Alexandra Square, Saltaire

I mentioned the Almshouses in Saltaire a while ago. There are 45 cottages, built in 1868 around a square at the top of Victoria Road. They were originally intended as a sanctuary for the aged and infirm, but management of them proved problematic over the years. Some are now privately owned and the rest, managed by a Housing Trust for Bradford Council, are still let mostly to elderly tenants and those with mobility needs. Local historian Roger Clarke has written a very interesting history of the Almshouses, available to read on the Saltaire Village Society website (Saltaire Journal Vol. 1 No 3).

The square has what must once have been a rather attractive formal garden. It's dominated now by the trees that have overgrown the space, and other plants have a hard time of it. I think it is at its most picturesque at this time of year. The weeping willow trees have a soft haze of green and there are a few daffodils out. It's also easier to appreciate the Venetian Gothic architecture of the buildings, most of which are one-storey cottages, interspersed with two-storey houses.