This statue, of the man whose vision and drive resulted in the building of the village of Saltaire and its vast mill, can be found in Roberts Park in Saltaire. Strangely (I always think) he has his back turned to the village and his mills (in order, I suppose, to face the main promenade in the park, up and down which the Edwardians would no doubt have strolled at leisure on sunny weekends).Born in 1803 in Morley near Leeds and dying in 1876 at his home Crow Nest near Halifax, he was Mayor of Bradford in 1848 and briefly an MP. Titus Salt was awarded a baronetcy by Queen Victoria in 1869 (and thus became Sir Titus).
This bronze statue was erected in 1903, to commemorate the centenary of Sir Titus's birth and the 50th anniversary of the opening of Salts Mill. Commissioned by Mr James Roberts, the managing director of the Mill at the time (and the man after whom the park is named), it was cast by Francis Derwent Wood RA (1871-1926).
The stone plinth has bronze bas-reliefs of the alpaca and angora goats, whose fleece was the basis of Salts Mill's initial success and of Sir Titus's personal fortune.
I remember when we were house-hunting about fifteen years ago visiting a house which was for sale just outside Brighouse. What amazed me was not the actual house (which we decided against buying) but the furnishings many of which, the owner told me, came from Crow Nest and had originally been bought by Sir Titus.
ReplyDeleteFantastic and great shot !! Lovely post 111€Unseen Rajasthan
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