Summer's last gasp

The lovely weather is slowly ebbing away, with rain and cooler air moving in from the north.  At this time of year, an Indian summer was never going to last long.  It's the last chance to enjoy summer's colour and brightness, as we move into the gentle mists and russets of autumn.  I took this photo a couple of weeks ago.  Even in the short time since then, the tubs and hanging baskets have drooped and died.

You can tell from the photo that this house, whilst in Saltaire, is not in the conservation area of the village.  It has a uPVC window frame and door.  That is definitely not allowed throughout most of the village as the houses are 'Grade II listed' and subject to stringent planning regulations.  But there is an area of land that was not developed by Sir Titus Salt as part of the village masterplan.  Under the leadership of Titus Salt Jnr, the governors of the Salts School built a new building (now known as the 'Exhibition Building' and forming part of Shipley College) to cater for Arts and Science.  They hoped to recoup the cost by staging a huge exhibition as part of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.   The new building and the twelve acres of land surrounding it were used for trade stands, concert halls and all manner of exciting activities, including a 'pleasure ground' of rides and stalls.  When the exhibition was dismantled the land was sold for housing, so these houses behind the Exhibition Building are dated later than the rest of Saltaire, are different in design and style and are not included in the World Heritage Site.