Salts Mill
Regular price
€21.99
Sir Titus Salt built a mill and village in 1853 that continues to be named after him. Already a successful worsted manufacturer in Bradford, his decision to build a huge ‘vertical’ mill commenced a pattern of intertwined fortunes between Salt’s Mill and Saltaire’s residents, one that has continued. It housed all processes from treating raw wool to finishing quality worsted materials, alongside houses and community amenities for his workers.
Ownership of Salts Mill initially passed to Salt’s fifth son but went into voluntary administration in 1892. The mill was rescued and prospered under the ownership of Sir James Roberts until 1918, when family and business tragedies resulted in his sale of Salts Mill to a consortium of Bradford businessmen. During lean times for the textile trade in the 1920s, the private company of Salts Mill was floated as a public company and success returned to the mill. This led to record dividends in 1956, resulting in a dramatic take over by Illingworth, Morris – a company founded by the Ostrer family, who grew a global, multi-national textile company, retaining their headquarters at Salts Mill until textile production ceased. The twists, turns and dramas at Salts Mill are recounted in this book.
Maggie trained as a nurse in 1960s Bradford. Due to lone parenthood she helped set up a day care charity in the 1970s, later becoming a senior manager for education/care in children’s early years. A passionate interest in human dramas has driven her research into people’s lives in Saltaire. Colin was born in Hartlepool and has lived in Saltaire for five years. He is the Chairman of Saltaire History Club and contributes regularly to its speaker’s programme. Working full time, most of his spare time is spent on delving into Saltaire’s rich past. He has undertaken an in-depth study of all the houses in Saltaire and the changing demography of the village over time - through successive censuses and the national newspaper archive. He is publishing regularly, a series of monthly diaries about the soldiers, who were from families resident in Saltaire, during World War One and as each month that relates to the same month during the 1914-1918 conflict. He continues to publish this work via: www.saltairevillage.info/saltaire_history.html