Heritage Trail 16 - Alexandra Square

Hope we're all refreshed after that virtual coffee.  (And the very good news is that virtual cake contains NO calories!) Now we will....
'Continue along Bingley Road and then turn left into Victoria Road.'  The top of Victoria Road contains this little green space called Alexandra Square, around which are grouped Saltaire's almshouses. (For more photos and history, please click the 'almshouses' label below).  This area was developed in 1868.  Sir Titus Salt was following the lead of other local paternalist industrialists such as Sir Francis Crossley, who in 1855 had established almshouses linked to his Dean Clough Works in Halifax.  There are 45 almshouses in Victoria Road, some now in private ownership but many still providing accommodation for the elderly or infirm, through a Housing Trust.

[No 14 on the street plan]

A coffee stop

And here we are in The Terrace, a popular café and bistro on Saltaire's Gordon Terrace.  I told you yesterday I'd treat you to a virtual coffee - and I felt we needed a bit of warmth and colour in the middle of our chilly black and white tour!  I've ordered Gingerbread Latte, slightly spicy, along with some walnut cake.  Or would you prefer a creamy Cappucino and a buttery toasted teacake?  If you're really hungry you could choose from a variety of bistro-type meals and snacks.  There's even haggis on the menu today I notice - would that be because of Hogmanay (New Year) or Burns Night coming soon, I wonder?

It was lovely to meet one of my dearest friends for coffee (and she doesn't mind my eccentricity in making her butter her teacake and then not eat it until I'd taken a photo!).  I do wish I could treat you all to a real coffee - wouldn't it be fun to sit and chat and get to know each other?

Whilst we're resting our tired feet here and taking a breather from our walk round Saltaire's Heritage Trail, it is interesting to ponder the history of this row of shops.  It was originally built as housing and I think you can tell that, even now.  The staircases to the upper floors are really quite narrow, only wide enough for one person at a time - fine for a house but not so geat for a café or shop!

There's a lively discussion thread on Saltaire's History Club pages, with people sharing their memories of the shops and businesses on Gordon Terrace in times past.  (But after yesterday's experience with the photo, I imagine you have to log in to the Village website to see the discussions too! I am registered already, so I didn't realise. Sorry.)  Honestly, I wish I was retired! I could sit all day browsing the internet; there's some fascinating information there and I simply don't have time to explore it all.

Heritage Trail 15 - Gordon Terrace

'Continue up round the corner and turn left to reach Bingley Road..'  Bingley Road is the main road from Bradford along the Aire valley to Bingley, Keighley and ultimately Skipton. It forms the southern boundary of Saltaire village so technically the left hand side is in Saltaire and the right hand side isn't. (Unless you're an estate agent, since the cachet of a Saltaire address these days extends quite a long way into areas that once would have died rather than call themselves Saltaire!)

The road contains a parade of shops on both sides and the Saltaire side is locally known as Gordon Terrace. It was originally designed by Saltaire's architects as housing, but the properties were converted into shops in the early 1900s. Nowadays there is an interesting mix - clothes shops come and go; there is a hairdresser, several estate agents, optician, delicatessen, jewellers, gift shops and a couple of eateries.  This one, The Terrace is a coffee shop and bistro and takes advantage of the wide pavement to have a few tables outside.  As we're over half way round our 'virtual walk' now, I shall treat you to a 'virtual coffee' in the bistro - but inside, as it's a little chilly for the open-air tables today!

The other side includes more functional offerings - a Co-op supermarket, chemist, butcher, florist and greengrocer plus a betting shop, a couple of fast food outlets and a good fish and chip shop.  All in all it makes a useful little local shopping area.  I've often thought it would be interesting to chart the change in the shops here since Victorian times... another project, maybe?  There's an interesting old photo that gives an idea of how the shops might have looked - but it seems you have to register with the Saltaire village website to see it - sorry!  I'll leave the link in case any members are reading this.

[No 5 on the street plan]

Heritage Trail 14 - Saltaire Road

'At the top of Albert Road, turn left and use the zebra crossing to cross Saltaire Road...' and be careful because that is often busy too, though early on a Sunday morning it is eerily quiet.  (Malyss, Jack and all the rest of you who think we drive on the wrong side of the road here, we will hang on to you at this point, in case you forget which way to look at the crossing!)

The houses opposite were some of the later houses to be built as part of Sir Titus Salt's masterplan for Saltaire, completed in 1868.  The streets are called Jane Street and Dove Street.  Jane and Dove were Sir Titus's daughters-in-law.  The building just creeping into the left of the picture is 1 Albert Road, the largest house in the village, now a bank and originally the home of Salt's Mill's chief cashier.

The alley on the right is at the back of a row of shops called Gordon Terrace that we will visit tomorrow.

[Streets named on street plan]

Heritage Trail 13 - Saltaire Roundabout

'At the top of Albert Road....' (which leads off to the right of this photo) be careful of the busy Saltaire roundabout!  This is the junction of the main roads from Bradford to Keighley and from Keighley through Saltaire to Leeds.  It is notorious locally as a very busy junction that frequently gets gridlocked.  I know of several people who will drive miles round to avoid having to negotiate the roundabout.  And sadly it is an accident blackspot - two people have been killed here within the last 6 months, and I noticed again the other day one of the railings gone.  Not surprisingly, much thought and debate has gone into trying to improve it (with various hare-brained proposals, including a tunnel under Saltaire!) and finally it looks as though a plan has been agreed to replace the roundabout with traffic lights.  That won't solve the congestion, but it might make it a bit safer.

The building on the far side, now a bar/restaurant called The Old Tramshed was (you guessed!) the old tram shed. The six bays were built in 1904 for tramcars that used to run from Bradford and later housed Bradford Corporation trolleybuses.  Bradford was one of the last places to have trolleybuses - they ceased running in 1972 (I remember that well, as I was at university here in those days) though I don't know when the last trolleybus to Saltaire ran.  The first tram ran in 1902, according to a wonderful photo I found on Flickr recently.  The film I drew your attention to last week also has, right at the beginning, footage of the trams along with lots of men in flat caps (traditional Yorkshire headgear for the working class man) and bowlers (ditto for white-collar workers).  Gentlemen wore top-hats!

NB: the difference between a tramcar and a trolleybus - trams run on tracks in the road and usually have one pole (pantograph) up to an overhead cable,  trolleybuses run on two overhead cables and no tracks.  The terminology here in UK is a bit different from the US.  Never say you don't learn things reading this blog!

[Photo taken beside telephone box on street plan]

Heritage Trail 12 - Albert Road

'Continue along Caroline Street to the junction with Albert Road. Here turn left uphill....'  Albert Road forms the western boundary of Saltaire village and originally looked onto open countryside. Now it overlooks the newer Hirst Wood estate and Saltaire Primary School. At the northern (lower) end of Albert Road you pass a row of overlookers' cottages but at either end of the road - as shown in my photo - there are some grander terraces and semis, originally home to the company's executives, teachers and the church minister.  They still make very attractive, good-sized family homes - solid stone with slate roofs, and lovely high-ceilinged rooms.

[Photo taken near the Primary School marked on the street plan]

Heritage Trail 11 - Streets & alleys

'You will see the streets branch off at regular intervals...'  Walking along Caroline Street takes you past the end of many of the streets that run north-south, like George Street on the left here.  George Street is one of the longest streets in the village, cleverly designed so that the Church can be seen right from the very top (see here).  Between the streets run back alleys, where each house has its own backyard (and originally its own 'privy' or outside toilet) making these houses luxurious compared to the prevailing conditions in the cities in early Victorian times.  Remember, these were houses for ordinary working folk, Sir Titus Salt's millworkers, most of whom had previously been living in the city of Bradford where the mills then were.

I think it's hard for us these days to appreciate just how significant Salt's actions were.  James Smith in his report for the Health Of Towns Commission in 1844 concluded "... of Bradford I am obliged to pronounce it the most filthy town I visited."  Central Bradford in the 1840's is described as having "courts, yards and dingy alleys with overflowing privies, open cesspits, pig styes and slaughterhouses and effluent laden watercourses".  Diseases, including cholera, were rife.

The wonderful book by Jim Greenhalf, 'Salt & Silver' says: "For more than 25 years Salt had worked in the dirty heart of bursting-at-the seams Bradford... He was a very rich man, and might have retired with a lordly income... but he was proposing to adandon Bradford for a greenfield site more than three miles to the north. Everything was based in town. Yet Salt proposed removing to the country, putting himself at the astronomical expense of building a vast new works, fire-proof and with all modern conveniences." (Plus the village around it).  And why?..... "because he had a dream which he believed was his God-given duty to turn into reality. And so, on a chilly November evening in 1849, Salt walked into the comfortable fire-lit chambers of architects Lockwood and Mawson." And the rest, as they say, is history.

[See Caroline Street on the street plan]

Heritage Trail 10 - Caroline Street

'Turn right onto Caroline Street...'  Caroline Street, named after Sir Titus Salt's wife (1812-1893), is one of the long, wide streets pointing east-west through the village.  The village plan mostly follows a grid pattern, apart from where the main Saltaire Road, which predates the buildings, cuts through diagonally.  The grid pattern was chosen to use the land efficiently but the streets are carefully planned to ensure that each house receives ample daylight.  The whole village really is a masterpiece of design, with a symmetry and repetition that pulls the whole together and yet sufficient variety to avoid it looking uniform and dull.

Right at the far end of the road you can see modern semi-detached houses, part of the Hirst Wood estate, built much later than Saltaire itself.  When Saltaire was founded in the second half of the 19th century, this whole area was open countryside.  Sir Titus Salt deliberately bought up greenfield land to move his mill and his workers out from the city to a healthier environment.  Saltaire formed a recognisable and discrete village and the houses on the edge looked out over open countryside. But of course over the years it has become just part of the urban sprawl along the Aire river valley.

[Photo taken from the junction of George Street with Caroline Street, see the street plan]

Heritage Trail 9 - William Henry Street

'Then turn left into William Henry Street..'  The houses here, built in 1854, have small front gardens and are quite spacious inside.  They were intended for the 'overlookers' - the supervisors at the mill.  Personally, I think this street is one of the most attractive in the village, the houses having quite a pretty 'cottagey' look.   I love the rounded windows and doors, and the way the houses are uniform and yet have an individuality too.  You can see the difference between the ones that have had the stonework cleaned and those that have not.  As I have said before, the streets in Saltaire are mostly named after members of Sir Titus Salt's family.  William Henry (1831-1893) was his first son.

[William Henry Street is named on the street plan] 

If you're ready for a bit of colour after all these black and white images, I have recently posted some colour pictures of Saltaire in the snow on my other blog: Seeking the Quiet Eye.  Click this link or the image on the side bar on the right to track over there.

Heritage Trail 8 - Albert Terrace

'Retrace your steps to the railway bridge then turn right down Albert Terrace...'  Albert Terrace is one of the oldest streets in Saltaire and still retains its original setts (cobbles).  Some of the houses along here are three storeys high and were originally intended as shared lodgings for young single workers, but they apparently preferred lodging with families so, before long, these too became family homes.  Overlooking the railway, church and open countryside, they have a very pleasant aspect.

When I set out to take these Heritage Trail photos I decided that, even though I wanted to give a sense of the history of Saltaire, I would not deliberately avoid evidence of modern 'clutter' - so I didn't try to find angles that excluded all cars, litterbins, streetlights and so on.  Hence there's a wheelie bin right in the middle here!.....But it would have been a better photo without it, so I think I should have gone and pushed it round the corner after all!

[Taken from just past the railway symbol on the street plan]

Heritage Trail 7 - Saltaire's Mills

'Look towards the mill chimneys - can you feel a breeze behind you?'  (Hope you're well wrapped up on this wintery walk!)  Sir Titus Salt deliberately built his mills on the eastern side of the village.  He was concerned about the harmful effects of smoke produced by factories and located his mills where the prevailing westerly wind would blow the smoke away from the village. (I know this first-hand - my workplace is directly east of the mills and sometimes the wind funnelled along the valley is so fierce that you can barely stand up.)

Salts Mill is on the right of the photo (its huge chimney is hidden) and the building on the left is the New Mill, built a few years later, with its ornate Italianate chimney.  The Victoria Road bridge goes over the canal and at one time went straight over the river into the park.  Since the river bridge was demolished, the road ends rather abruptly in the wall you can see. (The old film clip I mentioned yesterday has footage of people walking across the original bridge, with the mills in the background - at 2.34 in the film.)

I took all these photos on such a dull winter day - they're not the best in that sense but, in a way, I like the dark feel.  And I am really enjoying showing you round my hometown.  Some of you have commented that you are beginning to recognise parts and 'know where you are'.   That really pleases me - and I hope it doesn't make my blog boring.  There are only so many photos you can take in a square mile or so, but I keep endeavouring to find new angles.

[On the street plan the photo is taken from near the green man. The New Mill is No 16 and Salts Mill is No 1]

Heritage Trail 6 - The Boathouse Inn

'Retrace your steps...' from Roberts Park back over the footbridge.  From this viewpoint you can see the old Saltaire boathouse from where, in earlier days, you could hire a rowing boat or take a cruise on the steamboat.  Nowadays it is a popular bar and restaurant, recently revamped after a fire all but destroyed it.  The canal is the other side of The Boathouse Inn and the church, seen through the trees, is on the far side of the canal.

The view to the left, of Saltaire's New Mill and the weir, is equally lovely and I have featured it several times - see here and here and last month on December 18, 'Lights' was a night shot of the view from almost exactly this spot.

There is also the most wonderful piece of film footage in the Yorkshire Film Archive online, shot in 1912, of people on the steamboat outside the Boathouse - see this link.  The relevant snippet is at 2 minutes 53 secs in to the film (2.53) if you don't want to watch the whole film (though I recommend it!)

[Roberts Park is No 3 on the plan]

Heritage Trail 5 - Entrance to Roberts Park

'Turn left down the ramp and follow the path around to the right, to cross the River Aire by the modern footbridge...'  At one time Victoria Road went straight across the river by a road bridge, but the bridge was demolished as unsafe in the 1950s and a metal footbridge now provides access to the park. Saltaire Park, opened by Sir Titus in 1871, was intended to provide leisure space for Saltaire's residents, as most of the open land within the village was given over to allotments.  It contained formal landscaping and flowerbeds with a promenade, bandstand and pavilion, as well as a cricket field and boating area on the river.  The park's name was changed in 1920 when it was gifted to Bradford Corporation by Sir James Roberts, then owner of the mill.  The park underwent a substantial renovation in 2010.  Click the 'Roberts Park' label for more photos.

[No 3 on the plan]

Heritage Trail 4 - The Canal

'Salt wanted to distribute his products quickly and cheaply so he chose a site with excellent transport links. The Mill was built beside the railway, the motorway of the 19th century. The canal linked the village to Leeds and Liverpool and there were good local road connections.'

The Leeds-Liverpool Canal bridge provides one of the most attractive views in Saltaire - even on a cold dark winter morning. The canal runs alongside the grounds of the church, whose tower you can see on the left.  In front is the Stables.  When the village was built in the 1850s, road transport was predominantly by horse-drawn vehicles and stabling facilities were a necessity.  December's ice on the canal is gradually melting - but it is a reminder of how, in Victorian times too, transportation in the winter months would be fraught with hazards.

The little knot of people standing watching the swans was a group of 'silver' walkers, undeterred by the cold.  This spot in Saltaire seems to be a place where people congregate and I think sometimes it's a meeting point for the organised rambles that the Council's Leisure Services provide.  One of the enjoyable things about living in Saltaire is its proximity to some lovely countryside.

[Green man on the plan]

Heritage Trail 3 - Saltaire's United Reformed Church

'Continue downhill along Victoria Road, passing the impressive Saltaire United Reformed Church on the left...'  I have posted many photos of this beautiful and unusual building (click the 'Saltaire URC' label to see more - both inside and outside) - but for completeness as we 'walk' the Heritage Trail I'm posting another one. I never get tired of looking at it anyway, as it's such an iconic building.

Originally the Congregational Church, it was completed in 1859.  Sir Titus Salt, Saltaire's founder, was a staunch Christian and was anxious to provide spiritually as well as materially for his employees.  The church was in many ways the crowning glory of his paternalistic vision for a township that would provide all that his workers in the vast textile mill, and their families, could need. (As well as a last resting place for himself and his family, in the adjoining Mausoleum.)

Situated directly opposite the main entrance to Salts Mill, the church stands at the end of a long drive that focuses the visitor's attention on the magnificent entrance and tower.  To the right, you can just see the Stable Block cottages.

[No 2 on the street plan]

Heritage Trail 2 - Victoria Road

'Continue downhill along Victoria Road...' Victoria Road is the main thoroughfare through Saltaire, north to south.  Looking north from the railway bridge, you can see on the right the administrative block of Salts Mill, now home to Pace plc, a company that makes digital communications technology. On the left is the Mill Building of Shipley College, formerly the Saltaire Dining Hall.  This photo gives a good idea of why Sir Titus Salt relocated his entire business from the overcrowded and insanitary city of Bradford to this greenfield site, where he built his huge mill and the surrounding workers' village.  The fields and moors of Shipley Glen and Baildon still offer a lovely countryside view.  Sir Titus Salt gradually bought up parcels of land so that, at one time, most of what you can see belonged to him.

[At the red star on the street plan]

New Project - The Saltaire Heritage Trail

New Year... new project.  Yesterday I showed the Saltaire Street Plan out of the Heritage Trail leaflet, so I thought - why not actually follow the trail, in photographs?  Sunday promised to be sunny.  Ha ha, it wasn't!  Though it was a little brighter than it has been, it was jolly cold.  Never mind, I wrapped up warmly and set off following the blue trail.

'Our tour begins on the bridge over the railway line...' which is where you would arrive in Saltaire if you let the train take the strain. (And with petrol prices going up, no street parking and a long walk from the car park behind Salts Mill, arriving by train in the World Heritage Site makes sense.)  It's a cute little station (though not as picturesque as the original, which was pulled down after the Beeching cuts in 1965.)  To the left, you see the oldest residential part of Saltaire, built in 1854.  To the right is the Saltaire Dining Hall, now part of Shipley College, which originally provided meals for the workers at Salts Mill.  They are all built from the same local stone but the soot and grime of the 19th and early 20th centuries has been cleaned off most of the public buildings leaving the houses looking black in comparison.

[On the plan, start at the red star.]

Getting to know Saltaire

I first showed this plan of the World Heritage Site of Saltaire way back at the start of my blog in June 2009.  But I didn't have any readers then - and now I have lots ... my 100th Follower joined on Christmas Day, which made me happy.  I know there are also other regular readers who don't appear on any lists.  Anyway, I thought it might be interesting and useful to put up this street plan again.  It shows the broad layout of Saltaire, so that you can see how it all fits together and perhaps begin to locate and visualise my photos within the context of the rest of the village.  I think if you click the map it will enlarge to become more readable. The street plan actually belongs to an explanatory 'Guide and Heritage Trail' about Saltaire, produced for visitors by the Council's Visitor Information Centre.  I'm sure they won't mind me borrowing it. The latest Guide is downloadable from their website.

Peace on earth

Peace on earth..... seems to be a good thing to wish for at the start of another New Year.  Though in my photo, the dove seems to have got into a tangle with the floral decoration, which is perhaps not the best omen! Certainly peace on earth seems as far away as ever.  But I like to think we bloggers are doing our bit to foster friendly relations across the globe.  I dip into a lot of blogs, from all over the world, and I really enjoy getting an insight into people, places, families, festivals, customs and life in general in the many places pictured and represented.  I'm looking forward to another year of sharing my little patch of England with you.

I took this photo on Christmas Day in my church, St Peter's Shipley, which as usual was beautifully decorated for the festive season.  As someone with not a green finger on my body (!) I can only admire those with the skill to create such lovely and imaginative displays.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, prosperous, healthy, fulfilling - and yes, peaceful - 2011.

Fanny's by night

When I featured Fanny's Ale & Cider House last summer, Bob suggested it would make a good subject for a night shot.  So.....ta dah!....what do you think?   I think it looks very warm and enticing, especially on a cold winter's night.  But tonight you'd better get there early because, being New Year's Eve, it will be heaving with people. Its website has some nice photos of the inside.  It's a really cosy place and my daughter and her friends all love it - great atmosphere, great beer (and cider) and a really friendly ambience.  And when you've done drinking, you can get a decent Chinese takeaway from The Rainbow next door.

Lady Blantyre

One of my Christmas rambles took me up to the St Ives Estate above Bingley, a mile or two up the Aire valley from Saltaire.  The estate and house once belonged to the Ferrand family, though the house is now a residential home for young adults with disabilities.  I passed a large stone dedicated to the memory of the mother-in-law of William Busfeild Ferrand. The dedication is typically Victorian in its sentimentality but nevertheless reads rather touchingly:

The Dowager Lady Blantyre for nearly 30 years was accustomed, in Summer to sit under this rock reading and enjoying the scenery.  In 1857 St Ives was altered and enlarged from plans entirely drawn by herself and her daughter the Honr'bl Mrs Ferrand. The Terrace and the flower garden were also designed by them. Her Ladyship ended her last visit on the 21^st November 1874 and died resting on the Rock of Ages at Lennox Love in East Lothian on the 19^th of the following November, in her 84^th year with facalties uninpared, and most deeply lamented. Mr Ferrand her son in law mournfully dedicated this rustic monument to her beloved memory, and with confidence requested the future owners to preserve it as an affectionate Memento of the best of Mothers and the sweetest of women. 

In addition to the rock, there is now this wooden carving of Lady Blantyre reading her book.  Sadly, all these years later, the view she must have enjoyed looking over the valley is blocked by tall trees but it's still a peaceful spot.

Bird's eye view

There are a few points around the Aire valley where you can get a good view down onto Saltaire - especially in winter when the trees are bare.  This is taken from the aptly named High Bank Lane.  The landmarks, from left to right, are: the tower of Saltaire URC, St Peter's Church, the Italianate tower of Saltaire's New Mill and the long bulk of Salts Mill with its chimney to the right.  You get a good impression of the size of Salts Mill, compared with other things around.  High up on the far hillside you can see the village of Baildon.

Moorhen

The birds must be getting a bit desperate as this long cold snap shows little sign of abating.  This Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) on the canal seemed to be trying to chip through the ice to the water below.  The photo shows very clearly the bird's curious feet, with its long toes, well adapted to walking on soft uneven surfaces.  They do swim but they mostly inhabit the vegetated margins of lakes and rivers.  Resident in the UK, they eat water plants, seeds, fruit, grasses, insects, snails and worms - most of which must be in short supply in this weather.

Walking off the pudding

There were a few people out for a good, healthy walk after all that turkey and Christmas pud on Christmas Day.  This was the scene along the canal bank in Saltaire, approaching Hirst Lock.  The canal is frozen over in all but a few places where there is running water, such as the side channel by the lock. The ducks were very grateful for the patches of open water and had congregated there.  If you look carefully you can see someone standing on the ice - definitely not recommended!  There were also a number of big rocks strewn across the canal - stupid people thinking they might try to smash the ice, I suppose.  All that will happen is that, when the thaw, comes the rocks will sink and add to the debris in the canal, which has to be drained every so often to clear it out.

Splat!

Ho ho ho .... what have we here?  Oh dear, oh dear..... sorry children everywhere....it looks like a very special person had an unfortunate encounter with white-van-man on our street.  Oh dear, oh dear!

A child is born

The angel said: 'I bring you good news of great joy.  

Today a Saviour has been born; he is Christ the Lord.'   

Luke 2 10-11

It's Christmas Day!  And I sincerely wish you and those you love - wherever you are and whatever you believe - a very joyful and peaceful day, full of blessings.

My photo shows the crib scene at my church - St Peter's, Shipley.  I am not sure of its history or exactly how old it is but it has been brought out each Christmas for as long as I can remember. I like the old pottery figures, the donkey and the ox lying in the straw, the shepherd boy playing his pipe.  I am always especially touched by the figure of Mary, kneeling in silent prayer before her son.  

Thanks be to God.

A Christmas card from Saltaire

Virgin snow

I'm getting bored with 'ordinary' snow pictures.  (Oh dear, that could be difficult if the winter carries on as it has begun.)  For the sake of something a bit different, I started playing with this image - gave it the mono treatment, a minor crop and a bit of experimenting with blending modes.  Can anyone guess where I might have taken it?

Fifth Advent Window

"On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Five go-old rings!"

Well... we won't tell them that the old traditional folk song refers to the twelve days after Christmas, from Christmas to Epiphany, not Advent.  Nevertheless, the fifth window that was unveiled in Saltaire's 'Living Advent Calendar' has this simple but attractive design of five gold rings, an angel and little sparkling white lights.  It is one of the few windows (in my opinion) that look equally attractive by day as by night.  It can be seen at 1 Lockwood Street. (Most of the streets in Saltaire are named after members of Sir Titus Salt's family, but Lockwood Street and its neighbour Mawson Street honour the architects who designed Saltaire in the 19th century.)

I may yet feature a few more of these decorated windows (though I need to get out and photograph some first - and it's really too cold at night to venture out with my precious camera).  If you want to see them all on one page, then do look at the dedicated webpage.

Snow magic

The Saltaire Boathouse Inn (bar and restaurant) seen from the footbridge across the River Aire between Saltaire village and Roberts Park.  For the difference the seasons make, see here.

According to the media, this country is paralysed because of the snow.  (What that really means is it's snowy in London and the south-east.)  There does seem to be all sorts of chaos in the transport systems and I must say I'm very glad I don't need to get anywhere in a hurry.  But - hooray! Someone has actually cleared a path down the pavement on the main road through Saltaire.  It makes my walk to work a good deal safer.  Thank you, whoever it was.

Lion window

Some of you want more of these 'Living Advent Calendar' windows!  Each year different people (to a large extent anyway) participate, which is why it's such fun hunting for the windows.  You never know where the next one will appear.

The window at 68 Victoria Road this year shows this striking portrait of one of the stone lions that sits just outside the Victoria Hall, guarding the centre of Saltaire.  There are four lions - and I think this is the one called 'Determination'.  I showed photos of all four of them in a post in the early days of my blog (see here).  I am amazed at the skill and imagination shown by those who decorate these windows.  I'd never have thought of doing that.

My world

This was what we woke up to on Saturday morning.....more of the cold white stuff.  It's not as bad here (so far!) as in other parts of the country (and other parts of the world for that matter) but, given that lots of people are hoping to get away for Christmas, it's not very welcome.  The last lot had only just melted too.  My daughter is up from London for the weekend, and was hoping to go and see her grandfather in County Durham.  The same planned Christmas visit was cancelled last year because of the snow - and it very much looks (at the time of writing) that this year's will go the same way. Families all over the country will be similarly affected - but unless you really have to travel it's simply not fair, on the emergency services and those whose journeys are imperative, to clog the roads up unnecessarily.  My photo shows the main road through Saltaire - what was the old turnpike route from Leeds.  It's well gritted and traffic was flowing freely but the side roads are nasty and the pavements soon get packed down and icy.  Brr.  I'm curling up with the newspaper and a hot drink!

Lights

I was out with my camera and tripod taking photos of the Living Advent Calendar windows and then I got a bit carried away!  Saltaire looks different and slightly mysterious at night - especially against the eerie sodium glare from the city street lights that casts a golden glow across the night sky.  This is a view of the New Mill seen from Roberts Park, across the river.  The reflected lights make it an obvious choice for Weekend Reflections this week. (For more interpretations on the theme of reflections,  please go to James' Newtown Area Photo).  I'm still a novice at night photography but it produces some interesting images so I shall resolve to get some more practice.

For a view of the New Mill from a similar vantage point but in the daylight, please see here.

Festive concert

There's so much going on in Saltaire in the run-up to Christmas!  Unlike my daughter, I'm not keeping a tally of how many mince pies I consume (I think she's up to 17 now!) but had I wanted one, there were mince pies and mulled wine for sale in the Half-Moon Café on Tuesday evening - and a Festive Concert with the Hall Royd Brass Band in the Roberts Park bandstand. The snow has all gone now (though it may be back soon) and, despite a light drizzle, it wasn't a cold night so it was quite pleasant standing listening to the music.  I'm sure Sir Titus enjoyed it - his statue overlooks the bandstand and his spirit was with us!

PS: For a view of the bandstand when it was unveiled earlier this year, please see here.

Window number 9

Another of Saltaire's 'Living Advent Calendar' windows, number 9, is at the Methodist Church.  It was designed and painted by members of Saltaire Methodist Art Group, a thriving group that meets on Wednesday mornings in the Methodist Church Hall.  You can't really tell from my photo, which was taken at night with the windows lit from within, but the side panels have little squares showing very intricate Celtic patterns.

Another tradition...

My church, St Peter's Shipley, staged our second 'Walking Nativity' on Sunday afternoon (another event that might well become a tradition).  For those not familiar with the concept, it involves a walk of about a mile through the local streets, starting at our church and ending in a large farm barn (which happily belongs to some members of our congregation.)  We stop every now and again to sing a carol and watch actors (mostly members of our Youth Group) enact a scene from the Christmas Story ...with a modern twist.

We saw Joseph packing his rucksack for a long journey with Mary, pondering what the angel had told him about the child soon to be born.  We heard the Innkeeper's tale and the Shepherd's tale, we saw the Magi carrying gifts for a King and finally we watched the magical scene in the stable as everyone came to see the baby.  Wonderful!

"For to us a child is born... and he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, 

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6

Advent calendar

Five years ago, a couple living in Saltaire had the idea of getting people to work together to make a 'Living Advent Calendar' throughout the village.  The initiative proved very popular and has now become a tradition. (And isn't it good that new traditions continue to be invented?) So each year, 24 windows in 24 houses or businesses scattered around the village come to life with a festive scene.  One is 'opened' each day from 1st to 24th December.  There is a map but it's rather fun just to wander round the village and see how many you can spot.

I loved the one above, number 7 at 20 Jane Street.  It's a glorious blue and I liked the idea of a star and an angel hovering over Saltaire.  If you look carefully at the base of the window, you can see a silhouette of Salts Mill with its chimney and twin towers and, I think, the church on the right.

Black & white brass

It was late-night Christmas shopping in Salts Mill, Saltaire last Thursday.  Shoppers were serenaded with seasonal music played by Hammond's Saltaire Band (who are very good!)  The sound really soared through the vaulted 1853 Gallery - and the fragrance of mulled wine and lilies scented the air.

Christmas tree

We saw its reflection yesterday - and here is the Christmas tree itself, in the majestic setting of the 1853 Gallery in Salts Mill, Saltaire.  In the background, photographs of the artist David Hockney survey the scene.  He was born in this area and has strong personal connections with Salts Mill.  The 1853 Gallery holds the largest permanent collection of his artwork in the world.  And yes, I confess, I was doing some late-night shopping in the bookstore in the Mill!

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.

Chilly

Mallard ducks lined up alongside the canal basin in Skipton.  They were fluffed up because of the cold and looked a bit sleepy.  I think we should all be able to hibernate in this weather.

Skipton Canal basin

I think I've mentioned before that the Leeds-Liverpool Canal has a branch off it, in the centre of Skipton.  Called the Springs Branch, it was built in 1797 to transport lime from quarries.  Now it's a sleepy but pretty little backwater.  Where it joins the main canal it provides a spacious basin, where boats can turn.  It's always a busy spot and has a boat shop and chandlery where people can pick up supplies.  Several of the boats moored there were obviously in use and had stoves going full blast.  I like the way the smoke from their chimneys caught the low sunshine.  The Cray is one of Pennine Cruisers' hire boats, and the small boat behind that is, I think, Leo - the one that does short pleasure cruises up the branch behind Skipton Castle.  Beyond that is one of the big barges that were the original working boats on this canal.

Baa...rmy!

I visited Skipton again recently and found it overrun by sheep.  'Flock to Skipton' is an art trail of 26 decorated Dales sheep, scattered throughout the town, with the aim of attracting visitors and celebrating this Dales town's long association with the woolly wonders.  The sheep sculptures have been painted by local artists, schools and community groups.  As you can see, there are some colourful and interesting designs, linking in to Skipton's heritage and landmarks in unique ways.

There has been a rash of such projects in various towns - I think it all started with 'Superlambananas' in Liverpool in 2008.  It's a fun way of injecting some extra colour and interest into the town.  I wonder if we'd do this in Saltaire?  There is a story that the lions outside the Victoria Hall roam the village at night! - so perhaps we could have lions.  The Skipton flock is in town until 19 December.  I suppose then they'll be put out to grass!

National Media Museum

The National Media Museum, Bradford, is housed in a concrete 1960s complex that also holds the ice skating rink and Bradford Central Library.  The tower block was once part of Bradford University and is now student flats.   The museum frontage has been modernised by the addition of a glass atrium and the former library theatre has become a cinema, part of the Museum, which also boasts a gigantic IMAX cinema screen.

I found the following, quoted in 2005 by Dr George Sheeran, of the University of Bradford's Pennine and Yorkshire Studies Unit:

"A lot of the stuff (regeneration) that was done in the Sixties was done on a big wave of optimism about the future, and it did produce some things which unfortunately haven't lasted. If you look at Bradford Central Library, opened in 1966, then it was the biggest library (in terms of the number of books it had) in England which is an astonishing statistic when you think about it. It had a small art gallery, a cafeteria and it had a theatre and people were willing to put their money behind that sort of thing then, and some of the things done in the 1960s were very good.

On the other hand, the architecture was dire. It was on a scale nobody had seen, it was of a design nobody in Bradford had experienced before. I think there was this ideology behind it which saw everything modern as progressive - that was a big word in the Sixties, whether it led to social progress or not, and there was a deep, deep hatred of everything in the Victorian past. In about 1960 there was a Dutch chap who taught planning at Leeds School of Architecture, I can't remember his name, but he called Bradford, 'a city designed by the devil' which I think was an attitude of mind amongst planners. I know which (Bradford) I would rather have."

He speaks for a lot of people. A lot of us mourn the loss of some of the Victorian buildings.  Those that remain have been transformed by stone cleaning and sympathetic renewal.  But it's good to see these 60s buildings being used in a creative way even if they aren't too pleasing to the eye.  There is always a huge poster on the front of the Media Museum and I like the impact of this particular image of the young boy.

(This has had a bit of work in PS - desaturated it, popped the colour back on the poster and added some grain to emphasise the gritty concrete.)

Christmas pud?

I spotted these balled topiary box trees in the city centre - with a dusting of snow on top, they reminded me of traditional Christmas puddings.  I have one of these (tree, not pudding!) in my back yard, but it long ago ceased to be perfectly spherical.  The red box behind them is a small modern mail box, outside the National Media Museum.  I suppose it's handy for tourists to post their postcards: "Just visited Bradford's National Media Museum... it's great! Really interesting..."

When I'm in Bradford I usually try to find time to visit the Media Museum.  I consider myself very lucky that, of all the national museums, Bradford has the one in which I'm most interested - Film, Photography and TV.  This time I saw an exhibition: 'Land revisited' by Fay Godwin (1931-2005), one of Britain's greatest landscape photographers.  Do click the link to see some of her incredible black and white images.  The exhibition is well worth a visit if you're in the area - if not, explore the website, as there's some interesting stuff on there, including photos and some biographical material about Fay Godwin.

Brown, Muff & Co

I made a rare visit into Bradford city centre on Saturday, to visit a 'pop-up shop' styled in the manner of a 1930s grocer's shop.  It’s part of a BBC TV Learning Hands on History project complementing the series Turn Back Time – The High Street, currently running on BBC1.

The shop was sited in part of what used to be Brown, Muff & Co's department store - known as 'the Harrods of the North' because it was one of the classiest stores in the region in its hey-dey. The roots of Brown, Muff can be traced back to 1814, when a room shop was set up in Market Street by Elizabeth Brown.  In 1834 it was taken over by her son, Henry, who married Betsy Muff, an Ilkley girl. The department store was founded in the 1840s (I'm sure Sir Titus Salt's wife, Caroline, must have shopped there) and thrived for many years, eventually being taken over by Rackhams in 1978.  It closed some years ago, a victim of the move to shopping malls rather than department stores and also to Bradford's decline as a centre for 'middle-class' shoppers (who now favour Leeds).

I have my own fond memories of Brown, Muff's.  When I first came to Bradford as a student in the early 1970s, the store was still the place to shop - full of beautiful clothes and other goods, with gleaming wood and brass shop fittings and an air of solid good taste.  I vividly recall one bright sunny day when a friend and I, in the middle of preparing for our exams, decided we needed a treat.  We went to Brown Muff's delicatessen, situated right on the top floor of the store, and bought olives and cooked meats and all sorts of other yummy luxuries, plus a bottle of sparkling wine, then went back to my bed-sit.  We sat on the bed in the sunshine, surrounded by revision notes, and scoffed the lot!  Revision went a lot better after that!

Snowy Saltaire

This is nothing more exciting than the gateway into the carpark in the centre of Saltaire, but a frosting of snow and a few red berries against a blue sky transformed the scene into something rather pretty.  These Victorian railings are among the few that survived WWII without being turned into armaments.  Behind the shrubs you can see Salts Mill, with the morning sunshine just lighting up its facade.  This might have to be my Christmas card next year!

(Again, this photo was taken before the heaviest snow fell. We have had no more here since Wednesday and everywhere has started to look a bit grey and dirty now.  I soon get fed up with it!)

Yorkshire Landscapes Competition

Well, the results are finally out - and my picture of Salts Wharf made it into the last ten, though not into the prizewinners.  I still think that's a good achievement though.  Thank you again, everybody, for your votes.  I was really encouraged by all your positive comments and support. The final ten photos were printed in the Telegraph and Argus newspaper today, though it hasn't filtered down to their website yet.  If you want to see the winning photo, please click here - nice bit of work in Photoshop, perhaps?  And the runners-up are here and here.  To go back to my original post about the competition, see here.

Snow joke ....

This section of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, down by the entrance to Roberts Park in Saltaire, is a popular spot for visitors.  There is usually someone there feeding the ducks and pigeons, so the birds have learned to congregate there.  With snow on the ground and ice floes in the canal, they were probably hungrier than usual - but there were few visitors about.  The ducks were milling around, more in hope than expectation.  Perhaps standing on the snow was warmer than swimming in the water.  Not much trade for the ice-cream boat either! When it's raining we say "Nice weather for ducks" - but this.... it's snow joke!
(The photo was taken before the latest snowfall.  The canal is completely frozen over now.  In fact pretty much the entire UK is covered in snow, as this satellite picture shows.)