Ilkley Cemetery
This multi will take about 30-40 minutes to do and will take you on a pleasant stroll through a lovely peaceful, hidden - and seldom visited - part of Ilkley with extensive lawns and fine mature trees.
It occupies a corner site formed by a 90o bend in the River Wharfe (location of the Ilkley Suspension (foot) Bridge) and is bordered on its eastern edge by the Ashlands Road wastewater treatment works.
To Access the Cache Area: It may be accessed from three entry points as follows:
1) From the north: take the small trail @ N 53 55.911 W 1 48.769 heading south from the riverside trail running along the south bank of the Wharfe.
2) From the east: park at or near N 53 55.820 W 1 48.787 on Ashlands Rd. close to the entrance gates.
3) From the south: park at or near N 53 55.774 W 1 48.955 on Beanlands Parade close to the entrance gates.
The steps may be done in any order, as convenient based on your chosen point of entry to the cemetery.
Step 1: On one of the entrance gate posts @ N 53 55.824 W 1 48.789 is a plaque which shows that the gates were donated by Ilkley Parish Council in 200A
Step 2: enter the cemetery and proceed to N 53 55.856 W 1 48.860 where you will be standing outside the northern chapel - now the Sewing Shed - where you will note that there are B vertical panels in each of the entrance doors.
Step 3: walk across the grass to N 53 55.869 W 1 48.844 where you will find the headstone of one of the Commonwealth War Graves - that of Gunner FA Hitchen of the Royal Artillery who was only 19 when he passed away on C October 1940.
Step 4: now head west to N 53 55.864 W 1 48.900 the location of the large headstone of Ruth and Adrian Sacks. The last word used to describe Ruth has a repeated letter it which has the alphanumeric value (A=1 B=2 C=3 etc) of D. I had never heard of this word before but after a brief subsequent interweb search it seems it is urban slang for 'best friend' or 'homie' and is used mainly 'in the hood' or in rap music . . . definitely an unusual moniker!
Step 5: continue across to N 53 55.843 W 1 48.948 on the western side of the cemetery alongside the audible river to where you will find the large rough rocky headstone in remembrance of Lieut. Kenneth Malorie Priestman of the Royal Engineers who was killed in action in a famous WW1 battle aged 25. The alphanumeric value of the 3rd letter of the 6-letter name of the town in France near where he was buried = E
Step 6: continue south down the western edge of the cemetery to N 53 55.789 W 1 49.003 the location of a solitary headstone commemorating Lucy Aladics - an unusual surname. The number of letters in the name of her profession = F
Step 7: from here turn east and pass along the deeply shaded southern edge of the cemetery under some magnificent mature trees making your way to N 53 55.804 W 1 48.859 just east of a bench where you will find the grave and headstone of members of the Hepton family. At the foot of this you will note that Clifford who died aged 90 in 2008 had his ashes scattered on the North Cliffs of the county with G letters in its name.
Using these values, the cache is hidden at:
N 53 55.DFC W 1 48.(A-1)(B-E-2)(G-7)
Ilkley’s original cemetery was located around All Saints Parish Church in the centre of the town, but by the 1870s it was getting overcrowded. It closed to new burials in 1878 but the existing gravestones remained there till 1968 after which they were later removed as part of a scheme to tidy up the area around the church following demolition of the nearby Wheatsheaf Hotel. Most of the gravestones were moved to the new cemetery and left in piles pending final relocation.
In 1878 the new Ilkley Cemetery was opened near the river on Cemetery Road (now called Ashlands Road). It was built on 13 acres of land with a mirrored pair of chapels, the southern one for Anglicans on consecrated ground and the northern for Non-Conformists and Catholics which was unconsecrated. Both are Grade II listed buildings as listed here (northern) and here (southern).
The plan below shows the different areas of the Cemetery.
In 2011 the old gravestones from All Saints Church were eventually laid out to form a Memorial Avenue close to the Ashlands Road entrance with generous support from the community who with the Friends of Ilkley Cemetery continue to look after the cemetery.
In 2017 the northern chapel was converted into a sewing studio.
The Commonwealth War Graves website currently lists 46 graves located in Ilkley Cemetery.