Collection: The Saltaire Collection

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Saltaire Collection tells the story of Saltaire, principally from its origins in the 1850s to the present. The collection developed in an ad hoc way through the interests of key staff members in Shipley College, some residents, former workers in Salts Mill and local historians/researchers.

  Textile production at Salts Mill ceased in 1986 and some archive material was deposited by Mill managers. Much of the effort to organise and conserve the collection from the late 1980s was undertaken by Shipley College Learning Resource Centre staff and volunteers, aided by Saltaire History Club members who researched and deposited much interpretive work on documents, plans, maps and images.

  Some residents, ex residents and former textile workers deposited personal memory files and oral histories and as efforts were made by organisations such as the Saltaire Village Society to achieve World Heritage Status, more people came forward with valuable donations.

  Researchers, undergraduate, post graduate students and local historians continue to add knowledge and value to the Saltaire Collection.

  The collection has recently had large acquisitions from several donor or lenders:

  • Nick Salt – Loan – material relating to the Salts from Milner Field.
  • Roberts Family -the records of James Roberts who owned the Mill and Village after the Salts sold the business and the Saltaire Estate. This collection was loaned to the Archive for copying, leaving the only publicly available copies (Quasi Originals) with the Archive and a valuable asset to researchers.
  • Penny Howden and Barnaby Wilmot -the estate of Mary Isabel Salt now known as the Isabel Salt Collection.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The collection comprises of original and quasi original (see below) documents, images, oral history and objects. It is unique as it relates to a World Heritage Site, interpreting the important heritage of the site. Housed in the Exhibition Building an Historic building that was built in memory of Sir Titus Salt by his son Titus Salt junior. The collection focuses on the founder of Saltaire, the successive owners of the Estate, the Estate and People in the village. The collection includes the wider environs of Shipley putting the village of Saltaire into context. Shipley Urban District Council took over the amenities of Saltaire, such as the schools and hospital, but the Salt family continued to be involved with members of the family sitting on boards. All the family homes were outside the Township of Shipley such as Milner Field which is situated in the township of Bingley and the collection reflects this as these items are still relevant to the Story of Saltaire. The Story of Saltaire is a lens on the Textile Industry in Bradford. As Saltaire Collection currently holds and intends to hold Public Records on behalf of the National Archives it will comply with all Place of Deposit legislation as defined in the Public Records Act 1958 as well as the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The focus on collecting is to become the definitive depository for interpreting, researching and education provision for the Village of Saltaire. We recognise that other collection holds significant items for this story, so where possible we will either hold copies or have information on the item to enable anyone to access those items. Saltaire Collection comprises approximately 6000 individual items which are divided into the following types of material:

  Original Documents

  Significance: Historically significant This collection contains original material relating to all aspects of the history of Saltaire, from family archive, from individuals of the Salt family to individual residents in the village. The documents include notebooks, pamphlets, newspaper cuttings, letters, financial documents such as receipts and legal documents such as Wills. Highlights of this collection are;

  • Health provision in Saltaire including the Bath and Wash House plans
  • Education Provision in Saltaire – incorporation document Including Saltaire Schools and Shipley college
  • Isabel Salt Archive – recent donation from Penny Howden and Barnaby Wilmot
  • Denys Salts Archive – Personal Archive but relates to all his family
  • Clara Baraclough – personal memories
  • Percy Price – Life in Saltaire a personal memory file
  • George Morell – especially his retirement presentation book after 45 years working in Education that started in the Dining Hall School
  • Clive Woods collection covering many aspects of life in Saltaire Village

  Maps and Plans

  Significance: Historically significant This is a comprehensive collection, of maps and plans from before the Saltaire Mill and village were built through its development and includes information on:

  • Land Acquisition and use
  • Transfer documents
  • Changes to ownership and management of the Mill and the Village, 1918- 1986

  (10% of enquiries over the last 2 years are about Land Acquisition and use and lan Watson’s work on this is invaluable)

  Quasi Original Documents

  Significance: Historically significant Quasi original document are documents which are only held in private collections, but an authentic copy has been deposited with the Archive for the public to access. The most significant of these deposits is the Roberts family Archive. It is a Digitised collection of the family records which relates to the Saltaire Estate. The collection is owned by the family and Saltaire Collection has the only copies available to the public. James Roberts purchased Milner Field from Catherine Salt, and he was the sole owner of the Estate (including the Mill) for 20 years and he commissioned the statue of Sir Titus Salt in Roberts Park. Roberts carried on the ethos of the Salts including the philanthropic work and worked to sustain all the charities set up by the Salts.

  Born Digital Collection

  Significance: Historically significant Born digital are items which have been given to the collection in a digital format and have never been published in hard copies such as books. The most significant items in this collection are the:

  • Saltaire Congregational Church Records
  • Collin Coate’s Timelines – Social History of Salts Mill, Saltaire public buildings, owners and managers of Salts Mill and the Village.

  The aim is to enable digitisation of much more of the collection and Appended at 2 is the forward digitisation policy for the collection.

  Books

  Significance: Research collection – not unique, but invaluable to researchers Significance: Historic Books – Donations relating to individuals, which is significant as they help tell the story of the individuals such as Titus, Catherine and Isabel Salt.

  • This collection includes research books such as the recent donation from the Wellcome Trust “Living with Buildings and walking with Ghosts, on Heath and Architecture, by lan Singlair.
  • Original books, on politics or school books that belonged to members of the Salt family including Titus Salt.
  • Architectural Studies in Yorkshire by George Bertram Bulmer printed in limited edition for Queen Victoria Jubilee. It was originally owned by Shipley School of Art.

  Images

  Significance: Historically significant The images are a wide group of material, from family portraits, prints, postcards and photographs of all aspects of life in the village and the Mill. Significant items include:

  • Photographs – Berry Family – telling the story of retail in Saltaire
  • Photographs of the village, residents and workers
  • The Mill – Many originals donated by Albert Bowtell
  • Shipley college – has always been housed in the Original School building, the Exhibition building and Victoria Hall. The photographs are from the origin as a Technical College and the Royal Exhibition in 1887.

  Object Collection

  Significance: Historically significant This collection includes items from Saltaire and the Salt family. Significant items include:

  • Salt Family china which marks occasions such as the opening of the Mill and the Royal visits 1882 and 1887.
  • Silver Salver – which was given to Mr Wilson as a retirement gift.
  • Walking Cane – presented by Mr Joseph Paley, Bandmaster (24th May 1879) to Mr Joseph Scott, military outfitter who made the uniforms for the Saltaire Mill band.
  • Dayton Tea pot -links different generations of the Hanson family. William Hanson was Sir Titus Salt’s chief engineer and his great grandson, Donald Hanson, was chair and chief executive of Illingworth, Morris (who owned Salts Mill) in the 1980’s
  • Salts Mill Long Service Certificates
  • Clive Woods collection of tourism items

  The collection currently only includes small items and does not intend to collect large items such as looms.

  Costume and Textiles

  Significance: Historically significant Textiles are very important to the history of Salts Mill and Saltaire and in fact Bradford as a whole. This part of the collection is very small and currently tells us more about the Salt family than the work of the Mill. The material in this collection includes;

  • Isabel Salt – Children’s clothes, once worn by Isabel and her brother Lawrence
  • Salt family – towels and textiles

  Oral History

  Significance: Historically significant This is a unique collection of personal memories of workers in the Mill or Residents of the Village. Appended at 3 is the approved Oral history Policy and Procedure.

  Personal Research

  Significance: Important for future research, interpretation and education provision of Saltaire. Material Deposited in the Archive written by individual researchers for example:

  • land acquisitions, based on material in the West Yorkshire Archive, researched by lan Watson.
  • Stone that built Saltaire – Research by Les Brook
  • History Club journals, which includes research to various aspects of Saltaire’s History.
  • Colin Coates- Time lines, Genealogy

  Loans

  Significance: Historically significant Although the collection would prefer to not have loans, where the loan is significant to the history of Saltaire and the donor is willing to allow access to the collection as though it was a normal part of the collection, these loans have been accepted. Short term loans have been taken to facilitate digitisation. The most significant collection:

  • Nicholas Salt, whose collection includes material from Milner Field and Catherine Salt nee Crossley.
  • We will undertake a project of work to digitise this collection to ensure access in the future.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC