Religion
Titus salt was very religious so the first place to be built was the church, where him and his wife and kids are buried to this date. His first concerns were work and then religion. The congregational church was built in 1859 and cost nearly £16,000, which, even in today’s money is quite a lot. The church was purposely built so it faced the mill. This is because Titus believed that God helped the mill and gave him wealth and with each facing the other, God would see that his mill didn’t fail. While the church was under construction, Catherine Salt his wife, insisted a family balcony be built, this was put at the back of the church so the congregation was in view.
Leisure
The Victoria hall was used as the social and recreational centre. It cost £18,366. To join the club you had to pay 6 shillings but children and women only had to pay 3 shillings. Four lions are outside the hall each represents a different thing these are War, Peace, Vigilance and Determination. Another leisure facility was the park, this employed strict rules that mustn’t be broken. These rules demonstrated Salts strictness in his village.
What has Changed For The Better?
Many parts of Saltaire have changed for the better and for worse, these are things that have changed for the better. Transport- It is now easy to get all over the world form Saltaire, the train station, the Leeds and Bradford airport is in travelling distance. And there is still the old canal, which could be used to get to places it stretches across. Facilities- Facilities have changed in Saltaire, there is now a college, which used to be the old canteen, and the tram shed, which is now a children’s play area. The trams were no longer used because of cars so it was converted into the play area, now called jimmy G’s. Another thing, which has changed are the rules of the village. In Titus Salts time, he decided the rules, and he made sure people obeyed them. Today, his rules have been abandoned and everyone had to obey the rules set by the government. Whether this is good or not is a matter of opinion I think that it would be better with each village having its own rules, because they then could be suited to the people who lived there. These things are all changes that are for the better of Saltaire, in my opinion.
What has Changed For The Worse?
All of the things above are benefits of change, these are some of the disadvantages. The condition of Salts mill and its surrounding buildings has declined over the last 100 years. It is currently having a new roof developed, I think that had it been looked after better, the original west mill, instead of being converted into sops and art, could have been preserved and made into a museum, which could give people an insight into Titus Salts times. Another downside of change is the cleanliness of the village. Transport like cars and lorries travelling into the mill to work, will have caused pollution and all the car parks and local roads are now clustered because people need to park their cars. Some people are trying to keep the place neater by cycling to work.
The last main disadvantage of change is the culture of the place. It has lost the culture of what it was. It used to be a little village with a mill and park, but now it has changed. It is still a small village but it isn’t the same as before, people travel form far to work, but Salt built the place so people could live next door to their work.
Has Saltaire Changed For The Better?
After Titus salt died saltaire stayed the same for many years but as technology advanced, so did the village. The salts mill is now used for a satellite digibox company. They are a worldwide company that specialise in home gateway technology. In the other part of the mill is the David Hockney gallery and a small selections of shops going up to the 4th floor. The rest of the village buildings have been converted for modern day use. E.g the old canteen is now a small college but some buildings are still in their original use like the Victoria hall, it is still used for entertainment and hall bookings. The village has also expanded into a small town, it has many more houses now than before. Which, I think, will expand further in the future. The invention of cars and new transport links, increased Saltaires world connections, New companies in saltaire deal all over the world and use saltaire as a main office. The main factor which has changed Saltaire is technology, it was originally used as a weaving factory but now, due to technology, it is used by other companies for computers and art., this has changed the structure of saltaire, new companies caused Saltaire to expand and now, the total opposite that Titus Salt wanted, people travel from far away to work in Saltaire. Saltaire is now totally different to what Titus Salt wanted, but some people and rules still try to keep certain aspects of the village, as they were in Titus Salts time. E.g there has been a rule put in to stop any satellite dishes being erected on the housing, because they are unsightly and can ruin the town. If they want more channels, people have to have cable. Although one polish man fought for his right to put up a dish, and he won and he is the only man in the village to have a satellite dish. Today Saltaire has a decreasing population of old people who once worked in the mill. More young professionals live in Saltaire because of its transport links and its location near Bradford and leeds. In 1971 Saltaire was declared a conservation area, to protect Salts Work. Since 1853 Saltaire has developed from a small village to a mill town (in Titus Salts time) to a small modern village, outside of Bradford. I think that Saltaire has changed for the better. It has improved its condition due to the changing technology, if the same technology had been around, Titus Salts village would be the most cleanest. He used the most modern methods for keeping his village clean and looking after the people, he did good but was also in it for his won benefit. Today it is used as a population of business men and computer technology. Saltaire has stayed the same but has been modified due to new technology and improvements. Many buildings have been converted for other uses, but have still been kept in the same condition as before. I think the best way to show this change is witht eh actual mill itself. Its changed from wool and cotton industry to new age computers, just like the rest of the village, so I think saltaire has changed for the better but had technology not have advanced, saltaire would have remained the same and still be the revolution that it was back in Titus Salts Age.