Saltaire

15 miles from Skipton

Commissioned by Victorian wool baron Sir Titus Salt, Saltaire was a complete 'model' industrial village for his workers. The Mill now holds the 1853 gallery, with the worlds largest collection of David Hockney paintings.

Built between 1851 and 1876, the Model Village of Sir Titus Salt comprises of 22 streets, 775 houses, and about 45 Alms Houses. All the street names are after his wife, children, or other family members.

By 1853 Titus had six mills in Bradford, and decided that he needed to open up a huge and spectacular mill of grand proportions. Salt's Mill, was the product, and was opened on his 50th birthday.  The mill was capable of producing 30,000 yards of cloth a day, from 1,200 looms.

The Institute held reading rooms, a library, a lecture theatre, and seating up to 800, with a stage of 35 ft.  Upstairs, was a school of art, and a billiard room, whilst in the cellar, was a further lecture room, a gymnasium, various classrooms, and a curators house.  It cost around £25,000.

The school faces the institute, and both buildings are guarded by two lions each.  These were sculpted by T. Milnes, of London, and are named Vigilance, Determination, War and Peace.
Sir Titus became Bradford's' second Mayor in 1846.  He was elected a Member of Parliament in 1859, but resigned in 1861 due to ill health.

Saltaire United Reformed Church, is a Victorian gem. It was opened in 1859, and is an excellent example of it's kind. The cost of the building was then, £16,000, and was paid for by Sir Titus Salt himself. The architects were Mawson and Lockwood, both of whom have a street named after them.

In the entrance is a statue of Sir Titus, made of marble, and at the base, an Alpaca and an Angora goat. (The hair and fleece of which were used in the mill.)
Inside the church, the Corinthian columns on either side, are in a style known as Scagliola (gypsum and glue) and are hollow painted plaster, with marble pressed into them. The windows and doors are not marble, but painted wood.  The pews and pulpit are of oak. From the ceiling hang two rather ornate chandeliers of gilded bronze, and were so heavy that the roof was reinforced to take their weight!
The Mausoleum may be seen, if you pass through the blue curtains on the left at the far end of the church, here is the tomb of Sir Titus, and seven other members of his family.
The Organ has 2,516 pipes, the shortest being 190 mm. (3/4 inch) and the longest 4.87 metres.(16 ft)
A small shop is tucked around the right of the entrance where you can purchase items of interest, and leaflets, etc.

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Related links:
http://www.saltsmill.org.uk/
http://www.clanvis.com/loc/sm1.htm

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