100 years of Roberts Park

I'm not sure I've ever shown exactly this view before. It shows one of the shelters in Roberts Park, with the park-keeper's lodge in the background and then Salts Mill across the river beyond. I rather like the shelters and I'm amazed at the care they took in Victorian times to have even the simplest structures look fine and embellished. The shelters were rescued from decline when the park was refurbished a few years ago. Money well-spent, I feel.

I was reminded by a Facebook post from the Saltaire History Club that it is now 100 years (16 January 1920) since Roberts Park (which had previously been known as Saltaire Park) was gifted to Bradford Corporation by Sir James Roberts, a former owner of Salts Mill. It was given in memory of his son, Bertram Foster Roberts (who died suddenly aged 36 in 1912), to be maintained 'for the benefit of the public at all times'. It's a bequest that I enjoy on a very regular basis.

Star Trek to Kilnsey

Photo © Bob Collier and used with permission

After running the story on Saturday, I was delighted to find in my inbox this wonderful photo of Jamie Roberts, setting off on his trek from Saltaire to Kilnsey with alpacas in tow (or perhaps towing him, you can't be sure!)  I don't think the alpacas are walking the whole way but they are a nice touch. They will be taking up residence at Kilnsey Park, to celebrate its links with Saltaire. Doesn't Jamie look the part? Let's hope the weather stays fine for him; it's a bit changeable this week and I don't suppose a Victorian gentleman's fine tweeds are much use in a downpour. Hopefully he has a voluminous cape too...

Because of work, I wasn't able to get down to Saltaire for the launch of the walk so a big thank you to Amanda Brown, of A2B PR, for thinking to send the picture to me. It was taken by (and is copyrighted to) Bob Collier, so Bob is starring as my guest photographer today and must be congratulated on a lovely photo.

The following text is taken from the publicity material:

Alpacas Star In Trek To Commemorate Yorkshire’s Mill Heritage

An important era in Yorkshire’s history was commemorated today when the owner of one of the county’s top rural visitor attractions donned Victorian attire and began a walk with a trio of alpacas in tow.

Jamie Roberts set out from Saltaire in West Yorkshire to return home to Kilnsey Park in the Yorkshire Dales as part of the Park’s 35^th anniversary celebrations. The walk is also honouring an important anniversary in the history of Salts Mill, one of Yorkshire’s and the world’s greatest industrial powerhouses in Victorian times and now a cultural centre and UNESCO World Heritage site. It was 120 years ago when Jamie’s great great grandfather Sir James Roberts took over Salts Mill from the family of the founder, Sir Titus Salt and saved it from bankruptcy.

As the mill’s fortunes – and those of his family – were largely built on spinning alpaca wool, Jamie decided it was a fitting tribute to start the walk with the camelid trio before they take up residence at Kilnsey Park.

Jamie is walking part of the route with the alpacas, from Salts Mill to Crossflatts following the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, before rejoining the route about 4 miles from Kilnsey. He said: “Bringing home the alpacas to Kilnsey is a fantastic way of celebrating my family’s heritage and connections with Salts Mill. The success of the Mill enabled my ancestors to purchase the Kilnsey Estate in 1911 and it has remained in our family ever since.”

“In 1978 we opened a trout farm and trekking centre and since then the Estate has gone from strength to strength not only as a visitor attraction but also as a centre for conservation and as one of the most sustainable businesses in the UK.”

A weekend of celebrations is planned at Kilnsey Park on 10-11^th August including family activities, outdoor performances, music and local food and drink. More information can be found at www.kilnseypark.co.uk

The alpacas are also local having been bred by prize-winning breeders at Carlshead Farm near Wetherby. 

Sir James Roberts, family man

Photograph © the Roberts family, used with the kind permission of Julia Bolton Holloway

Saltaire has a thriving History Club (see the village website) and several members are actively engaged in ongoing research.  I was fortunate to be able to attend the last meeting and obtained a hard copy of the latest in a line of 'Saltaire Journals' (which are also downloadable free from the website).  Researched and written by David King, it is entitled 'The Second Lord of Saltaire: the family history of Sir James Roberts Bart. JP, LLD.'  It makes fascinating reading, though I can only briefly summarise it here.  We should be most grateful to David for his painstaking research that brings to life a man whose influence on Saltaire was fundamental and important, but who has hitherto tended to be overlooked.

Sir James Roberts, businessman

Photograph © the Roberts family, used with the kind permission of Jamie Roberts.

Most people know of Sir Titus Salt's connection with Saltaire.  He pretty much ensured immortality by giving the village his name and that of the River Aire which flows through it.  It was his vision and his money that created the huge mill and the village around it, built to house his workers in much better conditions than those prevailing in the Victorian cities at the time.  Sir Titus's legacy is ensured.

The story of Salts Mill and Saltaire after Sir Titus' death is perhaps less well-known but still deserves telling and remembering.   (Click below to read it - a new Blogger trick I'm trying!)

The Park Lodge

Saltaire Park was opened in 1871, laid out with a large cricket field, the Half Moon Pavilion, the bandstand and a number of walks and avenues around a central promenade, surrounded by shrubs, trees and formal planting.  In those days Victoria Road, the main thoroughfare through Saltaire, crossed the River Aire by a bridge and ended at the Lodge you see here, with the entrance to the park on the left.  To the right and through metal gates, a long private carriageway led up to Milner Field, the grand house built by Titus Salt Junior and later lived in by Sir James Roberts' family.

The Park was renamed Roberts Park in 1920, when it was given to Bradford Corporation by Sir James Roberts (who in 1918 had sold Salts Mill and Saltaire to a consortium of businessmen).  Sir James was another remarkable man, who had revived the fortunes of Salts Mill after it went into liquidation in 1892 and who contributed much to Saltaire's history.  (He later bought Haworth's Brontë Parsonage and bequeathed it to the nation.)  He outlived his four sons and the park is dedicated to one of them, Bertram Foster Roberts, who I believe died in 1912.