Saltaire in West Yorkshire
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Saltaire in West Yorkshire was a
purpose-built, model Victorian industrial village |
Salt's
Mill was built by the wealthy textile magnate, Sir Titus Salt, and when
it opened in 1853, it was the largest and most modern factory in the
world. Sir Titus Salt was a philanthropist who decided to surround the
mill with a complete village of 850 houses, almshouses, wash houses,
public baths, schools, hospitals, parks and a railway station.
At this time, Bradford was the
world's largest producer of worsted cloth, and both working and living
conditions in the town were horrific. Life expectancy in Bradford was 18
years, and only 30 percent of textile workers' children survived beyond
the age of 15. The workers here must have thought themselves incredibly
fortunate to have escaped the pollution and poverty of Bradford, although
they were not permitted to drink or to join a trades union.
Saltaire was designed in
Italianate style, with the mill resembling an enormous palazzo, and it is
all well preserved. The mill is still the heart of the place, and is now
home to shops and a restaurant. One floor, called the 1853 Gallery, now
has a permanent retrospective of the work of David Hockney. Hockney was
born in Bradford and was a friend of Jonathan Silver, who had the idea
for the gallery. The transformation of the mill has been sympathetically
designed and it is easy to spend a day here. Saltaire is now a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
You can reach Saltaire by train
or bus from Bradford. When visiting, remember to visit the National
Museum of Photography, Kirkstall Abbey, the Bronte Parsonage Museum and
Harewood House. Saltaire can easily fill a lazy day spent taking in the
Hockney gallery and enjoying the grounds surrounding the mill.
