A Silent City Of The Dead | Heptonstall

Heptonstall is a small village in Yorkshire with a population of around 1500 living residents and over 100,000 deceased. Despite being a small village it houses 3 churches and 5 graveyards.
Heptonstall's original church was dedicated to St Thomas Becket. It was founded c.1260, and was altered and added to over several centuries. The church was damaged by a storm in 1847, and is now only a shell. A new church, St Thomas the Apostle, was built in the same churchyard and suffered a lightning strike in 1875 causing a pinnacle to fall off the top of the church.

[@dingbat2177]

The building you walked past at the start of the video is the old Grammar School - it's now a museum. Can't believe you missed the grave of David Hartley - one of the Cragg Coiners you mentioned! Also did you know that the graveyard extends beyond the gate outside the newer church - across the road? More recent graves but Sylvia Plath is buried in there :( . The Sutcliffes were an influential family - big mill owners in the area and in Lancashire as well - wouldn't be surprised if it was them who funded the building of the new church.

[@deadgoodwalks]

Ooops Maybe next time! Thanks for the extra info

[@dennisgreenwood92]

@@deadgoodwalks The entry in the Heptonstall burials register for David Hartley's interment is in Latin, but when translated reads: "1770 May 1. David Heartley of Bell House in the town of Erringden. He was hanged by the neck near York for illegally minting and stealing public money." The grave is to the south of the porch of the old church and contains other members of his family, including his wife, Grace, (nee Sutcliffe).

[@caroltrudge1389]

You know this church well

[@smorgasbroad1132]

Wow. Good info. Thanks for sharing with us. Sylvia Plath! Sad but interesting.

[@user-lb3hd7ip4o]

Peaceful Quite Beautiful Bird song 🌹

[@sharonnagel3384]

This is my kind of village!!! I just love the old buildings and you can feel the peace

[@Loretta318]

I was just thinking the same thing, and would absolutely love to live there

[@helencheadle5285]

I love your walks, but do wish you could just spend a little more time for us to read some of these interesting inscriptions….,these gravestones went back such a long time,many still legible…it would be so appreciated. This was incredible how so many stones were just laid flat..as you said at the beginning such a lot of burials for such a small village so there must have been industry and many more folk living there at one time. Thankyou again…hope you got your coffee at the cafe! 🙋‍♀️👏🏻

[@dingbat2177]

There was a lot of industry - mostly textile mills. Also in earlier times there were actually fewer graveyards - the next nearest to this one would have been Halifax Parish Church which is about 10 miles away, so most of the more local people from Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and parts of Todmorden were buried at Heptonstall - hence the large number of graves!

[@jujulionesselsa1416]

What a beautiful place and many generations of the Sutcliffe families. I love to hear the birds singing away bless them it's so peaceful and calming. And obviously the Sutcliffe's were a a very prominent name in the area. Thank you so much for this lovely video. 🤗🤩

[@loralouise3865]

I really wish you would linger on the actual tombstones a little longer. I can barely see them cause you pan over them so fast. Please? Thanks!

[@bananabuttons6637]

I love your walks. I've moved to the city now and I miss the bird song so much.

[@soloh5843]

I love the little village and that you walked through it to the cemetery. I would absolutely love to live in a little village like that, so much history and seemed very peaceful. As always a great upload! Thanks so much.

[@deadgoodwalks]

So would I, I actually looked at that house online with the for sale sign up at the start of the video lol. Thanks for watching again H :)

[@Brianthehistorynerd]

I was thinking the same thing. It looks really nice there.

[@GraveyardSisters]

I used to live in West Yorkshire,Hebden Bridge is stunning Absolutely beautiful graveyard thanks for sharing 👍

[@janetslicer3637]

Oh, I really loved this entire walk. This was special; I am in awe. Thank you for taking us around with your wonderful voice! 🙂

[@deadgoodwalks]

Thank you Janet x

[@ChrisSmith-yq9pr]

I loved this video! The village, the church and cemeteries are breathtaking! You weren't kidding about how compact that cemetery was! WOW! If your idea was to make us think we were placed in a time capsule, then you succeeded! Beautifully done sir! BRAVO!!

[@deadgoodwalks]

Thank you sir

[@bobbiebabb9305]

We love to read tombstones and see dates too.ty

[@deadgoodwalks]

Thanks for your comment Bobbie, I’ll take it on board for when I do a revisit

[@EmeLightheartArtisanDesigns]

This village looks so quaint, I love it! ❤

[@allygee5468]

Hi from Australia I've been subscribed with you for a while now I was born in Middlesex but been in Aus since age 5 I'm 72 now my father was born and raised in the village of Osmotherly in Yorkshire in 1922 He took me back for a visit there about 26yrs ago I really enjoy your walks as I love history thank you for taking me along xxx

[@joelhurley2678]

Dan, the churches are beautiful. The town is unique and very interesting. Enjoyed the tour and thanks for sharing 👍 😊.

[@deadgoodwalks]

No worries Joel. Thanks for watching another one

[@CathyTx2001]

Thank you so much. I love how many of the graves were so close side by side. I'm happy that I found your channel. ❤

[@deadgoodwalks]

You're welcome Cathy, I'm glad you found me too.

[@fernforester1014]

This is such a beautiful village.

[@stevendaniel8126]

LOVE this village !!!! Stunning...... Extremely interesting. Thank you !!

[@mimiper72]

Thank you for this amazing visit to the old St. Thomas. My 4th and 5th great grandparents were both married as well as baptized there in the late 1700s-early 1800s. Not Sutcliff but Robertshaw, Greenwood, and Varley. It must have been a beautiful church back in the day. Was a thrill to see it still standing. I really enjoyed this video and am a new subscriber.

[@sheilan6235]

I just found your channel yesterday & love it! Next time, bring a flashlight, if you shine it across the stones as flat as possible, sometimes they’re readable

[@michaelaartner3932]

Very quiet and relaxing walk! Thank s again! Michi

[@cook13doodle16]

So much history written on the tablets!

[@dragonwithagirltattoo598]

I’m an American but have ancestors from that area. Thank you for making these videos. I find them so interesting. I love cemeteries and graveyards and can’t go explore them so I watch these videos. Now I must check my family tree to find the names and see if any are buried in that churchyard.

[@grannybee]

These historic churches and grave sites are always interesting. The very fact that they survived hundreds of years is amazing.

[@tanyawallace9730]

Listening to the narrative I was thinking along the lines of the P Sutcliffe connection and then you mentioned it, you never know?! Also, the birdsong in churchyards is always so amazing.. I'm enjoying your episodes, always interesting 🧐☠👍

[@deadgoodwalks]

Thank you Tanya. The birds were lively in this one

[@bionicnichola9251]

Reminds me of the Last of the Summer wine setting. The cobbled paths and the styles of the homes. It looks peaceful, thanks for sharing.

[@hannysinta7937]

Sungguh mengagumkan melihat tempat -,tempat yang cantik. bernilai sejarah dan itu menjadikan satu kebanggan suatu bangsa...Bangunan tua dan Gereja memberi suatu Nilai akan Peradaban masalalu yg tinggi dan berkharisma❤❤

[@ianrobert6239]

Loving these videos. Thanks.

[@deadgoodwalks]

Thanks Ian, it's great to be able to share these places with everyone

[@lisaevans3284]

Wow never seen so many headstones on ground like that looks lovely village

[@deadgoodwalks]

So unusual isn't it Lisa....and very cool :)

[@sueneilen4526]

Wow what a beautiful little town I like all the stones on the ground looks so much better than the ones standing upright Great video thanks

[@Claire-kh4qr]

In the UK you can lease a grave for up to 99 years but you never actually own it. So in some places, where there is limited space, the graves are reused when the lease is up, unless the family pays for another. These flattened stones could have been removed as they were falling and unsafe.

[@cfmmck895]

Think it depends if its private cemetary. Our catholic one has graves in place from over 100 years such as my great grandmothers family plot

[@bionicnichola9251]

It 50 years where I'm at. If I want i to get buried with my mam and son I need to be gone by 2046 🤣

[@emmakeoghan7816]

Loved this,what a beautiful village and cemetery. I'm originally from nearby Halifax so was nice to see something close to home.Just subscribed and making my way through yours videos.

[@Ajay_the_invincible_1997]

This is the cemetery that Sylvia Plath might have visited. She visited Haworth Cemetery that influenced her emotionally ( She wrote a poem November Graveyard on it ). Now, she is buried here. What a spiral of events life is !! Thank You for showing this. ❤ This video would have become more emotional for poetry lovers if you had covered sylvia Plath's grave. But overall Best video on YT on Heptonstall Cemetery.

[@jaynefletcher1462]

Hi love watching your channel just recently found it but love all the old little villages and the history behind it all x

[@deadgoodwalks]

Welcome Jayne, thank you x

[@karenweaver134]

Very interesting as usual! I know that cemetery’s are peaceful places with abundant history ( I am a fan after all) but I still would not want to look out my bedroom window on one….. never figured that one out.

[@user-ii4rm6pw5o]

Сердце замирает от созерцания таких исторических мест церкви такие величественные и полны тайна и город пропитан воздухом столетий, по кладбища можно изучить прошедшую историю и представить людей живших там много веков назад восторг

[@maryrawson6241]

I fully agree

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

If you had done some research you'd know that Heptonstall was once the centre of a parish that was larger than the county of Rutland, so it's hardly surprising that so many people were buried there.

[@jeannelynskey6946]

A bit eerie but peaceful. I hope they are all resting in peace.

[@deadgoodwalks]

It did feel a bit eerie especially with no people about, I think they're all sleeping soundly, it had a peaceful atmosphere

[@daggydiva4589]

They’re dead they’re not doing anything.

[@wladniem]

Yeah....really enjoyed that walk. Thank you.

[@marymkh1184]

Love this one. The Church, all those graves wow. Thank you.

[@joesinkovits6591]

I’m glad you commented on the absence of (living) people. The same thought struck me a few minutes before you made the comment, so I guess great minds think alike! That had to be an eerie, though interesting, experience. I hope you visit us here in the U.S. and do some dead walks sometime.

[@lauremorgana4589]

Hello there ! I just discovered your channel and I loved walking back to Heptonstall through your video. My mother is from Lancashire but some of my ancestors are buried here . Their name were Greenwood and I've recognized 2 tombs with these names when you were around the new church. I And yes it's a lovely quiet place !

[@jonathancoombes1495]

When I visited this cemetery I spoke to a resident, an elderley lady, and she told me that the graveyard was badly damaged during the war. They decided to remove the gravestones and repair the areas that has been bombed, however nobody made note of which headstones came from which area so they were just replaced in a haphazard manner and do not necessarily represent who is beneath them. I've never researched this but it was a interesting conversation to say the least.

[@catherinerickard699]

What a beautiful place

[@suzanneholdsworth7869]

What a peaceful graveyard.Only the bird song.I know I wouldn't like graves in my garden 😱Nice to see your closer to where I'm from.Good old Halifax

[@deadgoodwalks]

Love Halifax, you have some great little cemeteries there, I'll be back over that way soon

[@LauraKnotek]

It was that way in London too, at one time. The reason for the construction of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries was because the churchyards were too crowded, and people were actually getting sick from the corpses in the ground right outside their houses. Those big cemeteries were far enough away from houses at the time, so that the dead bodies didn't cause more disease and death.

[@starwannabe]

Hello from America! I just discovered your videos a few days ago and am loving them, as I also enjoy walking through old graveyards. I like to read the headstones and imagine how the person might’ve lived and died. I also love the little tidbits of history that you provide and the old villages as well (we don’t have many villages here as old as you have there!). One thing that caught my attention was how every door on those old stone buildings seems to be a small expression of personality in a place where everything looks the same. I find it fascinating how we as humans find little ways to show the world who we are. I wonder about the reason why there are so many houses with yards that back up to the cemetery or even contain graves themselves? Is it out of necessity because of the size of the graveyard? Is it a function of ancient family life, having loved ones buried near for convenience? Or is there an even older more spiritual context? In any case, I enjoy your channel and have decided to subscribe today! Thank you!

[@deadgoodwalks]

Hi Kira, thank you for subscribing. I think the gardens may be unofficial and it looks like the church doesn't mind.

[@sarawilliams6625]

It’s a pretty normal thing in England to be honest,the churchyards have been there since the 11 or 1200’s in a lot of places and as we built around them they kind of become part of the scenery,most people do have a wall or fence inbetween but evidently not here👍😂

[@freez.mp4]

slightly odd little hobby that

[@marie-louisesegerlov8625]

LOVELY,such a beautiful village❣️

[@marydegenkolb9603]

It's not a palm tree. It is a weeping willow. It symbolizes sadness and mourning the loss of someone dear. As when it is alive and growing it hangs down as if to cry. Back in high school, our history teacher took us to an old grave yard in Mobile Alabama. It had tabletop stones like these. Some were hard to read. We took butcher paper and charcoal sticks and did rubbings of the epitaphs and then wrote a short story of that person. This was before the Findagrave and google. So I grew to love the old graveyards and love spending time reading the stones. With the houses backing up to the cemetery, at least the neighbors are quiet and don't disturb you.

[@margopaton3240]

As always, an excellent video. What a peaceful place! No living humans anywhere! How strange. I enjoyed watching the tour😊

[@patriziopaccione3757]

Very nice town and cemetery very particular

[@deadgoodwalks]

Its was wonderful, I can't wait to go back

[@julieblackstock8650]

just found your channel. Subbed. Looks like my kind of thing. Pity the name Sutcliffe has been somewhat sullied by that monster. Its the first thing I thought of when you said the name

[@deadgoodwalks]

Thank you Julie, welcome to the dark side! Yeah sadly there's a huge stain on the name, it must be difficult for people with the same surname, I bet it's all they hear

[@Wosiewose]

Actually my first thought was Stu Sutcliffe!

[@julieblackstock8650]

@@Wosiewose Ive no idea who that is, probably before my time

[@Wosiewose]

@@julieblackstock8650 He was the Beatles' original bass player. Stu's untimely death was the reason Paul McCartney learned how to play bass guitar. Before my time too, to be honest!

[@julieblackstock8650]

@@Wosiewose ahh yes Germany tour.. Rings a bell now. He died a bit before I was born.

[@judithstonier9872]

It is a lovely village but I knew someone who once lived there and got fed up of visitors peering in their windows as if the whole place was a museum !

[@dianehunt1364]

just found your utube great work but would be good for dates if they are readable keep up the good work

[@sitiradziyah2159]

Rad,seen this video lk quiet, lk great, show area lk old Palace, long distance to pass by, beautiful scenery, grave.lk too old, did not know how many years, need to respect, rest in peace with angels. Frm. Miss rad.staysafe,stay strong.

[@bertvsrob]

so much history just out of sight, out of mind, faded

[@daisymoodley8958]

You sound just like hugh grant😅 great channel❤

[@bobbiebabb9305]

Jesus, let us read the tombstones. Ty

[@deadgoodwalks]

Hey Bobbie, Sorry it was such a big place that I just had to do a select few otherwise the video would be hours long which would bore people to death lol. I will be doing a re visit and I’ll film a lot more stones next time for you. If you watch in 4K you should be able to pause the video and read the stones in the mean time. Thank you for your comment

[@bobbiebabb9305]

@@deadgoodwalks I understand..I got caught up in the moment but love your veidos.bing watching on hot summer days.

[@deadgoodwalks]

All good, criticism helps me make better videos ✌️

[@insertnamehere5146]

@@deadgoodwalks if you carry a small but bright torch and shine it from the side of the head stone, you can see the inscription's better. enjoying your channel

[@jamierobinson3349]

Yep. I would live there. 🎩👍💜

[@historiimagerybackup]

Beautiful churchyard 🖤

[@margopaton3240]

Before I watch the video, I’m wondering whether your channel is still going/active? I can’t see any up to date videos. I’m playing catch up and I love this channel, I wouldn’t like to think it’s no longer running.

[@thanhthuypham5629]

Thank you

[@cook13doodle16]

May I ask for your help when viewing markers, if legible,to provide the year(s) ? ❤

[@sheilan6235]

Putting all the graves so close together, they must have expected that they’d get walked on

[@catherinerickard699]

I have watched few videos of yours with headphones and heard whispering , I can’t wait to re watch this with headphones, bc I swear I heard something as you walked past William sutcliff.

[@deadgoodwalks]

Let me know and maybe I'll do an evp complication video

[@catherinerickard699]

@@deadgoodwalks have you heard things while you been editing? I will try find an hour and get the time stamps and let you know, It could be members of pubic , but they don’t seem to match the background noise .

[@hillieryan8257]

Fascinating

[@deadgoodwalks]

Thank you Hillie!

[@abobakkerhabeebmohamed3696]

I like ur channel dear lots were they graveyard which country

[@vincentmancini6279]

This appears to be a most interesting town with a lot of history. I would like to have seen more of it. A professional video would have been wonderful. This gentleman seems to have the camera on his stomach but thank you any way.

[@modtomodern]

This is what I imagined that England looks like, I would like to live there and die in this pretty little place. So pretty.

[@caroltrudge1389]

Thank you for the smallest video. . Is there a link up on the history . Thank you .

[@antoniocostalima4975]

A história tem que ser preservada...

[@alankerr2479]

Love the cobbles

[@robertproietti-ricci6403]

the village is more creepy than the cemetery...so many graves in this village

[@TWILAlovesJESUS]

Aah, Summer Wine country.😊 We have NOTHING like this here in the U.S.A.😲⚓

[@maryrawson6241]

I have to go and see this

[@EmeLightheartArtisanDesigns]

Baptismal records are kept in these churches makes it hard to find your ancestors.

[@ianshaw6922]

Getting closee to me.. gods country Yorkshire

[@deadgoodwalks]

The best county!

[@caroltrudge1389]

Lucky you

[@cynthiascott3637]

Is that normal to lay headstones flat and to walk on them in cemetery or is it just some of them in the UK❓First time I have ever seen this. Thanks for sharing!✌

[@deadgoodwalks]

Good question, It's not something I see all the time, you normally see them on the floor inside churches when someone has been buried in the actual church. I don't know for sure but I'd guess that these ones have been moved from somewhere else in the grounds to make way for more burials, or perhaps they were once standing and flattened to save buying paving.

[@cynthiascott3637]

@@deadgoodwalks THANKS! I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A CURIOUS ONE ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT💀😊 HAVE A GREAT DAY!

[@ds1868]

The stones have fallen down over time and have been arranged flat. Also due to safety reasons. This graveyard is many hundreds of years old.

[@djmossssomjd8496]

Yep the murderer Sutcliffe came from only 15 miles away. Not all Sutcliffes are that bad. I worked with a great chap of that name...couldn't imagine him killing a fly :-) T'was a DGW!

[@ianshaw6922]

All those Sutcliffes... wonder if any related to Peter Sutcliffe the Yorkshire Ripper

[@gargoylenascar]

I wonder how many bodies the newer church is sitting on

[@malcolmbolton8953]

Try old Heysham church graveyard Lancashire, you will find it very interesting,

[@deadgoodwalks]

Thanks Malcolm

[@ramonapetermann9585]

So the pillars of the nice old church are still standing, but I don't think anyone has the money that is needed to rebuild the place, too much is destroyed to match nowadays rules for buildings. Who would like to invest such an amount of money for such a small village, although it is really beautiful. And well, there is a new church nearby, no need for the citizens to rebuild that old one - pity. And it's a bit eerie to lay all the old headstones on the ground to walk on, but they are so old, there might be nothing more left than dust. But these houses made of black stone look fascinating.

[@dingbat2177]

The houses are black from all the factory smoke in Victorian times - it's soot. The original stone is sandstone, a golden yellow colour.

[@ramonapetermann9585]

@@dingbat2177 Oh, I see, but this has a kind of a melancholic charme. Thank you.

[@lucykinski]

Ah you didn’t visit Sylvia Plath’s grave! Deffo do that next time!

[@Jessica-xj9pq]

You didn't show the grave of Sylvia Plath 🤔🤔

[@deadgoodwalks]

I honestly don't know much about her, but a lot of subscriber's have asked to see it. I'll do some research and pay her a visit one day

[@martd1352]

Sutcliffe's were part of the coiners, I know I am one!!!!

[@reginamathews2001]

We're these stones remove from Graves and used for the floor? Were burials one on top of others because of lack of ground?

[@edl6398]

When was the Beckett Church built? You didn’t say. I’m asking because if it was there during the plague, then there’s a good possibility that bodies are stacked on top of one another or the plague victims were exhumed to make room for future graves. That eventually became illegal in Britain and people were eventually buried in graveyards vs. Church yards and couldn’t be moved for 100 years.

[@roomullan3050]

Very strange

[@harrymcandrew1447]

now that i find intresting how 2 churches 1 a ruin shares a yard with a replacement wonder why the ruined one wasnt just restored unless they couldnt have been botherd and decided a replacement is better

[@deadgoodwalks]

Yeah seems odd doesn't it, I'm guessing they moved all the headstones when they built the new church, hope they took the bodies with them too

[@harrymcandrew1447]

@@deadgoodwalks at least it isnt forgotten and the people arent if they got moved with there headstones wouldnt wanna be buried in a church and not be moved if they move the headstones love ya vids ! always entertaining

[@maddogryan5799]

it dead quite there

[@deadgoodwalks]

Almost too quiet, apart from the birds

[@madgevanness4011]

Not palms, probably weeping willows.

[@user-ws8pz4ux9q]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@cabryant1242]

You missed the grave of the renowned American poet Sylvia Plath

[@deadgoodwalks]

I knew she was there but I wasn't qualified to talk about her at the time, I'll have to pay her a visit

[@dawnmplayer]

Grandpappy sutcliff had a bike

[@caroltrudge1389]

Your grandpa...

[@stephaniebranham3404]

Wonder if those Sutcliffes are related to Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper….🤔😮

[@deadgoodwalks]

Some of them have to be for sure

[@ds1868]

They are all related.

[@gailcrestin179]

The slabs of stones you’re walking on….are those graves?? Why walk on them??

[@deadgoodwalks]

Yes, There's no choice but to walk on them in some parts

[@lynneedwards4538]

Sutcliffe is a very common name in Yorkshire. My own Sutcliffe ancestors have been traced to Heptonstall. In many churches, Prestbury in Cheshire being one I know well, the gravestones are often nowhere near the original grave due to graves being reused. The stones very often form part of paths. St Michael's Flags in Manchester were refurbished into a play area for the local children.

[@ds1868]

Quite normal to do this.

[@jdearing46]

How did so many come to be interred there?

[@deadgoodwalks]

Its strange because the village is tiny, maybe just over the generations

[@ds1868]

The village is over 1,000 years old. Think about it.

[@Jynxxxycat]

Lots of Sutcliffes and Cockcrofts!

[@KkKk-px2le]

You literally walking on graves. Damn

[@sharonjacobs5351]

Would you consider reading the dates on the stones ? . . 🤷 . The name alone doesn't mean a whole lot if they aren't person's of notariety . . These stones are so much older than any in the U.S. . . 🪦

[@deadgoodwalks]

Will do Sharon. They should all be on findagrave if you need to find any dates

[@sharonjacobs5351]

@@deadgoodwalks I was under the impression that your there and the dates are readily available to you . It'd be silly for me to try to look up dates without full names right ? . 🤷 . Cemetary tour videos here include . 🕵️ . name , birth and death dates they also include things that are written on the markers . It really makes the walk through so interesting . Just watched another one of your videos . So different than what we're used to here . It was earily quiet there , except for a barking dog . . . 😳 . You live in a lovely country ! Greetings to you from Michigan in the U.S. . . 🇺🇸

[@sharonjacobs5351]

@@deadgoodwalks Thanks , I thought It'd be interesting for your viewers to know. Thanks for the tour , so interesting to see and going for tours to see what we'd otherwise never see . . 😁

[@ds1868]

The village is over 1,000 years old. So yes much older than the US.

[@sharonjacobs5351]

@@ds1868 Thank you for your answer . These tours offer alot of information on burial sites over seas. Areas, customs and objects not here in the U.S.. Thank you . . 🌍