Description
Take a trip in a time machine by strolling through Bradford’s Undercliffe Cemetery, with its imposing granite obelisks, looming mausoleums and monumental sculptures.
Local historians will take you through the cemetery gates, summoning up tales of the authors, poets and painters who reside within its grounds. You will walk through the final resting place of Bradford’s famous industrialists, mayors, and businessmen, all of whom have the most prominent spots in the cemetery, while those less well-off were relegated elsewhere.
Even in death, rigid social rules applied and here you will get a glimpse of Victorian Bradford’s social hierarchy still at work.
This is an outdoor walking tour. Attendees are encouraged to wear comfortable footwear and weather appropriate clothing.
About the Hosts
Steve Lightfoot
Steve Lightfoot, Chairman of Undercliffe Cemetery Charity, brings a wealth of experience from twenty years in Civil Engineering and IT. He established an IT business in 1990 and led a national buying group. His passion for photography led him to explore Victorian photographic studios in Leeds and Bradford, ultimately leading him to Undercliffe Cemetery. With a passion for local history, Lightfoot finds studying the studios and their sitters as the perfect lens through which to delve into Victorian Worthies and the area’s past.
John Jackson
John is a Trustee of the Undercliffe Cemetery Charity. His passionate interest in the cemetery dates back to the time when he was a pupil at nearby Hanson School. His entire career was spent in civil registration, latterly as superintendent registrar of Calderdale. Since taking early retirement, John has completed an MPhil degree on the subject of elementary school attendance in Victorian Bradford, and he is currently researching the pioneering role of the Bradford School Board in the field of higher grade (secondary) schools.
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