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, 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 Bec ...
ward,
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
The cemetery stands atop a hillside overlooking the city and contains
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literatur ...
funerary monuments in a variety of styles.
It is a notable example of a
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literatur ...
cemetery where a number of rich and prominent local residents have been buried, including 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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
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 ('' ...
.
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 – 29 December 1876) was an English manufacturer, politician and philanthropist in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, who is best known for having built Salt's Mill, a large textile mill ...
.
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
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
western section of the cemetery was
consecrated
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
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
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
.
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 in the United Kingdom created by Edward Heath's Conservative Government on 1 January 1974 under the terms of the Employment and Training ...
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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
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 ornamen ...
.
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
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
burials while the eastern half is set aside for
non-conformist burials such as
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
,
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
, and
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
.
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 deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
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 (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
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 m ...
, architect partner of
Henry Lockwood – a granite obelisk on a
pedestal
A pedestal 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 civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
.
* 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, opp ...
inspired memorial to Swithin Anderton,
JP and family, signed I S L Thornton.
* Illingworth Mausoleum (~1860), a grey granite
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
of the Illingworth family, owners of Whetley Mills on Thornton Road, in the style of an Egyptian
mastaba
A mastaba ( , or ), also mastabah or mastabat) is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mudbricks or limestone. These edifices marked the burial sites ...
.
* Behrens Monument (1889), a monument in
renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
style to Sir
Jacob Behrens
Sir Jacob Behrens (20 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 Angl ...
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
Monumental masonry (also known as memorial masonry) is a kind of stonemasonry focused on the creation, installation and repairs of headstones (also known as gravestones and tombstones) and other memorials.
Cultural significance
In Christian cu ...
.
Other notable burials
*
John Henry Bell (1832–1906), physician and researcher best known for his work on
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...
.
* Sir
Anthony Gadie
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Anthony Gadie T.D. (7 September 1868 – 24 August 1948) was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician from Bradford in West Yorkshire.
Born in a small cottage in Skipton, he became a builder and then an ...
(1868–1948), military officer, mayor of Bradford, and MP.
*
William Gay (1814–1893) Landscape gardener, surveyor, and first registrar of Undercliffe Cemetery.
*
Stafford Heginbotham
Stafford Heginbotham (12 September 1933 – 21 April 1995) was a British businessman who was chairman of Bradford City football club at the time when 56 people died in the Bradford City stadium fire. The fire occurred immediately after the club ...
(1933–1995), business owner and former chairman of
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander.
The club was founded in 1903 and ...
.
*
Thomas Hill (1825–1891), mayor of Bradford.
* Sir
Isaac Holden
Sir Isaac Holden, 1st Baronet (7 May 1807 – 13 August 1897) was an inventor and manufacturer, who is known both for his work in developing the Square Motion wool-combing machine and as a Radical Liberal Member of Parliament.
Life
Holden was ...
, 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 S ...
, 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 vehi ...
(1875–1923), motorcycle designer, inventor, and founder of
The Scott Motorcycle Company
The Scott Motorcycle Company was owned by Scott Motors (Saltaire) Limited, Saltaire, 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 Engi ...
.
*
Julia Varley
Julia Varley, OBE (16 March 1871, Bradford, Yorkshire – 24 November 1952, Yorkshire) was an English trade unionist and suffragette.
Early life
Born at 4, Monk Street in Horton in Bradford, she was one of seven surviving children out of nine b ...
(1871–1952), trade unionist and suffragette.
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 most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
and
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
(1984), one of nearly 60 such areas in Bradford.
In 2025, the site was designated as a
local nature reserve.
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 (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
.
Cultural references
The cemetery was used as a location in the films ''
Billy Liar
''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a Billy Liar (film), film, a Billy (musical), musical and a Billy Liar (TV series), TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popul ...
'' (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-autobiogra ...
'' (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 1920s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to working-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...
'' (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 Stereoscopy, stereoscopic 3D effect achieved by means of encoding each eye's image using filters of different (usually Complementary colors, chromatically opposite) colors, typically red and cyan. Anaglyph 3D images contain ...
photography.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Bradford (Bowling and Barkerend Ward)
Bowling and Barkerend is a Ward (electoral subdivision), ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It contains 31 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Her ...
References
Further reading
* ''In Loving Memory – The Story of Undercliffe Cemetery'', Colin Clark & Reuben Davison,
Sutton Publishing
The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...
.
External links
Undercliffe Cemetery CharityEnglish Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in EnglandCirty of Bradford MDCFind a Grave
{{navboxes , list1=
{{Geographic location
, Northwest = Bolton,
Peel Park
, North = Undercliffe
, Northeast =
Eccleshill,
Undercliffe
, West =
, Center = Undercliffe Cemetery
, East =
Fagley
, Southwest = Wapping,
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
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 Bar ...
{{Cemeteries in England
{{City of Bradford
Tourist attractions in Bradford
Cemeteries in West Yorkshire
Cemetery art
English Heritage sites in West Yorkshire
Local Nature Reserves in West Yorkshire