William Bradley, an architect from Halifax, was buried along with his first wife, two infant children and his eldest daughter. The family vault is at the front of Square Chapel and the tombstone can still be seen amongst the weeds today. It lies next to another family vault which contains the remains of another daughter of William, and his parents Thomas and Jane Bradley. William was baptised in Halifax Parish Church in October 1777. He was a joiner to begin with, likely an apprentice to his father. He married Mary Rideal at Pontefract Parish Church in January 1807. Mary Rideal was born in Warley and her family owned a milliner’s shop in Halifax.
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According to baptism records and details from the tombstones, William and Mary lived at Shaw Hill in Skircoat and had four children (three girls and a boy). Tragedy struck on 2 June 1816 when Mary appears to have died in childbirth. A local diarist called Caroline Walker believed that Mary died of violent hysterics over the shock of her sisters having a major quarrel over the milliner’s shop.
A couple of documents in the archive inform us that William Bradley, architect, had dealings in property and he submitted a quote for building a range of covered stalls in the New Market Place.
Estimate for building a range of stalls in the New Market Place at Halifax, Dec 1810. West Yorkshire Archive Service Calderdale, CMT1/MISC:111/11/10
He was commissioned to build and complete a new Court House in 1814 at a cost of £1,300. The Court House can be identified on Thomas Day’s 1827 Plan of the Town and Township of Halifax as being on Market Street (continuation of Union Street) near the New Market Place and Shambles.
Estimate and specification of probable expense of building a court house in the Market Place at Halifax, 11 Dec 1813, West Yorkshire Archive Service Calderdale, CMT1/MISC:111/11/13
The design of Holy Trinity Church (built in 1798) on Blackwall has been attributed to William Bradley although there is another man who also supposedly designed the church, so this sheds doubt on William Bradley being the architect. There is more certainty about William Bradley designing a chapel at Coley which replaced an earlier building.
Anne Lister records in her diary that she visited Coley Chapel with her uncle in May 1817. She described the chapel as “… a very handsome gothic building, a credit to the architect Mr Bradley Junior and to the country.” Anne records her conversation with Mr Bradley, describing him as a “…well behaved, civil sensible like architect.”
Anne Lister diary page, May 1817. West Yorkshire Archive Service Calderdale, SH:7/ML/E/1/0014
William married his second wife Elizabeth Allen, a widower, at Keighley Parish Church in May 1819. Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas and Catherine Garforth of Steeton Hall near Kildwick. Records suggest William and Elizabeth had four sons and four daughters, and Elizabeth died some years after her husband in 1875 aged 79 years. At least one of the children was baptised in Halifax, a couple at Wetherby, one in Kildwick, one at Heath (near Wakefield) and two as older children at Acomb Parish Church.
Anne Lister records dealings with William Bradley (architiect) in her dairy between April 1834 and January 1836. She consulted him about various proposed projects and work on the estate. These included castellations to Shibden Hall, a proposed lodge, a new ice house, a new cottage, relocating the Stag’s Head, creating a granary and laundry, repairing and building bridges, replacing windows;,and the extension to Northgate House. Not all the projects came to fruition, at least not with Mr Bradley as the architect. William Bradley did oversee some of the works around Shibden Hall estate and created plans as requested by Anne Lister, and he plans trip to Manchester to find her an engineer. Someone warned Anne Lister about Mr Bradley, saying he was very idle, his estimates were all wrong and even implied he was a swindler. Anne subsequently employs another architect, a Mr Harper, to draw up plans for her building work.
William Bradley asked Anne Lister for a loan of £6 which she agrees to pay on account but she thinks this does not look good and remembers what was said of Bradley’s reputation. In January 1836 Mr Bradley sends Anne Lister his final bill for £19-0-6 of which £11 has already been paid on account. This marked the end of Mr Bradley’s employment with Anne Lister. Two years later, Anne Lister receives a begging letter from Mrs Bradley, wife of Mr William Bradley the architect, from Acomb near York. Although Anne Lister doesn’t record any further details or what the outcome was, this is an interesting insight into the likely state of the Bradley’s finances.
William and Elizabeth are recorded together on the 1841 and 1851 census as living at Nether Poppleton near York. There are seven children recorded as living at home in 1841, and three in 1851. William Bradley died in tragic circumstances. In early September 1856, the Halifax Courier reports on an inquest where the details of a fatal accident in Brighouse are discussed. Mr Bradley was visiting the offices of George Higham Esq., solicitor, on 1 September when he over-balanced over the stair banister and fell from top to bottom, landing on his head. He died the following day of concussion of the brain. In his father’s will he (Thomas Bradley) mentions that he paid off his son’s debts. In his own will, William Bradley complains that his father left all to the children of his first marriage (i.e. William’s children) whilst leaving nothing to his only son and heir. The wills are held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives and details recorded in a newspaper article in 1978 by Reginald Spink who was the great grandson of Eliza, one of William and Elizabeth Bradley’s children.
For more information about William's father Thomas see: Thomas Bradley
Researched by Jude Dobson
