The “mill” or factory.

The Congregational Church.

Speaker: Rachel Roberts (Standard British accent)

Named after both the man who built it and the river it sits on, Saltaire was created in 1851, when Victoria was Queen. On our tour of the village near Bradford in Yorkshire, the heart of northern England, we went back to the time of Titus Salt and his textile factory on the River Aire.

INSIDE THE HUGE BUILDING

Now the village and the factory form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside the huge factory building there is a magnificent art exhibition by the world-famous local artist David Hockney, as well as a high-quality restaurant and gift and bookshop. These are worth a visit anyway, but outside is the village built according to Titus Salt’s carefully designed plans.
Making History Come Alive
The tour was led by a very entertaining woman who gave each person details about someone that had really lived and worked there. Through these characters, she made the history of the place come alive. As we walked around we were told about where “we” lived and worked and about “our” lifestyle. We also got to know about the life and opinions of Mr. Salt.

STRONG OPINIONS

During his life he entertained the richest and most powerful people of the time. He worked very hard to make his business a success and helped improve working conditions for many, but he had strong opinions. To make people work harder, pubs and alcohol were forbidden.

CLEAN AND SAFE OR UNDER CONTROL?

Most of the workers came from the city of Bradford which, at the time, was a horrible, dirty place to live. Many of the people who moved to the village loved the fact that life there was clean and safe. Others hated the control Titus had over their lives. Workers lived next to the managers, whose job it was to report them if they broke any rules. There could be no tricking Titus Salt.

WHILE YOU’RE IN THE AREA

The village now has a pub along with a few very nice cafés and traditional English teashops. While you’re in the area, visit Sheffield and Leeds, two nearby cities with totally different characters.