Grave
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{{Geographic location
, Northwest = Bolton,
Peel Park
, North = Undercliffe
, Northeast =
Eccleshill,
Undercliffe
, West =
, Center = Undercliffe Cemetery
, East =
Fagley
, Southwest = Wapping,
Bradford city centre
, South =
Barkerend
Barkerend is an inner-city area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, east of the city centre and surrounded by Undercliffe Cemetery, Bradford Moor, Laisterdyke, Bowling, Broomfields, Little Germany and Wapping, including an area of mo ...
, Southeast =
Bradford Moor
Bradford Moor is an electoral ward within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 21,210.
The ward includes the areas of Laisterdyke and Thornbury.
History
Bradford Moor Barra ...
{{Cemeteries in England
{{City of Bradford
Tourist attractions in Bradford
Cemeteries in West Yorkshire
Cemetery art
English Heritage sites in West Yorkshire