Saltaire West Yorkshire, information about Saltaire, Saltaire Village, saltaire is a Unesco World heritage site
Saltaire, a UNESCO world heritage site, is a unique and beautiful Victorian 'model' village, built between 1851 and 1876 and conceived by wool baron Sir Titus Salt. Situated 4.5 miles from Bradford, the village was built to house his textile mill and workforce: 'a paradise on the sylvan banks of the Aire, far from the stench and vice of the industrial city.'
Surrounded by hills, spectacular bluebell woods and moorland, Saltaire is built from honey coloured stone in Neo-Italianate style and laid out in a grid pattern occupying 25 acres (of a 50 acre site). The streets take their names from the Salt family (including Caroline, his wife) and from Queen Victoria and Albert, the Prince Consort and also from the architects, Messrs Lockwood and Mawson.
When first built, the village included the mill, a school, hospital, alms houses, two churches, a Sunday school, bath and wash houses, the boathouse, a park, a railway station, stable block and dining hall. The institute stands proud, guarded by stone lions '. all the advantages of a public house without its evils' (no pub or pawn shops were allowed!).
Most of the village remains just as it did when Sir Titus Salt died in 1876.
The mill now houses the world's largest collection of work by Bradford born artist David Hockney, plus an American diner and retail sales of designer cookware, Rohan clothing, handmade jewellery and a large selection of adult and children's books. Stay in the village and enjoy local shops, restaurant, countryside and nearby attractions. Walk or take a canal boat along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. Visit the beautiful Roberts Park and walk through to Shipley Glen, where you can still catch the Victorian tramway. At the top of the ride, sample the Pleasure Grounds and funfair or enjoy the exhilarating moorland of Shipley Glen. Here you can visit the Bracken Hall Countryside Centre and discover the rich wildlife of the Bradford Area.
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