Saltaire in England

Saltaire is a Victorian model village within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England by the River Aire and Leeds and Liverpool Canal. UNESCO has nominated the village as a World Heritage Site and it is also called Anchor Point of European Route of Industrial Heritage. The details of Saltaire are explained in world tour guides below.

Saltaire was founded in 1853 by Sir Titus Salt a leading industrialist in Yorkshire woollen industry. The name of village is a combination of founders surname with the name of the river. Salt moved his entire business from Bradford to this site near Shipley partly to provide better arrangements for his workers than could be had in Bradford and partly to site his large textile mill by a canal and a railway. Salt employed the Bradford firm of Lockwood and Mawson as his architects.

Sir Titus died in 1876 and was interred in mausoleum adjacent to Congregational Church. When Sir Titus Salt son likewise Sir Titus Salt died. Saltaire was taken over by a partnership which included Sir James Roberts from Haworth who had worked at mill since age of twelve and who travel to Russia every year speaking Russian fluently. James Roberts came to own Saltaire but chose to invest his money heavily in Russia losing some of his fortune at Russian Revolution. He endowed a Chair of Russian at Leeds University and bought Brontes Haworth Parsonage for nation.

Saltaire was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in December 2001. This means that government has a duty to protect site. The buildings belonging to model village are individually listed with maximum protection being given to Congregational Church which is listed in grade I. The village has survived complete but further protection is needed. Saltaire is a Conservation Area. The Victoria Hall is used for meetings and concerts and also houses Victorian Reed Organ Museum. The village is served by Saltaire railway station. The Saltaire Festival which first took place in 2003 to celebrate 150th anniversary of foundation of Saltaire is now held every year over eleven days in September.

Saltaire is surrounded by a Buffer zone established to protect context of World Heritage Site. Concerns have been raised over plans recently announced by Bradford Council and Action Airedale to run a bypass through the buffer zone either side of World Heritage Site and to tunnel beneath village itself. Within sight of mill tunnel will follow line of railway and exit behind United Reformed Church. As it then runs alongside the adjacent portion of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, it is also likely to have an impact on this Conservation Area. The current route will also impact on ancient semi-natural woodland and the Woodland Garden of Remembrance at Nab Wood Cemetery.

Salts Mill closed in February 1986, and Jonathan Silver bought it the following year and began renovating it. Today it houses a mixture of business, commerce, leisure and residential use. The New Mill on other side of canal is divided between offices for local National Health Service Trusts and residential apartments.