Saltaire, West Yorkshire

Well schooled

The industrialist Titus Salt planned his workers’ village with public buildings that were both visually impressive and well designed for their intended purpose. If they proved less than adequate, Salt and his descendants tried to put things right, something that’s exemplified by one of the most impressive of all the village’s structures, the school on Victoria Road, built in 1869. From the outside, the architecture is palatial – there’s a statement being made here about the importance of eduction. Inside, the classrooms were well appointed and there was space for 750 pupils, with the older girls and boys taught separately in rooms on either side of the building and ‘mixed infants’ in a room in the middle, in accordance with the ideas of the time.

The Italianate architecture is kitted out with a full complement of columned loggias, round-headed windows, overhanging eaves, and an imposing bell turret (with a rather small but no doubt effective school bell). What’s more, this structure is richly carved. The central section displays Salt’s coat of arms within a roundel surrounded by laurel leaves and scrolls; to left and right of these elements are relief carvings of woolly creatures. These are alpacas, a reminder that Salt was one of the first in Britain to work with alpaca wool, creating alpaca cloth that became much sought-after. The use of this wool was the key to Salt’s success. No wonder he wanted to celebrate the Peruvian creatures, but in doing so he was providing an instant lesson for the school’s pupils – that’s where the wool comes from, that’s what gives your father employment, that’s why you live here. The bell turret is also richly carved – a boy, a girl, and a globe can be made out beneath its roof.

This imposing building with its lovely carvings was soon outgrown by Saltaire’s burgeoning population. The Salt family lobbied for a new school, and by 1878 a new one had been built, not as magnificent architecturally, but big enough to cope with the demand. The original school remains in use and is now part of Shipley College.

Saltaire school, detail of bell turret and pediment

Saltaire, West Yorkshire

Salt’s way

In the middle of the 19th century, Bradford textile manufacturer Titus Salt decided to move his factory away from the city centre to a new site. This move helped Salt, already rich from the production of good quality woollen cloth, to build not just a vast new mill but also an entire village to house his workers. This village was named Saltaire, after Salt and the River Aire, near which the settlement stands. Salt was the exemplary Victorian paternalist, who wanted to accommodate his workers well, in the conviction that this was both the right thing to do and likely to make them healthier and more productive. So Saltaire was provided with facilities that were well above standard for the time – not just a church, but also a school, institute (for adult education), baths, a park and a hospital.

The whole place was designed in an Italianate style by Bradford architects Lockwood and Mawson. The houses were impressive for the time. Salt did not want to provide the less than basic back-to-back houses that were increasingly the norm for workers’ housing.* Back-to-backs usually shared three of their four walls with neighbouring houses, which meant they were poorly ventilated, dark and insanitary. By contrast, Saltaire’s 800-plus terraced houses are pleasantly designed with classical details and have front flower beds and small rear yards, plus alleyways at the back. This gives a sense of space, as well as windows front and rear, meaning proper ventilation and a decent amount of natural light inside.

The day I visited Saltaire happened to be rubbish collection day, so I was instantly aware of the continuing usefulness of the alleys. I saw too how these utilitarian walkways, a little wider than they need to be, also open up the streetscape, making the housing slightly less dense, and offering views of the distant hills. Hill views probably weren’t at the top of Salt’s list of priorities. He must have been more preoccupied with transport links – river, canal and railway all pass close by. However, you’re never far from trees and patches of greenery in Saltaire and the sense of nearby nature is as exceptional as the Italianate architecture. Salt was a true pioneer in creating this kind of enlightened industrial village.† Where he went, the Cadbury (Bournville) and Lever (Port Sunlight) families followed. Today the mill’s transport links bring tourists rather than wool, and Saltaire, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, still repays appreciation.

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* Back-to-backs were especially widespread in Leeds and Bradford, so Salt would have been aware of them and their drawbacks.

† Although Salt was not the first to build decent workers’ housing, the thoroughness and scale of his development was unique for the time.