Saltaire – World Heritage Thanks to Three Visionary Men
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This is the story of an industrial village, three visionaries, and a famous artist – but more about the artist further down.
The village of Saltaire in Yorkshire was purpose-built during the Industrial Revolution. After the factory closed down, it didn’t go through a period of neglect, like so many other major industrial sites in England. The core of Saltaire, its enormous industrial wool mill, was quickly given a new lease of life.
What you will find in this article:
It’s thanks to three visionary men that today visitors find this ensemble of buildings in near perfect preservation. This has earned Saltaire a well-deserved World Heritage listing.
I decided to write about these men, because I find their individual stories rather inspirational. With the creation of Saltaire, the founder intended to implement an overall concept of human dignity – the “ideal” Victorian workers’ village. That’s what makes Saltaire, the World Heritage Site we can visit today, so special!
The village of Saltaire and its Salts Mill is a World Heritage Site. We can thank three visionary men for this fascinating piece of history in Yorkshire. (View of the mill from Victoria Rd.)
The man, who started it all gave the village its name.
Sir Titus Salt (1803-1876)
After finishing school, Titus Salt soon joined his father in his wool trade in Bradford. They imported Russian Donskoi wool, a rather coarse material, which wasn’t used back then to spin the worsted wool yarns for tailored garment fabrication.
Bradford was on the road to becoming the world’s greatest centre of wool cloth manufacturing at the time. Since Titus Salt couldn’t find any buyers among the wool spinners there, he decided to set up his own spinning and manufacturing. In 1836, he stumbled upon a consignment of Alpaca wool bales. Taking a risk, he bought the entire shipment. Soon he developed a way to spin and weave this material into a desirable, and pricey, product.
His work ethic and risk-taking paid off quickly. By the early 1850s, he had become the largest employer in Bradford. The city was known as a stinking hell hole, for its pollution and poor sanitary conditions. So Titus Salt decided to move out, and consolidate all of his interests in one newly-built settlement. He chose a plot on the river Aire, next to a canal and a railway line, which would give him easy access to transport.
By combining his name Salt and the river’s name Aire, the new village was named Saltaire. He opened Saltaire Mills with a grand banquet on his 50th birthday, on the 20th of September 1853. As a man of vision, he had great plans for his village. Since he recognised the ill effects an unhealthy industrial environment can have on a workforce, he had a vision to do better.
Don’t tell Titus, a contemporary bar along Victoria Road. The name plays with the fact that Sir Titus Salt didn’t permit any premises in his village, which sold alcohol. He had too often seen the detrimental effect it could have on people. Although he is reported to have consumed alcohol himself, on occasion…
Over the years, he not only built decent housing for his workers, and better houses for his engineers, but he also constructed a school, a hospital, a communal dining room, a public bath house, a workers’ club and, of course, churches. He was a man of strict beliefs and principles. He also enforced a drinking ban in his village.
When he died in 1876, his vision of a healthy, planned industrial village was nearly complete. The majority of these original structures are still standing today, and are in use.
An historic plan of the entire village of Saltaire. (Sorry, I couldn’t get higher to photograph this straight on.)
In July 1881, the firm was registered as a “limited liability company”, Titus Salt’s Sons & Co., with four directors: Edward Salt, Titus Salt Junior, Charles Stead, and William Stead. Titus Salt Junior, Salt’s only heir credited with any “interest or aptitude for the wool trade”, died of a heart failure in 1887. His death was followed by a number of flawed decisions and a global recession, so that the company had to declare bankruptcy in 1892. The plant kept producing, with a drastically reduced workforce, until a syndicate of four men (John Rhodes, John Maddocks, Isaac Smith and James Roberts) bought it 1893.
This introduces the second visionary man, who continued the fortunes of Saltaire.
Sir James Roberts (1848-1935)
Historic photograph of Sir James Roberts
Within a few years he became the sole owner of Salts Mill. He possessed a similar combination of practical and business skills as the original founder, Titus Salt. Soon the company prospered and expanded once again. James Roberts, a strong advocate of free trade, found new export markets for Salts’ wool. He was also a respected philanthropist, which earned him the title of 1st Baronet.
Regrettably, he wasn’t as fortunate with his family. Three of his four sons died prematurely, and the fourth was so seriously injured in WWI as to be unfit to run the company. Since Sir James Roberts had no heir when he retired in 1918, he sold the mill, goodwill, and the village of Saltaire to a local consortium of business men, for the astonishing sum of £2,000,000. This was undoubtedly a high point of Salts Mill!
An historic photo of workers enjoying a game of cricket in the park on the other side of the Saltaire Mill and River Aire.
The mill continued to do fairly well until around 1926, when the fortunes of the Salts Mill began to slowly decline, due to outside influences. First a coal strike, then a fall in wool prices, forced the company to lay off workers, and to sell the village of Saltaire in 1930.
But this was followed by another upturn in fortunes. By the end of 1933, the production had doubled within a year – thanks to the introduction of two shifts of work. The company survived the Second World War with government contracts, and was modernised in the following years.
In 1958, Salts Mill business was sold a final time for £4,700,000 to Illingworth Morris PLC. Though the new owner tried to consolidate and streamline operations, soon British Wool could no longer compete on a large scale with cheap imports and the new wave of man-made fabrics. Thus, the company went into receivership in 1985; Salts Mill was closed, and the production lines dismantled, in February 1986.
But people recognised the value of the unique infrastructure in Saltaire, which was already attracting tourists at that time. One visionary man stands out, who is credited today as a significant player in the early granting of the World Heritage Listing for Saltaire.
Jonathan Silver (1949–1997)
Jonathan Silver was born in Bradford in 1949. As a kid he hated school, but very early showed an astonishing entrepreneurial skill: after class, he would attend auctions, buying and selling furniture and arty objects. Yet, he’s reported to have always been right at the bottom of his class.
Until, one day, a teacher recognised his dormant potential and involved him in the local school paper. Jonathan put his whole heart into this new challenge. He remembered that David Hockney, an up-and-coming painter, had attended the same school years before. So he approached Hockney with the idea of designing a cover for the school’s paper – this was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
Silver left school and studied Art History and Textiles at Leeds University. Though art was something he was always very interested in, a strong sense of business flowed through his veins. Soon after uni, he started his own fashionable clothing company, Noble Crest, with shops all over England called Jonathan Silver. He never stayed with a business long; he built them up, sold them, and started something new.
After selling his share in the last company, Dean Clough, he took his family travelling for 2 years – another occasion when he caught up with David Hockney, this time in L.A. After the family’s return to England, he was looking for a new challenge. That’s when he found Salts Mill.
Rumour says that after Silver submitted his offer to buy the buildings, he stayed outside watching the mill from his car for nearly a month, to make sure nobody else could take this opportunity away from him. He paid £1,000,000 for the dilapidated buildings.
Jonathan Silver quickly developed a vision for the empty shell of the mill: a mix of retail, entertainment spaces, restaurants and, at its core, art galleries. The first Hockney exhibition opened before the rest of the building was fully transformed. Salts’ collection of Hockney pieces has grown from 56 in 1987 to over 400, the largest holding of works by the artist in the world. One reason alone to visit Saltaire!
The David Hockney art piece “Tennis” at Salts Mill. This was a big moment for Jonathan Silver’s promotion of his gallery. Hockney had created this work on small sheets of paper and sent them by fax machine from L.A. to Saltaire. Hockney’s idea of using of modern technology in the creation of art. The big event was featured live on the BBC television.
Unfortunately, Jonathan Silver didn’t live long enough to see his creation flourish over the following 20+ years. He died in 1997, at the young age of 47, of pancreatic cancer. But before his death, he convinced David Hockney to return to Yorkshire and paint the beloved landscapes of his youth.
What can you expect to find as a visitor in Saltaire?
Disclaimer: we stayed with friends at Saltaire who live in one of the old mill buildings, which is converted into apartments. Our visit happened to coincide with the annual “Saltaire Festival” , which – despite some rain – brought many more people into the village than on any other day. We also couldn’t enter some of the World Heritage buildings because they were in use for festival events.
Google Map of Saltaire
Nowadays, Saltaire is part of the township of Shipley in Yorkshire. Most sights are close together. The whole village can be explored on foot. Once you have walked two or three of the side streets lined with workers’ cottages you don’t need to explore any further as they all look pretty much the same. The roomier houses, formerly built to house engineers and other “white collar” employees, are all located closer to the mill. This square, formed by George Street, Bingley Road, the mill down by the river, and Exhibition Road, contains most of the village’s sights. Central parking can be found along Victoria Road.
I have included further descriptions of Saltaire’s historic sights in the photo subtitles.
Salts Mill
Please click thumbnails below for a larger photo with description.
Saltaire Village
Please click thumbnails below for a larger photo with description.
Conclusion
To understand the impact of Saltaire, the vision behind its creation, and its significance today as an outstanding example of industrial heritage, you should really learn about its past and the working conditions in those days. Once you understand the context, the history is quite intriguing. I have added a number of links below, for those of you who want to read more about Saltaire.
Yet nothing surpasses a visit; to see the village with your own eyes and to imagine what it might have been like in the past!
A beautiful shot of the landscape around Saltaire – another reason to visit West Yorkshire. This was actually a rather cool and grey September day, but it was still beautiful.
Further Reading about Saltaire
Salts Mills, the Owners & Managers
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Highly recommended articles:
The UNESCO World Heritage Listing
The Telegraph: King of Salt’s Mill . David Hockney writes about his friendship with Jonathan Silver.
How my dad came to fill a mill with David Hockneys . The daughter of Jonathan Silver recalls his drive to rejuvenate the former Salts Mill
Cloth & Memory: Jonathan Silver’s wife recalls the success of his vision (short read)
Crisis At Saltaire (the first thoughts after Salts Mill’s final closure)
About the Salt family estate and its assumed curse. It contains some interesting family history, not only of the Salts, but also James Roberts’ family. They lived there after he had acquired the mill. Salt’s ruin: The curse of Milner Field
More information about Saltaire and its history:
The Saltaire Conservation Area Assessment by Bradford District Council [PDF]
The history of Salts Mill after the death of Titus Salt
About the Saltaire Club & Institute (now Victoria Hall) , with some nice photos
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![The Industrial Revolution is an important part of the heritage of Wales. As diverse as they are, each site has a unique and often fascinating story to tell. [Photo shows the water balance tower of the Blaenavon Ironworks.]](https://dare2go.com/travel/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Industrial-Heritage-Wales-featured-520x245.jpg)
As a traveler myself, I love to learn things like this especially those people behind in the past. These 3 visionaries despite the unfinished business and creations they had, share the best inspiration to many. And I agree with you, visiting a village like this with our own eyes still can make an image questioning on what was in the past.
It sounds like these were some very inspirational and forward-thinking individuals! Plus, I love the architecture of the Saltaire village. So gorgeous and ornate!
Really interesting view on the past and the ups and downs Saltaire went through to survive. It’s remarkable that so many of the buildings are still in use today. That’s visionary thinking and building. A fascinating read and a much deeper appreciation for Saltaire.
[Blush!] It sounds like you really enjoyed my post. Thank you so much.
Wow incredible inspiring stories! Very rightly made it a Unesco Heritage Site!
Very commendable work by the visionaries! So good to know about Saltaire and its makers.
Saltaire sounds like an interesting village to explore and the countryside landscape around it is gorgeous. Good to know that it can be pretty much explored on foot. Very interesting insights into the lives of three visionary men that led to the development of the village. It’s cute that they called the bar Don’t tell Titus, considering he did not want people to be consuming alcohol in his village!
I think it’s great that you are so into the history. It’s rarely something that sticks for me – I have trouble recalling historic details of a place.
Often a third of the photo I take at a place are of the written signs. These then help me a) naming photos and b) to research a blog post.
How very interesting about this little known UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thanks for this great intro to Saltaire, the Salt Mills, and the three visionaries.
We’ve never heard of Saltaire in England, but it’s nice to learn about how this village’s history was shaped by three visionary men. During the 19th century, many industrial towns were built, which contributed in creating a rather unhealthy world (of course, many didn’t know about it back then). So Sir Titus Salt certainly did good to have planned a healthier industrial village. What Jonathan Silver did in the 1980s, turning an old mill into an entertainment place with restaurants and art galleries was also a fantastic idea. If we’re ever in the neighborhood, we’ll certainly stop by Saltaire for a vist.
Oh, I love if I can really inspire people to visit a place.
Saltaire sounds like a place that’s perfect for history lovers. The mill and the buildings in the village are charming. And I like the research you’ve done to highlight the key people responsible for its glorious past.
Thanks you. I always believe that understanding the background of a place helps you to understand what you see today.
It was interesting to read about how the village of Saltaire. It was good that the original mills set up by Salt focused on less unhealthy industrial environments. And built good communities for the workers. Roberts experience working in the mill let him bring greater prosperity to the village. And it was great that Silver had the vision to put the mill to a new use. The ups and downs of a small village. Saltaire certainly sounds like an interesting town to visit.
Yes, it is. And knowing the ups and downs of its history make it even more interesting.
A pretty village with so much of history. The three men you talked of were indeed great persons of their time. Their visions have helped Saltaire’s industries so much. They dream big and it’s great to know such inspiring people from the past.
Seeing people with vision inspires me deeply, Juergen. You need to look past circumstances and obstacles that trip up much of humanity, to something bigger than yourself. I love it.