John Pearl Bradley was born in Buxhall in Suffolk on the 3rd
November 1844. His family had lived in the village from before
1760. His great grandfather was William Bradley (c1740-1801)
who with his wife Sarah had at least eight children, among them
James Bradley (1776-1845) who married Christian Otterwell in
Buxhall on the 10th October 1798. Their son John Bradley
(1817-1870) married Sarah Pearl on the 12th April 1842 an
event which was announced thus in the Bury and Norwich Post
of Wednesday 20 April 1842:
“On Tuesday last, at the Baptist Chapel, Rattlesden, Mr John Bradley,
shoe-maker, of Buxhall, to Miss Sarah Pearl, of Hitcham”.
Sarah Pearl's father, John, was also a shoemaker, as was her
nephew George Pearl, the illegitimate son of her sister, Jemima.
George appears to have been brought up by his grandparents,
and remained close to his aunt Sarah, moving with her and her
family to West Ham shortly after the 1851 census.
John Bradley's brother Thomas was already living in Church
Street, West Ham in 1851. He had left Buxhall with his wife Ann
and son William some time after 1831, and in 1841 he is a
Groom in Mucking in Essex, where they had had another son,
Thomas, born in about 1835. In 1851 Thomas senior is trading as
a Greengrocer, while his son William is married and living in Plaistow Grove, West Ham and trading as a
Fishmonger. John and Sarah Bradley with their son John Pearl Bradley moved to 3 Church Street North,
probably initially with George Pearl, to live next door to Thomas where they worked as shoemakers, and
this is where the 1861 census finds them, literally next to the parish church of All Saints.
When John Pearl Bradley married Mary Ann Butler at St Mary's in Plaistow on the 28th June 1869 he
gives his address as Plaistow Road, and he is no longer a shoemaker, but is now a sorter at the Post
Office; he had been appointed Supply Lr Cr [Letter Carrier] in April 1867. George Pearl was one of the
witnesses. In 1871 the Bradleys are living at 21 Newbold Street, Mile End Old Town with a baby son
Alfred, and John Pearl Bradley is a Sub-sorter General Post Office. He would spend the rest of his
working life in the Post Office progressing to Sorter, First Class.
In 1881 the family, now with four children, is living at 5, Bromehead Rd, Mile End Old Town. His wife
Mary died on the 8th November 1882 in the London Hospital in Whitechapel from a strangulated hernia
and peritonitis, and her home address on the death certificate is given as 15 Antcliff Street, Commercial
Road. On the 25th August 1883 John Pearl Bradley married Annie Eliza Griesel at St Mary's in Plaistow,
and gives his address as West Ham. He had probably moved back to West Ham after Mary's death as he
still had family living there who could help with the young children. His cousin Thomas Bradley (son of
Thomas) had adopted Joseph Turner, the illegitimate son born to his wife Eleanor Turner before her
marriage to him. As Joseph Bradley he had married Sarah Ann Smart on the 16th December 1877 in
Stratford in Essex and they were living in West Ham with their young family in the 1880s. Annie Eliza
Griesel was her recently widowed sister with two young children, and she had also, probably, gone to
her family for support; Joseph and Sarah Ann Bradley are witnesses at her marriage to John Pearl
Bradley.
In 1891 the extended Bradley/Griesel family is living at 7 Cecil Road, West Ham. The family consists of
John Pearl Bradley and Annie Eliza his wife, her two sons from her short marriage to Adam Griesel, four
children from John Pearl Bradley’s first marriage and three children from this second marriage.
In 1901 they are at 24 Amity Road; some of the older children have left home and are married with
children of their own, and John Pearl and Annie Eliza have a further four children. Shortly after 1901 they
moved further out into Essex settling at 1 Chadwell Avenue, Chadwell Heath. Anne Eliza died here on the
8th April 1912. John Pearl Bradley died at 41 Priory Road, Barking on the 26th April 1915.
Anne Eliza and John Pearl Bradley were buried in separate plots in the Buckingham Road Cemetery
behind St Mary’s Church in Ilford: Anne Eliza in plot no. 309 on 13th April 1912 and her husband in plot
no. 366 on the 1st May 1915. Presumably from the wording on his headstone the whole extended family
gathered to say farewell, and his youngest daughter, Nance, recalled that at the graveside a peal of his
own composition was rung on handbells.
The graveside handbells are a clue to another aspect of John Pearl Bradley’s life: he was an
accomplished bell-ringer. This interest must have sprung from his taking up residence at a young age
next to the church in West Ham, where the Chelmsford Chronicle of the 25th February 1859 reports:
On the 12th instant, ten of the Society of College Youths rang on All Saint's bells, West Ham, 5000 Kent
treble Bob Royals, in three hours and 35 minutes. The above peal of Kent treble Bob Royals is the first
rung in this country, and was much admired by the friends of campanology.
Was he inspired by this event?
In 1868, when he was 24, he became a member of the Ancient Society of College Youths. A John P.
Bradley is listed in their website history section for that date, member number 2443, and as West Ham is
a highly regarded “heavy 10” (a peal of 10 bells with a heavy tenor bell), as a serious bell-ringer, he kept
his connection there even when he had moved away from the immediate area.
The Essex Association of Change Ringers was founded in 1879 and J. B. Bradley is given as a member at
West Ham in the 1882-83 report, which would tie in with his move back to West Ham. He continues as a
member until 1905 when he becomes J. P. Bradley and disappears altogether in 1906. The local Essex
newspapers report on all the meetings of the Association but some in more detail than others as
regards names of those attending so he is probably present on more occasions than I have found. A
further complication is that he seems to have been known as both John P. and John B. Bradley.
His first naming in the press is however as a member of the East London Handbell Band Ringers.
THE EAST LONDON HANDBELL BAND RINGERS. On Monday the bellringers held their annual dinner at
the Plume of Feathers Inn, Loughton, accompanied by a numerous party of their friends. At intervals
throughout the morning and afternoon parties of the ringers were told off to practice bellringing
changes at the parish church, where they were kindly permitted to display their talents. In the evening
they gave one of their admirable entertainments at the commodious clubroom of the hotel, which was
gratuitously opened for the admission of the public. The band played various selections of bell-music,
comprising waltzes, marches, polkas, schottisches, together with operatics and popular airs. About 200
persons attended the concert, and they were highly gratified with the programme. The band was under
the leadership of Mr. J. P. Bradley, of Commercial-road, London. The leading performers were the three
Brothers Linstead and Mr. O. White.
Chelmsford Chronicle: Friday 9 September 1881.
The handbell ringers are obviously all church bellringers as well. The three Brothers Linstead have a link
to the Bradley family: they are probably Charles, Alfred and Herbert. Alfred’s daughter Sarah was to
marry John Pearl Bradley’s son Frank, while his daughter Minnie married John Pearl Bradley’s stepson
George Adam Griesel. Their sister Emma Linstead’s daughter Alice Edith Bull married John Pearl
Bradley’s son Arthur Frederick Bradley.
There was a grand day out on Thursday 3rd November 1881 when the Essex Association gathered in
Chelmsford. “The bells of St. Mary's, Chelmsford, having been re-hung by J. Warner and Sons, were opened on
Thursday morning, November 3rd, by a band of the Essex Association of Change Ringers, with two touches of
Grandsire triples”. J.B. Bradley was one of the ringers and is listed as a member of the Ancient Society of
College Youths. They then moved on to St. Michael's at Galleywood, where again J.B. Bradley was one of
the ringers. “At two o'clock a company of about 40 sat down to a substantial dinner in the schoolroom
provided by the Galleywood ringers. Full justice having been done to the repast, the Rev. J.B. Seaman, hon. sec.
of the association, rose to propose the toast of the Queen, one dear to all ringers.” In the afternoon the
company divided, some to handbell ringing, others back to the church. “In the evening the ringers sat
down to a meat tea, which was kindly provided by Mrs. de Lisle at the vicarage, and at eight o'clock the party
broke up, after a day which, in spite of the bad weather, had proved most enjoyable both to the entertainers
and the visitors. In the course of the afternoon and evening two courses of Grandsire caters were rung on the
handbells, two in hand […] J.B. Bradley, 3 and 4; […]. Among those who sat down to dinner were [...] J.B. Bradley
(London) [...]”
On Saturday 23rd February 1884, a district meeting of the Association was held at West Ham, “the fine
ring of ten bells at the parish church, being kindly put at the service of the members by Canon Scott and his
churchwardens. The six bell tower of St. John's, Leytonstone, was also open to members by kind permission of
the Vicar. The principal touches were […] four courses of Stedman triples […] J. Bradley, 2nd. […] Towards the
close of the evening the members adjourned from the tower to a neighbouring room, where they were
entertained by Mr. J. B. Bradley and his band of handbell ringers with several selections on their fine peal of
about 60 handbells. The following are some of the pieces played : March from "Norma", "Huntsmen's chorus"
from "Der Freischütz", "Merry bells of England”, “Sailing”, “Bluebells of Scotland”, “Danish march” and the
National Anthem.”
On Saturday 18th April 1885 a district meeting of the Association was held at Romford, when the
company mustered about 40. “Ringing commenced about one pm at St. Edward's Church and was continued
at frequent intervals during the afternoon and early part of the evening [...] In the evening the East London
Handbell Ringers paid a visit to Romford and gave a charming selection of music in the large room at the
Swan Hotel before a large company upon their fine-toned and magnificent ring of 70 bells.” The Association
minutes reported: “On April 18th 1885 at Romford a great treat was given in the evening in the shape of some
beautiful handbell ringing by Mr T. [sic] B. Bradley's band, The East London Handbell Ringers”.
The first mention that I have discovered of role as a composer comes in 1889 when a “date-touch” (1,889
changes) of Grandsire Caters, the composition of Mr. J.B. Bradley of West Ham, was rung on Saturday
10th August on the bells of St. Mary's in Chelmsford (now Chelmsford Cathedral). There's a similar
report in 1892, and from 1895 his compositions are being published in the campanological periodicals
and performed all around London.
There are consistent family stories that John Pearl Bradley took part in ringing a special peal at St Paul’s
Cathedral that was commemorated on a plaque in the bell tower there, possibly for Queen Victoria’s
jubilee. No actual proof of this has yet turned up. Dickon Love, Librarian of the College Youths, sent me
this in reply to an email:
“The only record of ringing for special occasions at St Paul's is the Peal Record, which is indexed at
http://eee.stpcgor.org.uk/viewPeals.asp. I have looked for J P Bradley's name in this list and can't see
him anywhere. That is not to say that he didn't ring at St Paul's, nor that the occasion wasn't a special
one, but of those recorded here, his name doesn't figure. Peals were not as frequent at St Paul's as they
are now”.
As so far the bell-ringing stories have all turned out to be true I suspect he did at least ring at St. Paul's
Cathedral. As Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper of Sunday 17 April 1881 reported:
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL. The City Press states that the Dean and Chapter have made arrangements with the
“Ancient Society of College Youths” for the bells to be rung every Sunday throughout the year before the
morning and afternoon services on and after Easter Day, in addition to the days on which they have hitherto
been rung.
The Bradleys
John Pearl Bradley
Ringing World 1915
John Pearl Bradley’s headstone
All that remains of Anne Eliza’s headstone