Another piece of evidence to support this view is in Extract F, an interview with Titus Salt. Lord Harewood asked Salt why he built Saltaire. One of Salt’s reasons was “I also hope to do good to my fellow men.” This again shows Titus Salts concern for others wellbeing. The second reason Titus Salt gave was to “…provide an occupation for my sons” This once more shows his selflessness towards others.
There is also a piece of site evidence to prove this point. His workers presented a statue of Titus Salt to him on 20th September 1856. Originally it stood in Salt’s home at Crow Nest but was brought to Saltaire after his death. It now stands in Roberts Park. This shows that Salt was a good employer and played a very positive role in many people’s lives.
Although Titus salt was a very rich man before he built Saltaire, he wanted to be remembered for something. Therefore throughout the village he has ‘left his mark.’ On the Saltaire Club and Institute (Victoria Hall) he had a self-portrait carved on the tower and the families official coat of arms above the entrance:
Titus Salt also named the mill (‘Salts’ Mill), the village itself (‘Salt’aire) and a street after himself
On the school opposite Victoria Hall there are more memorials to Titus Salt. Above each of the windows there is a triangle with “TS” carved in the middle. Also the gates are stamped with “TS”. Again in the church each of the windows has “TS” written in the glass. Another point to add to this is some of the buildings in Saltaire are built in the shape of a ‘T’ after his first name e.g. the main mill. On Titus Salts 70th birthday he sat four thousand two hundred people down in the Shape of a ‘T’, again because of his name. This shows he was egotistic and intended to leave his mark for future generations to appreciate his work.
Titus Salt provided many amenities for his workforce. As written in extract G, “develop a small town to cater for their every needs”. He built schools, a park, almshouses for the retired, a hospital, allotments, wash houses, stables, a boat house and much more. The village was a colossal improvement on Bradford, the streets were cobbled, the air was cleaner, extract G, “He experimented to control the output of smoke” and the houses were much bigger, there was no problem with overcrowding.
The Almshouses
The Hospital (now with a third storey)
The Boat House (now a public house)
Titus Salts detractors would however misconstrued this and say that by providing all these facilities he was gaining greater control over his workforce. He was not doing these things out of the goodness of his heart but as a selfish act.
There is a great deal of evidence that suggests that some of Titus Salt’s motives for building Saltaire where for self-gain. In extract G is says that Titus Salt’s critics “claimed he built Saltaire to avoid paying high rates…”
The site at Saltaire was almost perfect. To run his business Salt would have needed water, which was in short supply in Bradford, land and good communications. The site to become Saltaire, was a green field site with plenty of land. It had a river, the Aire, a canal, the Leeds-Liverpool canal, and a railway, the Midland Railway. His factories in Bradford were very inefficient and the one built in Saltaire was to be made for efficiency.
The Leeds-Liverpool canal and Salts Mill
The Midland Railway
The village did not have a design and in fact just started as the Mill but Salt was a shrewd businessman and knew, from past experience, how workers would stay loyal. He created a small village for the workers and knew this would get the workers on his side. The village grew in Salt’s mind and evolved into a model community.
Salt did gain greater control over his workforce by building the village. The houses of every worker were within walking distance of the mill. Titus Salt made very strict rules for the village. He made these because he knew what caused crime throughout the middle classes. He also wanted Saltaire not to get like Bradford. These harsh rules however could show how he wanted great control over his workforce e.g. “Rule 12: Gatherings or loitering of more than eight persons in the streets is strictly forbidden.” This shows that Salt did not want people talking in the streets as he knew, from first hand experience that workers talking could cause strikes. This also shows the shrewd businessman Salt. At the top of Helen Street there is a ‘look-out tower’ this would be used to make sure workers were not breaking rules.
After looking at and considering all the evidence I have come to the conclusion that Titus Salt had many motives for building Saltaire:
- he wanted to gain greater control over his workforce,
- he wanted to make money,
- he was a philanthropist,
- to boost his ego,
- to leave his mark on the world,
- for efficiency.
Therefore the statement “Sir Titus Salt built Saltaire solely to gain greater control over his workforce” is not correct because he built it for more than one reason.
