Midland Hotel, Bradford

This is another fine Victorian building in the centre of Bradford - the Midland Hotel.  Completed in 1890 and designed by Charles Trubshaw, it was built by the Midland Railway Company as part of the adjoining Forster Square Station. It originally had 115 bedrooms (now 90) and boasts some superb Victorian interiors, with ornate plasterwork, glittering chandeliers and fine Burmantofts tiling.

Rail travel lost a lot of its glamour after 'the golden age of steam' and many of Britain's railway hotels, including this one, fell into disrepair. It was rescued by local entrepreneur John Pennington in the 1990s and has been lovingly restored. It is now run by Peel Hotels.

It has an illustrious history. Being one of Bradford's premier hotels, its guestbook has included Laurel and Hardy, Paul Robeson, Bram Stoker ( of 'Dracula' fame), The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. George Formby, the Lancashire entertainer famous for his playing of the banjo ukelele, stayed here when performing at the nearby Alhambra Theatre in 1940, and almost every Prime Minister up to Harold Wilson has been through its doors. The famous Shakespearian actor, Sir Henry Irving, collapsed and died on the staircase in 1905 (!), sweeping out of this life in some style.

Gryphon jardiniere

As I'm sure I've observed before, one of the joys of visiting Salts Mill in Saltaire is that there seems to be something new to see each time.  I've lost count of the number of times I have wandered around the 1853 Gallery, getting my fill of David Hockney's art, the colourful stationery and artists' supplies, art and photography books and bright ceramics - all wrapped up in the heady scent from the vases of lilies they always have around the gallery.  But it was only this last time that I saw this unusual jardiniere - another Burmantofts design.  It has almost certainly been there for ages but I've never noticed it before.  I think it depicts a gryphon, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature, they are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions - surely a good reason for this one to be sitting in the 1853 Gallery amongst the valuable Hockney artworks and Burmantofts ceramics.

Burmantofts planters

More of the colourful Burmantofts pottery in Salts Mill, Saltaire, part of the Silver family's extensive collection. These jardiniere bowls, some on pedestals, were decorative and no doubt made a fine display stand for that ubiquitous houseplant, the aspidistra.  Known as the 'cast-iron plant', these tropical plants survive neglect and shady corners and were popular indoor plants from Victorian times through to the Second World War.

They were immortalised in a song sung by Gracie Fields, 'The Biggest Aspidistra in the World':

'For years we had an aspidistra in a flower pot
On the whatnot, near the 'atstand in the 'all
It didn't seem to grow 'til one day our brother Joe
Had a notion that he'd make it strong and tall
So he's crossed it with an acorn from an oak tree
And he's planted it against the garden wall
It shot up like a rocket, 'til it's nearly reached the sky
It's the biggest aspidistra in the world.'

Burmantofts pottery

Anybody know what this is? I haven't a clue, though it is another piece of Burmantofts pottery, with its colourful turquoise glaze and unusual pierced design. It looks lovely against the stone floor of the 1853 Gallery in Salts Mill - though I think many visitors pass it by without even noticing it.

The history of the Burmantofts pottery is interesting. It began as a small coal-mining and brick-making business in 1842 in the Burmantofts area of Leeds, run by two young men: William Wilcock and John Lassey. They discovered fireclay in their mine and began using it to make sanitary pipes and chimney pots. John Lassey died young and his share of the business was eventually sold to John Holroyd and then to his son Ernest. When William Wilcock also died, Ernest's brother James Holroyd became the general manager. He gradually developed the business, starting to produce decorative tiles and pottery including eventually high-temperature faience (glazed terracotta) architectural pottery and the 'Art Pottery' for which Burmantofts became nationally renowned. Trade prospered until 1904 when fashions suddenly changed and manufacture of terracotta pottery ceased. The business continued with other products until 1957.

Some of the Burmantofts ware is intricately decorated like the vase I showed yesterday. Other pieces are in a single bright (lead) colour and glaze, with intricate moulding and raised lines. Still others have stylised Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts designs: curvy stems and flowers, leaves, peacocks and fish. It's highly collectable these days, with even small pieces fetching hundreds of pounds at auction.

As I said yesterday, the Silver family have an enviable collection displayed in Salts Mill. The Leeds museums (including the Abbey House Museum at Kirkstall) also have collections, and some buildings in Leeds, such as the University, have Burmantofts ceramic decoration incorporated into their architecture.

Faience vase

You may have noticed this beautiful vase on some of my other photos of the 1853 Gallery in Salts Mill, Saltaire. It was made in Leeds, around 1885, at the Burmantofts pottery. It's huge - 44"/112cm high. Designed by Leonard King, it is hand-painted in wonderful turquoises and greens in the Isnik style (which I understand is a style of pottery made in Ottoman Turkey, in its turn styled on Chinese porcelain).

Jonathan Silver (who bought Salts Mill in 1987) was a passionate collector of the 'Arabian Nights' vases made by Burmantofts between 1885 and 1904. He began collecting whilst still a student and amassed a collection of over 100 pieces, many of which are now displayed in Salts Mill. There is a nice twist in the story of this particular vase, because it was originally exhibited in Saltaire's Victoria Hall in 1887, in an exhibition of Anglo-Persian Bermantofts pieces as part of the Royal Yorkshire Jubilee Exhibition. These brightly coloured art pottery pieces were much sought after in Victorian England. In 1994, Jonathan discovered the vase by chance in a gallery in Bond Street in London, bought it and brought it back to Saltaire.

(It constantly amazes me that all these priceless works of art, by Hockney and others, and the very valuable ceramics are just - almost casually - scattered around in what is often at weekends a very bustling, lively place. It's what gives Salts Mill its charm and ambience... it's absolutely unique - but must give the insurers a real headache!)

Christmas lights

The lights of the Christmas tree in the 1853 Gallery, Salts Mill, Saltaire are reflected in the window - and outside, the Victorian mill looks rather ghostly in the snow.  Part art gallery, part shop selling art books and artists materials, the 1853 Gallery displays a large collection of paintings by David Hockney (originally a local lad, born in Bradford).  There are all sorts of interesting artefacts scattered around, including a lovely collection of ceramics made in the 19th century at the Burmantofts pottery in Leeds.  This large planter is one of them.

Weekend Reflections is hosted by James at Newtown Area Photo.