Saltaire - The story of a philanthropist who delivered

Wednesday, 19 August 2009 08:13

Sir Titus Salt was the philanthropist and astute business man who built Saltaire

Today we visited the World Heritage Site, Saltaire, from our mooring just down the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, in Shipley. Saltaire is ten minutes walk back along the towpath.

Epiphany moored at Salts Wharf

Titus Salt was a successful wool mill owner in Bradford but abhorred the conditions his workers lived in. They lived in hovels crammed between mills with open sewers and filth all around. Disease and death was rife and the smoke from the many mills made the area very much an area of "dark satanic mills".

Titus planned and built his mill on a piece of land sloping down to the railway, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, and set about creating a village for his workers. The Mill was opened in 1853 and the village gradually took shape around it.

Mill entrance from Victoria Road

He provided everything for their care and entertainment. Having seen the problems brought on by drink, there were no pubs in the village (but he was not a teetotaller). The houses all had sanitary arrangements and there was a hierarchy in type of housing depending on the worker's status. Overseeers had front gardens and the "bosses" had large houses overlooking the countryside.

Houses with gardens in William Henry Street

Titus provided washhouses, a bathhouse and a hospital. In the Institute for recreation and education there was a library, reading room, concert hall, billiard room, gymnasium and science room. There was a school for the children, alms houses for old and injured workers, allotments, a park and a boathouse. In return he expected hard work and loyalty and the workers from his 5 mills in Bradford were moved to what must have seemed like Utopia.

Alms Houses in Alexandria Square

Titus even built a beautiful church for his workers, so there was no excuse for them to forget their spiritual welfare either.

Saltaire Church (now United Reformed)

On Sir Titus Salt's death, his son, Titus Jr., took over the Mill, but its success gradually declined. The renaissance was effected by Sir James Roberts, until again it fell into decline. The Mill was left to become derelict.

Jonathon Silver, an entrepreneur, resurrected the Mill and it has become a mecca for David Hockney fans. Jonathon was a personal friend of David Hockney and the mill now holds the worlds largest collection of Hockney works. It is truly amazing.

Entry is free; inside are other retail outlets and parts of the Mills are now residential and office space.

A leaflet showing a walk around the World Heritage Site (awarded in 2001) is available and names the various important bits of the village. We followed the trail and a pictorial tour is on our photo gallery.

Map of Saltaire

Since we visited in 2001 there have been some changes because of the award - most notably the moorings on the canal and the area around the Boathouse Inn which is no longer a wooded area.

The Boathouse Inn

This visit we were able to spend more time wandering around, enjoying the atmosphere. It really is well worth a visit, especially when you remember that it is there partly because of the Leeds and Liverpool canal!

Oh, and don't forget the Butcher up on Bingley Road - we bought a platter of Chinese chicken (enough for 5 meals) and Tandoori pork (enough for 2 meals) and split them to put in the freezer. All for £10!