The family Silver

I happened to call in Salts Mill on my way home from work the other day to buy a greetings card. They sell a wonderful selection. (Of course, I came out with a book too. That always happens!) Anyway, unusually, I entered by the recently improved car park entrance. I was delighted to find that immediately on entering you now go through a small gallery dedicated to the late Jonathan Silver, the entrepreneur who, in 1987, saved the mill buildings from dereliction after the textile business foundered. His contribution to Saltaire is arguably nearly as great as that of Sir Titus Salt himself, and yet he was a humble man and until now has had little in the way of memorial and barely a mention around Saltaire itself.

I've recounted the story before: how the mill closed in 1986 and appeared to be slowly sinking into decay. Along came Jonathan, a local businessman, just 37 years old at the time. He had run several businesses (antiques, furniture, art and men's clothing) and had some experience of regenerating Dean Clough Mills in Halifax. He negotiated to buy Salts Mill, with a huge vision to turn it into a vibrant mixture of gallery and retail space and new commercial ventures. 25 years on, that vision has been handsomely realised, though sadly Jonathan himself did not live to see its complete fruition. He died of cancer in 1997. The enterprise has continued to be carefully nurtured by his family. His widow Maggie, brother Robin and more recently his daughter Zoe are all involved, together with a talented team who have ensured that Jonathan's vision for a thriving cultural, retail and commercial centre continues to develop and bring life to the old mill, to Saltaire and to the local area. (See here for an article written by Zoe Silver and here for an obituary written by the artist David Hockney, Jonathan's friend, whose artworks now fill the mill's galleries.)

Dean Clough Mills

It's not only Bradford that has a legacy of huge old mill buildings. The complex known as Dean Clough Mills is in Halifax but it has two interesting associations with Salts Mill in Saltaire.

Formerly the world's largest carpet factory, it was owned by the Crossley family - and Titus Salt Jnr married Catherine Crossley in 1866, thus linking the two textile dynasties.

The second link is through Jonathan Silver, who bought Saltaire's empty and degenerating Salts Mill in 1987.  Early in his entrepreneurial career, Jonathan built up a chain of men's clothing boutiques.  He sold it in the late 1970s, having by then opened another shop selling pictures and furniture.  Through buying cloth, he had met and become friendly with Ernest Hall, a textile manufacturer.  They went into partnership, buying property and in 1983 they bought the empty Dean Clough Mills in Halifax. They initially opened a bar in the mill and sold and let parts of the buildings to other companies. Whilst they both had vision, they were very different characters and it was soon apparent that the business partnership was not working, so Ernest Hall bought Jonathan Silver out in 1984.  The Silver family, seeking change, then set off on a three-year round-the-world adventure.  It was on their return from this trip that Jonathan bought Salts Mill, no doubt encouraged by his experience of the regeneration of Dean Clough.

Dean Clough is another success story.  It now houses many different businesses, has nine exhibition galleries, a shop, a theatre, a cookery school, restaurant, hotel, conference facilities and a café-bar.  It's a renowned jazz venue and hosts a rolling programme of concerts, plays and exhibitions.  It doesn't have the same personality as Salts Mill, being a much more utilitarian building, and there is no surrounding village (though the Crossleys were enlightened employers and built some almshouses for former employees).  But nevertheless it's an interesting place to visit - though it proved difficult to photograph!