2. Salts Mill
Salts Mill was the place that I first heard
about David Hockney, my chosen arts
hero. We decided to go after my
Grandmother recommended it. Not
only did it have Hockney’s beautiful
artwork on show, it also
had a very interesting
history of the mill. I
found the mill’s past
fascinating, and the
work of Sir Titus Salt and
Jonathan Silver inspirational.
3. History of the Mill – Sir Titus Salt
Sir Titus Salt was born in Leeds, and his
father leased a 100 acre farm where
Salt worked hard and prospered.
However in 1822, Titus’s father left the
farm to start his own business in
Bradford as a wool-stapler. Titus
decided to join him, and as a result,
learnt all about the wool trade.
4. History of the Mill – Sir Titus Salt
When he was 28, Titus invested in
some Russian wool to sell back in
England. However no-one would buy
it, due to the fact it was difficult to
process. Instead of quitting there,
Titus Salt bought his own mill and
spun the wool himself. Due to the mills
success, he bought four more in
Bradford.
5. History of the Mill – Sir Titus Salt
He married Caroline in 1830, and a few
years later he had made a great
success out of Alpaca wool. The
couple had eleven children and were
one of the richest families in Yorkshire.
6. History of the Mill – Sir Titus Salt
Titus Salt had always been aware of the
poverty of his staff. He had a vision of
‘industrial utopia’. Once he had a great
amount of success, he drew up plans
for a new mill. The Mill was to be on
the outskirts of Bradford, away from
the industrial centre, with more fresh
air and space. In 1853 the Mill was
opened on Salts 50th birthday.
7. History of the Mill – Sir Titus Salt
After the mill was built, Titus Salt went
on to create a whole village for his
workers. The village included houses,
a church, a school and a park. The
mill was built from a warm yellow
sandstone and he named the village
Saltaire. Titus Salt was a man who
really cared about his workers, not just
what they did for him.
8. History of the Mill – Sir Titus Salt
In 1869 Titus Salt was made a baronet
by Queen Victoria, making him Sir
Titus Salt, for his extraordinary efforts
with his mills. Sir Titus Salt died in
1876, the year that the last building in
Saltaire was finished. He was given a
civic funeral watched by 100,000
people.
9. History of the Mill – Jonathan
Silver
Jonathan Silver was born in Bradford in
1949. While he was not the smartest
of pupils, he showed an
entrepreneurial talent from an early
age. While working on his schools
magazine, he was given the
opportunity to meet David Hockney.
He studied Art History and Textiles at
university and by 1979 had 13 shops
across the UK.
10. History of the Mill – Jonathan
Silver
He started many other businesses but
in 1984, Silver, his wife Maggie and
their two children, sold everything they
owned and travelled the world for a
year and a half. When they returned in
1987, Silver bought Salts Mill. His
vision was to turn it into a ‘vibrant
place of art and commerce’. It
desperately need repairing in many
parts, but Silver was determined.
11. History of the Mill – Jonathan
Silver
He worked endlessly on the project,
often starting at five am and finishing
late at night. He had kept in touch with
David Hockney since meeting him and
created the 1853 Gallery to showcase
Hockneys work. He made other areas
into restaurants, shops and office
space. Jonathan Silver kept working
on Salts Mill, until his death in 1997.
12. My Visit to Salts Mill
Upon arrival, we entered the ground
floor of the Mill, the 1853 Gallery,
dedicated to Hockney’s work. What I
found interesting about this floor was
the amount of products they had on
sale, art supplies, posters, calendars,
even photography
books, of which I
bought one. Hot Shots
by Kevin Meredith.
13. My Visit to Salts Mill
Then we went to the next floor, named
Gallery 2. To get upstairs you could
take an old fashioned lift, which, while
safe, was quite scary and very jolty.
When we got there, we could read
about the history of the mill as I
described earlier. It was interesting as
this floor also had a bike shop,
mountain ware shop and a jewellery
shop, as well as a restaurant, called
Salts Diner.
14. My Visit to Salts Mill
We decided to eat lunch as Salts Diner,
where everything was themed with
David Hockney’s sketches of his dog,
Stanley. The plates featured them, the
napkins, photos on the wall, they even
sold T-Shirts with them on! The food is
rated very highly in the local area, I
had a pizza, and can clarify that it is
delicious, both my parents and sister
thoroughly enjoyed their meals too.
15. My Visit to Salts Mill
We then continued around the mill to
find a home wares shop next to the
restaurant, with a diverse range of
beautifully laid out furniture. They
seemed to sell everything, from
napkins to chairs. We then went
around Gallery 2, which was quite
similar to the 1853 Gallery. It also had
a small bookshop with a wide range
which was interesting.
16. My Visit to Salts Mill
Up the elevator again and we came to
another gallery called 25 Trees and
Other Pictures, which featured more of
Hockneys work. There is also an
antiques shop, which was very
fascinating. The rest of the mill
contains shops, including a music
shop with varieties of 17th century
instruments such as the lute, and
office space for various companies.
17. My Visit to Salts Mill
Overall I found my visit to the Mill very
interesting. I loved how there was a
mix of art and commerce at the
gallery. In fact the range of shops
alone was very diverse. It made for a
brilliant day out, and I would love to go
again. If there was one improvement I
could make to Salts Mill, it would be to
have more gallery space for local
artists to showcase their work.
18. Recommendations
I would definitely recommend this
museum to others, as its not just a
museum, it is teamed with interesting
commerce to make your visit fun and
exciting. I feel I really got to know the
mill and its history. The people behind
it were truly inspirational and it is now
home to artwork of none other than
David Hockney, who does beautiful
photography and art for you to see.
