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The ftÄàt|Üx Journal VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1 (PRINT) ISSN 1756-0845 DATE: 1 NOVEMBER 2007 (ONLINE) ISSN 1756-0853 TRACES OF SALT IN LONDON Our Mission By Barlo and Shaw To document the history of the The legacy of Sir Titus Salt has been areas of London – North London; Cen- UNESCO World long lasting. His achievements in tral London (Westminster and the City); Heritage Site of Bradford and Saltaire are well known West London (Knightsbridge and Ken- Saltaire, by in both Yorkshire and the wider world. sington); and Clapham, which is now providing a means Several accounts of his life and works part of South London. for historians to exist, most notably those of Holroyd,1 Let us identify the characters featured publish findings on Balgarnie2 and Reynolds3. His most in our story. Sir Titus and Lady Caroline that history, and on famous legacy – Saltaire – is now a Salt had in all 11 children, born be- topics which relate UNESCO-designated World Heritage tween 1831 and 1853. Only eight of the to that history. Site. Most accounts focus, under- children lived to maturity. Like their standably, on his activities in the West mother, five of the eight – George, Ame- Riding, where his life was largely lia, Herbert, Helen, and Ada – lived out spent, and where his ambitious indus- their later lives not in Yorkshire but in trial township was successfully estab- the south east of England. lished in the 1850s. Other characters who are also part of Without detracting from that regional this London story include Henry Lock- focus, this paper explores some of the wood, the senior half of the outstanding many links that Salt and his family partnership of Lockwood and Mawson – had with London. His family is in- the architects of Saltaire; and Rev cluded in this account for two reasons. Robert Balgarnie, biographer of Sir Ti- Firstly the majority of his family who tus. outlived him, including his widow the Readers may want more detailed infor- Dowager Lady Caroline Salt, lived out mation about the locations in question. their lives in London and the south- Rather than presenting street maps of east, and it is interesting to consider the metropolis, we provide postal codes why they quit Yorkshire. Secondly the for the vicinity of the sites. Armed with Information majority of the streets in Saltaire are this information, web sites such as Article 1—11 named after members of his family, www.streetmap.co.uk can be used by and it is important to know something readers to view relevant maps. Alterna- News 12 of these people. tively, an AtoZ street atlas of London will The account is presented as a trave- be helpful. The more technically en- History Club 13 logue, rather than a chronology – thused reader may also wish to use should the reader have occasion to online facilities such as Google Earth to About the 13 authors visit London, and would like to spend find individual sites of interest. a few hours visiting the haunts of Salt, Welcome 1 Holroyd, A. Saltaire and its Founder, Saltaire, 1871. Back Message his family, and some of his close asso- 2 Balgarnie, R. Sir Titus Salt, Baronet, His Life and ciates, we hope you will find this for- its Lessons, London 1877. Publishing info Back 3 Reynolds, J. The Great Paternalist, Maurice Temple mat helpful. We present four different Smith, London 1983. TRACES OF SALT IN LONDON By Barlo and Shaw North London Golders Green Crematorium (NW11 7NL) Our London tour starts with a school and three famous The Salt family mausoleum, attached to Saltaire United places of death – a crematorium and two cemeteries. Reformed Church (previously Saltaire Congregational Each has its own distinctive atmosphere. All four are Church) was constructed in the early 1860s, shortly rich in their evocations of our national history and iden- after the building of the church. The remains of Sir Titus tity. and Lady Caroline are deposited there, together with those of four of their children and two daughters-in-law. Mill Hill School (NW7 1QS) One of those interred in the mausoleum, Titus Jr, had Mill Hill School, first established in 1807, had, by the been a strong supporter of cremation. However crema- mid 19th century, a good reputation for educating the tion was still a highly radical procedure at the time of sons of well-to-do Dissenters. So it was that all five of his death, and it was not until the 1900s that we find the Salt sons who lived to school age were sent there members of the Salt family actually embracing the prac- for periods from 1847 onwards. tice. All three of Salt’s daughters who lived to maturity The School stands in magnificent grounds, 10 miles (Amelia, Helen and Ada) were cremated at Golders northwest of Central London, being located on the an- Green Crematorium. cient Ridgeway route. The locality may well have influ- Amelia, who died in 1914, was the first member to enced some of the sons in their later determinations to move to London from Yorkshire and was also - we be- live their lives in the south of England; certainly the gen- lieve - the first family member to be cremated. Her tleness of the countryside and weather would have con- ashes were brought north to Harrogate, where they trasted with the harsher climes of West Yorkshire. were interred alongside the buried remains of her hus- For further information on the school’s heritage, visit band Henry Wright, who had died in the town in 1893. www.millhill.org.uk. Their grave can still be seen today in Grove Road Ceme- Salt Family Tree, arranged to highlight the chil- tery, Harrogate. dren who lived out their later lives in London Helen and Ada were also to be cremated, in their turns, and the South East. (The other children, whose at Golders Green Crematorium. Helen never married. lives we do not address in this article, are shown She lived out the last few years of her life in East- in the bottom tier) bourne, where she died aged 71, in 1924. Following her cremation, her ashes were spread in the Garden of Titus Salt b 20.09.1803 m 21.08.1830 = Caroline Whitlam d 29.12.1876 b 17.04.1812 d 20.04.1893 George Salt Amelia Salt Herbert Salt Helen Salt Ada Salt b 22.04.1833 b 29.11.1835 b 17.04.1840 b 19.06.1852 b 18.11.1853 m 04.06.1885 m 02.04.1873 m 29.01.1889 not married m 11.07.1883 d 08.05.1913 d 21.06.1914 m 2 11.02.1899 d 11.06.1924 d 22.11.1935 d 21.07.1912 William Henry Edward Salt Fanny Titus Salt Whitlam Mary Salt Salt b 03.04.1837 Caroline b 28.08.1843 Salt b 30.04.1849 b 05.12.1831 m 10.07.1861 Salt m 15.03.1866 b 20.10.1846 d 14.05.1851 m 07.12.1854 m 2 01.11.1871 b 07.08.1841 d 19.11.1887 d 05.04.1851 d 07.07.1892 d 24.10.1903 not married d 04.08.1861 The Saltaire Journal, VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1, 1 November 2007 Page 3 The ftÄàt|Üx Journal Rest at the Crematorium. Ada was the longest lived of cremated at Golders Green, and many are recorded in the Salt children, eventually dying in London, aged 82, various ways in its beautiful grounds – the only listed in 1935. Her husband Edmund Stevenson had died in crematorium gardens in the country. For further infor- 1918, and he too had been cremated at Golders Green. mation, visit www.barnet.gov.uk. Ada’s ashes were also spread in the Crematorium’s Garden of Rest. Further account of the sisters’ London Abney Park Cemetery (N16 0NL) lives follows later. In the 19th century the Nonconformist movement was Although there is no visible evidence at the Cremato- extremely active, and became increasingly influential. rium recording the passing of the three sisters, it is Sir Titus was, in his own words, “ …. a Nonconformist worth a visit – not least to reflect on their shared belief from conviction, and attached to the Congregational in the practice of cremation, an act far more common- body”. During his life, he and his family had many close place today than it was in their day. A great many na- links with like-minded Nonconformists. The role of the tional identities of the 20th century have also been stalwarts of Horton Lane Congregational Chapel in the Plan of Abney Park Cemetery (courtesy of Abney Park Trust). The pink granite family grave of Rev R Balgarnie is in Square N7, between the path and the bound- ary wall. It is best approached via the Cemetery’s southern entrance (Church Street Gate). The Saltaire Journal, VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1, 1 November 2007 Page 4 TRACES OF SALT IN LONDON By Barlo and Shaw development of Victorian Bradford is renowned. Salt’s Kensal Green Cemetery (W10 4RA) biographer Robert Balgarnie was himself a Congrega- Kensal Green Cemetery holds the mortal remains of tional minister, who became a close family friend of the Henry Lockwood (1811 – 1878). By 1874 Saltaire had Salts in the last 20 years of Sir Titus’ life. The biography been largely completed, and Lockwood moved to Lon- reveals that several of the leading Congregationalists of don to pursue his architectural interests. Living close by the age were associates of Titus Salt – e.g. Christopher Richmond Bridge, Lockwood lived only four more years, Newman Hall, Thomas Binney and Thomas Guthrie but in that short time stamped his presence on the Lon- were all entertained at Salt’s Crow Nest home in 1871, don scene.