Sir Titus Salt

His early life:

Titus Salt was born in 1803, in Morley, near Leeds, where his father ran a small farm. His parents were good, hard-working Christians and they taught him the importance of working hard from an early age.

In 1820, his father had made enough money to leave the farm behind and he set himself up as a wool stapler, selling wool, around .

In 1824 he joined his father and the firm became Daniel Salt and Son.

In 1830, he married Caroline Whitlam. He first lived in a house, in North Parade, Bradford but then in 1836 he moved to the junction of Thornton Road and Little Horton Lane. His eldest children spent their early years living very close to this part of town. Titus’ surviving children were William Henry, George, Amelia, Edward, Herbert, Fanny and Titus Jnr. He later moved his family to Crow’s Nest, near Halifax.

His work:

Salt and his father had started a spinning department of their wool stapling business.

When Titus was 28, he wanted to start selling the usual wool to worsted manufacturers (making soft cloth for clothes) but none of the wool spinners in Bradford could see its potential. Therefore, Titus started his own business at a Mill in Bradford and started making his own cloth. He kept experimenting with using different kinds of wool, including alpaca. Titus Salt was the only spinner of alpaca wool (which came from Peru), in Bradford and he displayed some of his work in the Great Exhibition, in London.

By the time he was 40, he was one of the richest men in .

The Mill:

Even though he thought he was not good at speaking in public, Titus Salt had a sense of responsibility and later became the Mayor of Bradford but only until 1849.

As his business grew more, Titus needed to buy more mills but he had also seen the terrible conditions in Bradford; the pollution, the disease and the overcrowding. So instead, he decided to buy some land outside of Bradford, later to be called .

Saltaire was a good place as it stood between the River Aire and the Midland Railway line and through its centre ran the Leeds/ canal but it was also the opportunity for Titus to create an ideal community, which would hold all his businesses under one roof and house all of his workers.

Salt set out to build a grand ‘vertical mill’. The building of the ‘T’ shaped mill started in 1851 and was finished in 1853. It was in an ‘Italianate’ style and with chimneys taller than other mills in the area.

Saltaire:

Salt began building the village as soon as the mill was completed and open.

By 1854, 14 shops were ready, 163 houses and boarding house had been completed and about 1000 people were living there. Between 1866 and 1869, public buildings were built. The houses were directly supplied with gas and water from the mill and each house had its own toilet. A dining room for workers was built opposite to the mill and a factory school was established there, as were a library, reading rooms and space for religious worship. In 1863, wash-houses and baths were created although these were not that popular with the residents. A smaller factory was added in 1868 and 45 alms-houses and a hospital were also built. He wanted Saltaire to have everything in it, that workers would need to live a healthy but also productive life. In 1869, Titus Salt was made a baronet. In 1870, he created a park for the people of Saltaire to enjoy. By 1871, Saltaire already had a population of 4,390.

His later life:

After 1861, Titus Salt lived in semi-retirement. He died on December 29, 1876.

Saltaire Stories is the education programme of SWHEA: Saltaire World Heritage Education Association, charity no.115756