Saltaire

Saltaire is a small town close to Bradford (officially, it's part of Shipley). It stands out from its surroundings by two features: a large mill and a street pattern that is mostly rectangular. In fact, the two are closely related.

Salt's Mill by the end of the 19th century

Saltaire combines in its name Titus Salt, a 19th century industrialist who built and owned Salt's Mill (and most of Saltaire, by the way), and the river Aire that crosses the town. The mill that Salt built was for his large textile trading enterprise. Being a socially enlightened person (certainly by 19th century English standards), he then proceeded to provide for his workforce a complete town away from filthy Bradford, with clean air (conveniently ignoring the close proximity of his own mill), excellent housing by the standards of the day, education, health care, social activities and, in later years, even retirement homes.

The grid-like pattern on which the streets of Saltaire are laid out reflects the rationality of Salt the industrialist. The street names reflect the prosperity of Salt the father: they are named after his wife (Caroline), their six children (Wiliam Henry, George, Amelia, Edward, Herbert, Fanny), the English royal family (Victoria and Albert), and the the architects (Lockwood and Mawson). Oh yes, there is also a Titus Street. When Titus Salt died in 1876 (as Sir Titus, so the royal street names did pay off), more than 100,000 people lined the streets along which his hearse drove to say a final goodbye.

Salt's Mill by the end of the 20th century

Currently, Salt's Mill houses a electronics firm, a number of arts, fashion, designer kitchenware and home decoration shops, a permanent exhibition dedicated to the Yorkshire painter David Hockney, and Salt's Diner.

The local tourist information offers a variety of information about Saltaire's past and present, including a nice booklet Saltaire Trail that leads you through the streets and history of the town. They also sell nicely quaint English thingies, as do a number of other antiques and second-hand shops and bookshops along Victoria Road. A walk to the nearby Shipley Glen, including a ride on its tramway (see picture) also starts here.

Saltaire Tourist Information Centre
2 Victoria Road
Saltaire, Shipley BD18 3LA
Tel. (01274) 774993
Fax (01274) 774464

For more information about Saltaire's history, see the  Saltaire website.

	Copyright © 1999-2000 Anne-Wil Harzing and Ron van der Wal. All rights reserved. Legal notices and colophon. This page was last modified on 7-11-99 19:03