We went to have a look around Saltaire which is a model township built by Titus Salt to house the workers when he relocated his woollen mill from Bradford. The mill is so impressive.
He wanted to move workers from the terrible conditions being experienced in Bradford in 1850's. Houses, a school, church, park, infirmary all followed as did improvements to the health of the workers and their families. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The workers houses opened straight onto the street.
Their back lane is now full of rubbish bins!
Higher in the pecking order at the Mill were the overseers whose houses had a small front garden. While single workers were housed in the 3 storey houses which you can see in the photo.
The classic style was inspired by the Italian Renaissance and their finest work was the Saltaire United Reformed Church which is a Grade 1 listed building.
The Mill eventually closed when cheaper overseas fabric made it unprofitable. Following closure in 1986, an entrepreneur called Jonathan Silver decided to save it and purchased it in 1987 and within months had opened a gallery to display the works of Bradford-born artist David Hockney. It now houses various businesses and a superb bookshop as well as the David Hockney exhibition.
Also in the mill was an antique shop and we have realised that we are now antique as one item for sale was a G plan coffee table which we were given as a wedding present. It is on sale for over £100. We cannot remember what we eventually did with ours although we certainly still had it until a house move in 2007.
Moving on tomorrow and ..... It has stopped raining.
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