Undercliffe Cemetery Charity

25/03/2026

On the 21st of July 1915 at about 3pm, 200-300 Belgium Refugees gathered around a grave at Undercliffe Cemetery. Grave M538 (unconsecrated) a family grave, contains the remains of Sergeant Ernest Brear aged 34 once of the Kings Own 15th Hussars, who died in a military hospital in Glasgow after probably being wounded at Ypres. Other members of his family share the grave. There is no known reason why the refugees decided to gather there except he would have been one of the Cemetery’s earliest casualties of WW1 and unlike so many of his comrades; he actually came home to Bradford. We do know that they wished to show respect to one of Bradford’s fallen sons. The gathering was mainly to commemorate Belgium’s independence. The push for independence, started by riots in Brussels in 1830 which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The people of the south were mainly Flemings and Walloons. Both peoples were traditionally Roman Catholic as contrasted with Protestant-dominated (Dutch Reformed) people of the north. Many outspoken liberals regarded King William I's rule as despotic. There were high levels of unemployment and industrial unrest among the working classes. The resulting 1830 London Conference of major European powers recognised Belgium’s independence. Leopold I was installed as King of the Belgians in 1831 however the treaty was not signed until 1839. Following the outbreak of WW1, many displaced Belgians arrived in Britain. Their plight and need to flee appears to be as early as autumn 1914 (the war started 28th July 1914) when the Germans were close to the Belgium coast. Despite the newspapers trying to be upbeat, it had to be accepted that Bruges had been taken and the Germans were only miles from Ostend. In the same edition of the Bradford Weekly Telegraph (16/10/1914,) Bradford welcomes 250 refugees. The Lord Mayor, Arthur Godwin and Lady Mayoress (both buried in UC), were among those who gathered to welcome them. See below

They were not the last to be welcomed by Bradford. By December 1914, there were 500 Belgian refugees in Bradford. Initially, these poor people were glad to get lodging where they could. Some were moved into Horton Hall. They settled in all parts of the Bradford District including, Idle, Baildon and Bingley. It was decided that they could seek work as long as it did not impact of the native population. Some were employed in munitions and others, young men returned to fight on the continent. Naturally money was needed to look after the refugees and there were funds set up like the national Shilling Fund. To raise funds locally, there were many dinners, concerts and talks, many given by the refugees themselves. A signed copy of the below picture was sold for the fund. The most unusual donation must have been the proceeds from the sale of three black retriever pups by Mr Emanuel of Toller Lane. So what did those who attended the talks by Belgian refugees learn? (See below). BDT. 05/09/1914

The accounts demonstrated the brutality of the invading forces and the destruction of their homes and communities. The war caused a famine in Belgium for which a separate fund was started. Soldiers returning home or writing to family remarked on the state of refugees trying to get to safety. The account of Dr J G Priestley from the front included (see below) BTW 06/11/1914

Of course, there were naysayers who complained about the help Bradford was giving to refugees despite that by 1916 most male refugees were employed and self supporting. King Albert was grateful for what Bradford had done and awarded the City a portrait of himself and there was also a visit from the Bishop of Belgium. By 1919, most of the refugees had left the country or were preparing to leave. The balance of money left in the Belgian Refugee charities was reallocated to assist injured British soldiers.
Below: Albert, King of Belgium,
Sources BDT= Bradford Daily Telegraph, BWT= Bradford Weekly Telegraph
E.H. Kossmann, The Low Countries 1780–1940 (1978) pp. 151–154

23/03/2026

To all our amazing friends and followers, would you like to help us win £1,000? All money goes towards the upkeep of your favourite cemetery. All you need to do is click on the link below then type 'Undercliffe Cemetery Charity' into the 'Find a Charity' box then fill in your details. Ends at midnight tonight!!!!
The more votes we get, the more we have a chance of winning, feel free to share to friends and family.

Thanks from all the volunteers at Undercliffe😀

Nominate a charity for a Movement for Good award now.

23/03/2026

Spring has sprung at the cemetery! Daffodils in full bloom, always seem to flower late here for some reason? The little walled garden that was built to replace a dead bush has also been completed by members of our grounds team - thanks to Graham Swain for providing the stone, AI image shows what it could look like once our LNR team have done their thing!
Path has been cleared to the Rimmington grave (a major player in the Humbug Billy tragedy) and the buzz of strimmers has been heard for the first time this year.

16/03/2026

The final Salt story
In the cemetery there is a grave containing Ann, Annie and John Titus Salt. Ann was the wife of Titus Salt’s brother, Edward (1814-1878).
Edward married Ann Wade in 1838 and is described as a wool stapler, later a worsted spinner. He and Ann set up home in Manor Place and appears to have a similar standing as his brother Titus appearing on the same committees concerning the repealing of the corn laws and even acting as one of the administrators for a fellow businessmen, James Holdsworth, a bankrupt. In 1843, he was engaged with others calling for a solution to the polluted canal.
Edward had worked with his father, Daniel but in 1844, Daniel dies. All Daniel’s property is to be sold however, the amount offered was never paid and so all the property was transferred to Edward in 1847 and then transferred to Titus. He and Ann have six children between 1839 and 1848: Annie, Edward, John Titus, Kate, Isabella Martha and Caroline. There was also a son, James who dies in infancy. Even living in Manor Place, still a pleasant residential area, does not stop you having your windows smashed as the Salt family experienced in 1843 when brass door handles, stolen elsewhere, were used as weapons. In 1847, Edward and John Smith were appointed directors of Daniel Salt & Son and that year, Edward attends the Lord Mayor’s dinner. Sadly, there is trouble ahead as by 1848, Edward is in financial difficulty.
Extract from the Halifax Guardian 15 July 1848: -
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the PARTNERSHIP heretofore subsisting between us, the undersigned, carrying on business at Bradford and Manningham, in the Parish of Bradford, in the County of York, as spinners and woolstaplers, under the firm of "Daniel Salt and Son," was this day DISSOLVED by mutual consent: And that all Debts owing to or by the said firm will be received and paid by Mr. TITUS SALT, of Bradford aforesaid, spinner and stuff manufacturer.—As witness our hands this Eighth day of June, 1848.
EDWARD SALT.
JOHN SMITH.
Witness—
JOHN RAWSON, Solicitor, Bradford.

Now, there may be a belief that the textile industry thrived throughout the nineteenth century but that is incorrect as in nearly every decade there were periods of poor trade and many manufacturers were made bankrupt. As such is it likely that this could be the reason for Edward to up sticks and leave for Melbourne, Australia? However, this exactly what he did and unlike many emigrants, he did not take his family, nor did he ever return. He left on the she ship Stag which is a ship noted for taking convicts to Australia but as Edward had a cabin, it is unlikely he was a convict.

We know little of what happened to him in Australia. We do know that he was convicted of assault in 1851:
Extract from the Geelong Advertiser 17 October 1851: -
ASSAULT WITH INTENT.
Edward Salt was indicted for assaulting Mary Jane Cook, with intent, &c., at Melbourne, on 30 September.
Mr. Williams defended the prisoner.
The prosecutrix, who is a young girl of thirteen years of age, had been sent by her mother to borrow a whitewash brush from prisoner; and going into the house, the attempt complained of was made. So great was the violence used by prisoner, that the girl’s nose burst out bleeding profusely. This frightened the prisoner, and he allowed her to go. The girl immediately informed her mother of prisoner’s brutality, and he was given into custody.
The jury found the prisoner guilty, and he was remanded for sentence, His Honor being in some doubt as to the punishment to be bestowed on him, under the Transportation Abolition Act, equivalent to the sentence of transportation from seven to fifteen years, to which, under the 11th Vict. No. 30, he was subject.
The Court then adjourned.

Extract from The Argos, (Melbourne) 17 October 1851(37): -
SUPREME COURT.
16 October.
CRIMINAL SITTINGS.
Before His Honor Mr. Justice A'Beckett.
ASSAULT WITH INTENT.
Edward Salt, who had been convicted on the previous day, of an assault, with intent to commit, &c. was sentenced to be worked on the Roads for three years.

We know that over the years someone was trying to contact him but we do not know if he responded. He died in 1878 and was buried in Melbourne.
As for his family, Ann seemed to have a comfortable life. Of the couple’s children, only Annie and John Titus share their mother’s grave. Neither Annie nor John Titus married. Annie (1839-1896) stayed at home to look after her mother. John Titus (1841-1916) became a drysalter (dealer in chemicals, salt, glue etc.), dying in an Asylum at Clifton, York. He was an inmate in 1901 aged 59, and again in 1911, however, it is unknown when he was committed and why. Could his occupation have had anything to do with his condition?
His sister Annie, probably had plenty family problems. In 1881, two of her married sisters were living with her, Isabella M Heap and Caroline Moscrop. Also her brother Edward seemed reluctant to leave home despite being 41. He is stuff warehouseman.
Although I did have some of the information about Edward’s family I am deeply indebted to a fellow UC researcher, Colin Coates who lives in Australia where he not only researches for UC, but also researches Saltaire. I must also mention his late friend, David King who contributed to the notes on Edward Salt. DS

Melbourne 1860

11/03/2026

The second story that relates to the Salt family is that of Anne Grace Smithies 1839 – 1908
Anne Grace Smithies (“Anne”) was the daughter of Grace and Charles Smithies and the niece of Titus Salt. She is not buried in Undercliffe Cemetery but as told in the last post is, her mother is. Little is known about Anne, other than what can be gleaned from the census returns and the local newspapers. We know that after her father lost all his money, Anne lived with her maternal grandparents and, that in 1891 she is one of four boarders living in a property in Harrogate and living off her own means.

The following year, just before Christmas, Miss Annie Grace Smithies of 5, Great George Street, Harrogate appeared before the Coroner at a Bradford Inquest. It was alleged that Anne had been negligent in her treatment of her maid, who had died from the rupture of a gastric ulcer. Her condition was accelerated by her mistress allowing her to travel home in a weak condition.

Anne, who had legal representation, gave evidence that Mary Ellen Craven, aged 18, had entered her service on 28th October. On Sunday 4th December she complained of ill health but still went to chapel, though advised by Annie not to do so. There Mary became worse and brought home. Mary then fainted. Anne gave her a spoonful of sal

volatile (White vitriol; zinc sulphate used as a food supplement for a deficiency of Zinc also can be used for inflammation of the skin.), and when she went to bed Anne gave her a warm bottle and some gruel.

The next morning, Mary came downstairs and appeared quite cheerful and well. Later in the day she was, however, in pain, and Anne gave her a couple of compound rhubarb pills. Mary continued to be ill for the next couple of days and Anne did the housework though Mary insisted on doing the washing on Wednesday.

In the evening Anne found the Mary on the kitchen floor in pain, apparently suffering from spasms, and a dose of sal volatile appeared to do her good again.

The next morning Anne suggested Mary travel home to her mother. Mary said she didn’t know if she could get home. Anne said she told the girl that if she couldn’t get up she would send for a doctor but she couldn’t remember Mary’s reply

Subsequently Mary came down stairs dressed, ready for going home. She said she had decided to leave. Anne paid her wages and her railway, bus and cab fares and carried out her box for her.

It was said that Mary had complained of being ill treated, poorly fed and compelled to sleep in a very cold bed.

Anne was asked if it was true that that Mary only got butter twice. Anne replied it was in the pantry, and she had access to it. She also claimed that Mary hadn’t complained about the food. Indeed she had told her that she liked her food.

In further replies Anne said that the work was not heavy, and it wasn’t true that the very day the girl went home she had been made to wash a sheet. Anne claimed she had helped Mary to carry her box downstairs and then carried it to the station for her.

The Coroner asked if the maid had ever complained of over work. No never was the answer.

The jury, after a short retirement, found the following verdict: The jury are unanimously of the opinion that death was due to natural causes. They decide that Anne did not use discretion in allowing the deceased to travel in such a weak state, seeing that the medical state proves that the deceased’s death was accelerated by the deceased’s hasty removal

The Coroner asked if there was culpable criminal negligence to which question the foreman replied ‘ no ‘.

Ann Grace Smithies died on 21st July 1908 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Anne Grace Smithies’ mother’s grave in Undercliffe Cemetery.

07/03/2026

Humbug Billy! The purveyor of arsenic-laced humbugs that made national headlines way back in 1858. This long deceased gentleman seems to be creating quite a stir, not only on social media but in the local press and will even be featured on BBC Radio Leeds early next week!
We’ve always known that Humbug Billy (real name William Hardaker) was buried in Undercliffe Cemetery along with Felix Rimmington, analytical chemist (who identified that the humbugs were laced with arsenic) and Dr. John Henry Bell who had treated many of the sick, who were first believed to be suffering from cholera, but realised that the cause of their illness was related to the consumption of Billy’s humbugs. Over two hundred people became seriously ill and 24 died, with many others, including William himself, suffering from long-term debilitating illnesses. Thanks to the amazing efforts of our volunteer researchers in completing our incredible database (five years in the making and containing over 124,000 entries) and being supplied with a list of known casualties, we were also able to establish that two of the victims are also buried here.
The grave is located in a very overgrown area of the cemetery but thanks to two tenacious volunteers, Alan and Stephen, the grave was located and an initial clearance took place But it soon became apparent that some heavy, labour-saving equipment would be required, not only to clear the surrounding area but to make a safer pathway to the grave.
Enter Graham Swain and his amazing team who set to work on the plot! As ever, Graham went the extra mile and this morning placed landings on the site of the grave, he will also engrave and supply a suitable headstone in a few weeks time - worth repeating, that all this work and materials are provided completely free of charge.
There is still plenty of work to do and the grave is certainly not in a fit state to visit, however in a couple of months time we are hoping to have completed the restoration and will arrange a special tour featuring all the main characters, resident at Undercliffe, and include a very special book launch… watch this space. Don’t forget, if you want to trace your own relatives that may be buried here, just drop us a line and we’ll send full details as to how to proceed.
For the full history of the events that led to the disaster, the T&A published the story online earlier today and even included details of the catastrophe that were gleaned from the newspaper’s archive. Well worth a read. Link: https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/25914133.grave-humbug-billy-found-undercliffe-cemetery/

05/03/2026

A few weeks ago someone posted the story of Grace Smithies nee Salt. Grace was the daughter of Daniel and Grace (senior) Salt and the sister of Titus Salt but she is buried alone in Undercliffe Cemetery. She married her first cousin Charles Smithies in 1837. Charles did not have the entrepreneurial skills of his brother-in-law Titus and was soon made bankrupt. Grace not only had the shame of watching the machines from her husband’s worsted manufacturing business being sold off but also the contents of her home. By the time this happened the couple had two children, Charles Robert and Ann Grace. When she was pregnant with her third child she left Charles and went home to her parents, bringing her two children with her. After Frederick William Smithies was born, Charles came to the Salt’s home demanding to see Grace and his third child. Daniel refused and Charles attacked him, as set out in the Leeds Intelligencer ’s account, during which Daniel received a wound to his ear and groin from the knife Charles was wielding . Mrs Salt and other females present pulled Charles off Daniel more than once. As a result Charles appeared in court but never sentenced.
The couple mainly lived apart from then on but got to together on several occasions resulting in a total of nine children, the last being born in 1853.

Charles died in 1867 and Grace followed in 1871 outliving five of her nine children. Her death occurred at an asylum in Cheadle due to “ Mania one week and Pulmonary Apoplexy “.
Her eldest son Charles Robert Smithies (1838-1895) had a scandalous life. In 1861 we find him employed as an Insurance Agent, lodging at 8 Rawson Place, Bradford.
His first marriage was in 1867 to Maria Hope Porter who is recorded as a spinster on the marriage certificate however, in 1863, she had married a man called Lewis J Paine.
On discovering this, Charles R had accused Maria of committing bigamy. Evidence was given that Lewis J Paine was still married to another woman when he purported to marry Maria H Porter so her marriage to him was invalid. Therefore, she was free to marry Charles R Smithies. Nothing much more is known about their marriage except for Maria H Smithies being reported as living in the Manchester Withington in 1876.
Maria Smithies may have lived until 1903 as there is a record of an H M Smithies born in 1838 being buried on 25th February 1903 in the Wesleyan Cemetery at Cheetham Hill in Manchester.

If this were the case, it would be assumed that, at some point, Charles and Maria were divorced.

In 1882, Charles apparently has remarried. His second wife was Margaret Louisa Aldred. The ceremony took place at St Paul’s Church, in Hulme near Manchester.

Things were not, however, straightforward.

It emerged that not only was Maria Smithies still alive but she was apparently still married to Charles.

This resulted in Charles being charged with bigamy – a court case that would be reported all over the country.

Charles ( referred to as Robert Smithies ) appeared before the Manchester Police Court in late October that same year. He was charged with marrying Miss Aldred whilst his first wife, previously Miss Porter, was still alive.

His defence was that when he married Maria Porter she herself had her previous husband living.

The prosecution retorted that the first husband of Miss Porter, Lewis J Paine, had at the time of their marriage with her, a former wife living so Maria was unmarried when her wedding to Smithies took place.

Charles was remanded in custody for a week.

His case was heard at the Manchester Assize and reported in many newspapers, including the South Wales Daily News of Thursday 9th November 1882.

The prosecution’s case was as follows: Robert Smithies, an artist, had married, last March, a Miss Aldred whilst Maria Hope Porter, to whom he was married in 1867 was still alive. The prosecuting counsel said that in 1849, Payne married a woman named Torvell, from whom he was divorced but before the decree was absolute, he married Miss Porter. The marriage was therefore no marriage. In the same year she married the prisoner and was therefore his lawful wife.

In what must have been a fascinating twist, Smithies then called, in his defence, John Lewis Paine who was undergoing penal servitude for life for the murder of a Miss Maclean.

Payne stated on oath that he never married Maria Porter. He lived with her but he did not marry her. He was married to Jowell, afterwards to Miss Rosa Hare and then to a Miss Rocher.

The Judge said he believed Payne’s account ( though why he should do so, since there is a record of it, is a mystery: Maria Hope Porter / Lewis John Paine Chorlton Dec 1863 8c 651 )

The jury found the prisoner guilty. He was sentenced to one week’s imprisonment but as it was more than a week since the assizes commenced he was immediately set free.

Better than any celebrity story on social media. Next time, Did Grace Smithies murder her servant! DS

Daniel Salt (The Saltaire Collection)

22/02/2026

When you’re enjoying a Sunday morning lie in and those pesky intrusive thoughts kick in🫨
A rather splendid ‘memento mori’ spotted on a headstone yesterday. The Victorian attitude to the inevitability of death can seem quite macabre to our own modern way of thinking.

17/02/2026

After weeks of wet, cold and thoroughly miserable weather (we even needed hosing down last week!) the Sun put his hat on today and we managed to clean up ‘K’ section… at last. Apart from burning the dreaded rhododendrons we managed to uncover yet another ivy-clad monument. See the before and after photos, not only of ‘K’ section but of the restored monument.
A great team of people, if you fancy joining us, just turn up on any Tuesday morning.
And I’ve been told to mention (thanks Les) that we are still very much a working cemetery with a superb new area for both burials and the scattering of ashes.

13/02/2026

Today marks the launch of the new Wuthering Heights film, but did you know that the Brontë Sisters' nursemaid, Nancy de Garrs, is buried at Undercliffe Cemetery?

13/02/2026

My friend and former colleague Steve passed me details of a grave in which there were three adults and 10 infants, thinking it was yet just another sad case of multiple infant deaths within one family. It was, but the more I looked at this family, another aspect of their life interested me more and that was the family’s preferred occupation. As well as the ten dead infants, six children survived , two of whom followed in their father’s footsteps. The father, Alfred Willis and his two sons Walter and Harry were newspaper compositors. By 1921, Harry worked for the Daily Mail in Burton on Trent, whereas his father Alfred and brother Walter were employed by the Bradford District Newspaper Group [BDNG], which still owns the Telegraph and Argus. Alfred came from Bishop Stortford and began his training there before coming to Bradford between 1881 and 1891. He never changed occupations. This got me thinking about divisive newspapers were in the nineteenth century, in Bradford.
Most of us know about the Bradford Observer which was started in 1834 by William Byles. Its creation was driven by a group of influential businessmen led by Baptist minister Dr Benjamin Godwin and included the likes of Titus Salt, the Ripley family and Henry Forbes. The one thing these men had in common was that they were all Non-conformists and Byles was instructed to make it a Non-conformist newspaper. Non-conformists were those who were not Anglican but Methodists, Congregationalist, Wesleyan, Quakers and Catholics and more. They had all suffered at the hand of the Church of England backed Government when, after the reinstatement of the monarchy (King Charles II), were prevented from entering any post holding authority, such as Government posts, medicine etc. In response many non-conformists became businessmen. Byles once wrote about his employers with whom, from time to time, clashed, that they were:
“ principally devoted to the abolition of slavery, abolition of the Church Rates, the Dissenters grievances….sarcasms on hunting parsons, denunciations of religion and politics, opposition to the Ten Hour Bill, slashers into the tyrannical old Tories and the glorification of the Whigs”
There were many rich and influential Non-conformist wool barons and so their influence held sway. Byles did not have a smooth time running the Bradford Observer. Money was often tight due to the capricious nature of the cost of materials and for a time in 1838 production paused. When his journalists were sacked he had to become a journalist himself and, for a while, he was owner of the newspaper. William Byles is buried in Undercliffe cemetery but so is Thomas Shields. Thomas Shields, a Scot, arrived in Bradford in about 1868 having already set up successful newspapers further north. He brought with him his team of journalists and compositors, some like Thomas were Scots. This upstart Shields upset the status quo by providing competition for the only successful newspaper in Bradford; the Bradford Observer. The Bradford Daily Telegraph as the name suggests, was produced daily whereas The Bradford Observer was published weekly, This new competition forced the established newspaper to switch to daily publishing. The Bradford Telegraph was a new sensation, selling like hotcakes and at half the price of the Bradford Observer which took six months to start daily publishing.
He brought with him William McKinley as the first editor. He too is buried in Undercliffe Cemetery. After Shield’s death in 1887 his sister Agnes (also buried in Undercliffe Cemetery) and Archibald Barr Shields took the newspaper into the twentieth century. However, soon after Thomas Shields’ death, his print manager, Jasper Patterson (buried at Hirst Wood, Shipley) jumped ship and started a new newspaper: The Daily Argus which had a conservative slant and was backed by a group of influential Conservative businessmen. It was not until 1926 that the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Argus merged to become the Telegraph & Argus. The Bradford Observer changed its name twice before eventually closing in 1956. DS
(Thanks in part to Mike Priestley. T&A 14 May1999)

Thomas Shields and William Byles

12/02/2026

Our 2026 Tour Dates! Something for everybody… keep an eye on this page for full details of each tour and how to book nearer the time. Looking forward to seeing you all.