Looking over Saltaire

This is Salts Mill. During the years when Bradford was in the forefront of worsted cloth production, Sir Titus Salt chose to move out of town to a green field site to build his new mill. The reason for this was that he was disgusted with the appalling living and working conditions in the city.

The site he chose was beside the River Aire, the Leeds Liverpool Canal and the railway, within easy reach of Bradford, but far enough away to build in the way he wanted. In total, he relocated his entire business of five separate mills out of Bradford to this new location, which he named Saltaire (a combination of his family name and that of the river).

Saltaire is now a World Heritage Site; tribute to a philanthropist who cared enough about his workers to provide them with decent housing, a hospital, a wash house with running water, the Victoria Hall for meetings and social gatherings, a library, allotments and a school.

The village is built on a grid pattern and the bulk of it is very noticeable to the right of the photograph. The two main roads through the village are Victoria Road and Albert Road (quite obviously named after regents) whilst the other streets are named after members of Sir Titus' family.

For much more information about Saltaire, try out the village website, http://www.saltairevillage.info/ , created and maintained on a voluntary basis by members of the local community.

And for a personal insight into life in the village, visit JennyFreckles newly revamped photo blog, http://saltairedailyphoto.blogspot.com/ .