Saltaire was built between 1850 and 1875. The whole village emerged in four stages: 1852-53: The factory and the ancillary buildings were built. 1854-59:Albert Terrace to Titus Street, part of Victoria road with shops, church, and dining room. 1860-63:In this time Titus built many of the streets and houses where the workers would live. 1868-72:All other houses.
Salts Mill
Salt's Mill opened in 1853 on Salt's 50th birthday, but the village took more than 20 years to complete. In its heyday, the Mill's 3,000 workers produced 30,000 yards of cloth every day. Fourteen boilers supplied steam to four beam engines, which powered 1,200 looms. Covering seven acres and standing six stories high, it was Europe's biggest factory building. The 250ft high chimney was modeled on a Tuscan campanile.
The mill is located on Victoria Road. It was built in 1851 and completed in 1853 for a cost around £100 000. Titus Salts intention was to bring together a process of five mills dotted around inner Bradford and at the same time invest in new machinery.
It was designed in an Italian style by local Yorkshire stone. It is built on an east to west line, so that the south side gets natural light throughout the day. The south front is the length of St. Paul’s Cathedral, it has six stories and its top room runs the whole length of the building and was regarded as the longest room in the world in the 1850’s. One interesting architectural feature is that the main mill is T-shaped, ‘T’ after Titus. The mill is fireproof and the temperature was kept constant by an air conditioning system.
The Congregational church
The Congregational Church was begun in September 1856, the first public building in the village. The church opened on 15 April 1859, and had cost £16,000. Built in a classical style, it is generally accepted as one of the finest independent churches in the country. The fine tower with intricate grilles is a unique composition.
Sir Titus Salt was a lifetime ‘congregationalist’ and felt that all of his success was god-given, and that he should do something worthy with his wealth and therefore open a church, in which many people would worship and thank god. On the south side of the church, is the salt mausoleum. The vault in the salt mausoleum contains the remains of sir Titus Salt, Lady Caroline Salt, Titus Salt (jnr), Katherine (daughter), Whitlam salt (son) and Mary salt (daughter). When the mausoleum was complete, he had his two children exhumed and brought to Saltaire, where they lie together. There is stillroom for another five interments. The front doors of the church and the mill face each other. The symbolism is that work and god are related-those who work hard will be rewarded in heaven.
Congregnational Sunday school
Salt donated £7,000 towards the £10,000 costs. The school was designed by Lockwood and Mawson, and had a main assembly room for 800, with 22 classrooms around it. Harold Salt opened the building in May 1876; Sir Titus attended but was in poor health. Sadly, the school was demolished in 1973.
Victoria Road Bridge.
Victoria Road Bridge crossed to Roberts Park and Coach Road. The bridge was 430 feet long, originally on stone piers, but was rebuilt in 1868 on cast iron columns. The crossing allowed access to the park and the private road beyond which lead to Titus junior's house at Milner Field, near Bingley, and Edward Salt's house at Ferniehurst, Baildon, The Bridge was demolished as unsafe in the 1950s and replaced by the tubular pedestrian bridge
Roberts park
Roberts Park was opened in July 1871, and was landscaped by William Gay of Bradford responsible for the setting out of the city's famous Victorian necropolis (cemetery) at Undercliffe. The river was widened at this point to make it suitable for swimming and boating, and the boathoIt seemed that the villagers finally had somewhere to play and relax, but the park had a rigid set of rules, to encourage 'the moral and social elevation of the working class.' use on the opposite bank was built.
The park had a wide road called a promenade and a bandstand. It wasn’t open on Sundays because of religious purposes. In 1920, Sir James Robert (the owner of the park then) gave the park to Bradford, as a memorial to his late son Bertram.
Saltaire Methodist church!
Saltaire Methodist Church was erected in 1973, replacing the original Wesleyan Methodist church built as part of the village. Although a Congregationalist, Salt was happy to donate land to other denominations and in 1866 laid the foundation stone. Most of the £5,400 construction costs was from subscriptions, and the building by Lockwood and Mawson was opened in February 1868. It could seat 800 but was demolished in 1970 as congregations declined.
The Almshouses
The Almshouses are set to the left and right, around Alexandra Square. Open on 23 September 1868, there were originally 45 almshouses. Each was provided with an oven, boiler and pantry, together with a single bedroom. There are 41 almshouses remaining, the majority now owned by the local authority. The other four were absorbed by the expansion of the Infirmary and dispensary.
The houses were completed between 1868 and 1871. Some of the selected occupants were given free accommodation and a weekly pension. The houses that were reserved for the factory pensioners were those that were above the hospital, on the left hand side of the road. Although many of the people who lived in the Almshouses were former employees of Sir Titus Salt, this was not necessity.
Infirmary (Salts hospital)
The infirmary was built in 1868; it is situated on the northeast corner of upper Victoria road and is three stories high. Salt was keen on the welfare of his workers and the infirmary was in the hands of a “competent surgeon” to dispense medicines and look after the injured in the mill.
Shops, Housing and Streets.
The main shopping area is located on Victoria road over the Railway Bridge. Salt let the shopkeepers run the shops and trade on their own behalf.
In 1845, quality of housing was low. Titus salt took workers away from the fifth and disease for fourteen years. In 1871, Saltaire had 823 houses with a population of 4,389. The average size of a household was between 5 and 6 people.
Titus named the main street after queen Victoria. In 1861, it was called Victoria Street but by 1871, it was upgraded to Victoria road. Two streets were named after prince Albert-Albert Road And Albert terrace. The two architects, Lockwood and Mawson got a street each.11 streets were named after his children’s Christian names. His wife Caroline also had a street named after her. Three streets are not family names-Fern, Daisy and Myrtle. These three were Caroline salts personal maids. There were also an additional two streets without family names- Higher Street and Lower School Street.
Saltaire Club And Institute
The Saltaire club and institute is located on Victoria road opposite the factory schools. It was built between 1869 and 1871 and cost £25 000. Titus Salt jnr stated that the building was to “supply the advantages of a public house, without its evil….”
Thomas Milnes was commissioned to provide carved heads for the top windows. Most of them are Roman heads. The tower has Salt on its four sides and then a mystery. The two heads on the right of the door are not Roman. Above the doorway, Milnes carved the figures of Art and science and ha the official coat of arms, as salt had become a baronet in 1869. The hand in the middle of the shield indicates this. On the doors inside is the Salt motto: Quid Non Deo Juvante-everything is possible with God’s help.