Saltaire UNESCO site.

We passed through Saltaire as there was no mooring places, but we didn't go too far passed as I had a visit to make.

We moored a little after Roberts park and by the Salts Sports Club. We walked through Roberts Park. It was part of the original plan for the model village of Saltaire and opened in 1871 by Sir Titus Salt himself. It was then called Saltaire, or People's Park, but the land was purchased in 1891 by Sir James Roberts and the statue of Sir Titus Salt was erected on the 50th anniversary of the building of the Mill. Robert's offered the park to Shipley Council in 1910 but after falling out with them gave it to Bradford in 1920 ans named it Roberts Park as a memorial to his second son.

Our objective was the Shipley Glen Tramway that I had never been up before. I was very disappointed when I saw that it was closed! I advanced to take a photo and they told us that as they had to send it to the top one more time for crew purposes we could go up!! Yippee.

One goes up as one comes down. This was taken as we walked back down again. You can see the hauling wires and the rollers that they rest on.

The carriages are red and blue and are referred to as 'toast rack' cars.

There is a maximum gradient of 1 in 7 and travels about a quarter of a mile. It is the oldest working cable tramway in Britain as it opened in 1895. It was due to close in 1982 but was saved by the Bradford Trolley Bus Assoc. From 1994 it was run by a husband and wife team until 2001 when a 125 year lease was given to Shipley Glen Tramway charity and now it is run by volunteers. Well worth the 50p one way.

Salt's Mill was the reason Saltaire came into being. Titus Salt's factory had been in Bradford but was concerned about the health of his workers and decided to relocate to the country side. The site next to the River Aire, The Leeds and Liverpool canal and the railway was obviously a great advantage. The factory was built to the east of the planned town to ensure smoke etc was blown clear of it.

Salt had his architects Lockwood and Mawson zone the housing. These houses are for workers as there is no front garden and a back yard only. The streets are named after the architects, his children and the Royal family.

On the corner of this street is a three storied house and these are dotted about the place and were for single men to share. These homes have a small front garden and were for better paid staff like overseers and foremen.

As you went up the pay scale you got bigger houses and bigger gardens too. The workers were provided with an allotment so they had means to grow their own food.

Managers, teachers and clergy got a nice detached house.

The village/town was there to provide everything and he was ahead of his time with providing alms houses for his elder workers after finishing work. He even gave them a free pension.

An hospital was built to provide for those needs of the people.

Victoria Hall was built between 1867 and 1871 and is a T form. It had an 800 place hall, lecture room, two art rooms, a labratory, gym, library and reading room. It cost 2s a quarter to join.

Opposite Victoria Hall is the Factory School that was opened in 1868 and was one of the first to ensure that children working in his factory only worked half a day and the other half was at school. You maybe able to make out the coat of arms of the Salt family in the middle with an alpaca either side as they supplied the wool. Above the bell tower is a seated boy and girl with a globe between them. It was pretty dark by this time.

There are two lions at either end of the Victorian Hall and the Factory School. Outside the Hall there are War and Peace, this is peace, and out side the school are determination and Vigilance.

The United Reform Church is a Grade I building and was built by Sir Titus Salt between 1856 and 1859. He was brought up a devout Congregationalist and the church was his pride and joy. There are no aisles and soon after the town was completed Sir Titus Salt died and his body was laid to rest in a mausoleum in the church.

Despite Salt's great belief in the welfare of his workers Salt's Mill was the largest in the world when it was built and the 3000 workers worked at 1200 looms that produced 30,000 yards of cloth a day! There were no pubs when the town was built but there are plenty now, one named called 'Don't Tell Titus!'.