Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Plan of Saltaire
A research document from local historian Les Brook on the history of Sir Titus Salt before the move of his business to Saltaire in 1853. In four parts: Part 1: The investigation starts with snippets of evidence […in Part 2 onwards, I try to make sense of these] 3 Part 2: The Salts’ Early Years in Bradford 12 Part 3: Titus Salt’s Bradford mills 16 Part 4: A Cartographic Summary of Titus Salt’s Bradford before Saltaire
Salt, Titus, Sir: Portrait photograph of Titus Salt in later life
Sir Titus Salt Bart. Sons & Co Limited: Front of Silver Jubillee booklet
Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Coat of arms
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SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 1 Salt before Saltaire Notes on Salt’s Bradford mills and other Salt-related locations in the city 1 Les Brook Saltaire History Club April 2024 These notes were motivated by a question. “Titus Salt had five or so mills in Bradford, but where were they?”. Then it grew: “What other places were important to Titus in his Bradford years?”. And then it grew again, but this time veering sidewards: “What’s the story of this goit alongside which so much of early industrial Bradford developed?”. This may explain any tendencies to rambling that the 2 reader might notice. > SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 2 Contents Part 1: The investigation starts with snippets of evidence […in Part 2 onwards, I try to make sense of these] 3 Part 2: The Salts’ Early Years in Bradford 12 Part 3: Titus Salt’s Bradford mills 16 Part 4: A Cartographic Summary of Titus Salt’s Bradford before Saltaire 36 THANKS and POSTSCRIPT 37 APPENDIX: THE BRADFORD GOIT AND GOITSIDE 38 ENDNOTES AND REFERENCES 41 SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 3 Part 1: The investigation starts with snippets of evidence […in Part 2 onwards, I try to make sense of these] Daniel Salt, father of Titus Salt, from numerous sources 3 1822: “In the year 1822, Titus Salt came with his parents to Bradford, he being then about nineteen years of age” . 1822: 4 “[Bradford]… [List of] Woolstapler[s]... Salt Daniel, Market street…” . But was 1822 the year the Salts arrived? Hannah Salt, the youngest child of Daniel Salt, Sir Titus’ father, and sister to Sir Titus, was baptised at Horton Lane Congregational Chapel on 27 June 1821, having been born on 14 October 1820. The abode of the parents is given as ‘Bradford’. So the Salts were in Bradford by June 1821 at the latest. Turning to Baines’ ‘History and Gazetteer of The County of York’, the dedication to which is dated by the author as 1 January 1822, Daniel Salt is listed as a woolstapler in Market Street, Bradford. The data in the Gazetteer must have taken at least a whole year, probably more, to 5 assemble and print, so it is possible that Titus Salt arrived with his parents in Bradford as early as 1820 . 6 7 1829: “[List of] Woolstapler[s]... Salt Daniel & Son, 20 Cheapside” . “There is some evidence that the firm went into yarn spinning about 1829 in order to demonstrate to conservative customers the suitability of [Donskoi wool from Russia]” 8. 1834: 9 10 Daniel retired . 1843: died . 1845: “Salt, Daniel and Son, worsted spinners, Lilly croft mill, Manningham, warehouse, 11 Piccadilly, res[idence]. North parade [sic]” . 12 From the Saltaire Collection Salt and his father had started a spinning department of their wool stapling business, using rooms in Thompson’s Mill at 13 Goitside, Thornton Road, Bradford . They had been joined in the business by Edward Salt in 1834 and shortly after this Daniel Salt retired. Within a few months Titus had also left the firm and started to work on his own account. The family partnership was dissolved in 1835. Titus Salt started his new venture at Hollings Mill and quickly acquired premises on or near Hope Street. In 1836 he took over a large mill in Union Street, whose previous owner had been Daniel Illingworth, and this 14 became the headquarters of his rapidly expanding Alpaca manufacturing. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 4 15 William Cudworth Round about Bradford Daniel Salt afterwards settled in Bradford as a wool dealer, and was for many years one of the most extensive dealers in that trade. In this business he was joined by his son Titus, the firm thenceforward being " Daniel Salt & Son". Donskoi wool was at that time exclusively used in the woollen manufacture, and the Salts were very large dealers in it. It occurred, however, to Mr. Titus Salt that it might with equal advantage be introduced into the worsted trade. He accordingly went round to the Bradford spinners, but they " turned up their noses" at it; at any rate, none of them could be induced to believe that what would make cloth was equally applicable to other descriptions of goods. Nothing therefore remained but to give up the scheme altogether, or else undertake it himself, and this Mr. Salt resolved to do. He accordingly commenced business as a spinner and manufacturer at Thompson's Mill, Silsbridge Lane, Bradford, subsequently occupying Hollings' Mill, Brick Lane Mill, Beecroft Mill, and Union Street Mill, besides giving out weaving by commission. It will thus be seen that Mr. Salt's commercial experiment with the Donskoi wool led to most important results, inasmuch as on leaving Bradford he had become one of the principal employers in the worsted trade. 16 Balgarnie’s Salt with commentary and additions by Barlo & Shaw What was to be done with the [Donskoi wool] on hand, was the problem that perplexed the [Daniel Salt] firm, and which Mr. Titus set himself to solve. He resolved that instead of asking the manufacturers to purchase it, he would utilise it himself. For this purpose he took “Thompson’s Mill,” Silsbridge Lane, Bradford, and having fitted it with suitable machinery, he proceeded to spin the Donskoi wool into yarn, and weave it into fabric. The result of the experiment was entirely successful; the fabric produced was such as to astonish and convince the most sceptical of its commercial value, and to place him in an enviable position before his fellow-townsmen. Successful in this first experiment, he added a larger factory in Union Street. Trade grew so rapidly under his hands that in a few years he was carrying on, not only the two mills above mentioned, but also Hollings’ Mill, Brick Lane Mill, and one in Fawcett Court. His intention when he commenced the manufacturing business, was to confine himself to spinning. This course he pursued for some time, and disposed of his yarns to the Messrs. Fison; but some misunderstanding having arisen with that firm, he, with his characteristic decision, resolved “to spin and weave for himself.” This is probably the source of the commonly quoted assertion that Salt had five mills in Bradford before moving to Saltaire. However, I have found no evidence that Salt used five mills simultaneously. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 5 Moreover, I have found no evidence that Salt owned all the mills referred to. (It is clear from general reading about the mills in Bradford at this time that it was commonplace for industrialists to use mills owned by others and indeed, that several mills were built in order to be let). An 1871 article by James Burnley includes the statement that, before Saltaire, “[Titus Salt] was carrying on at two or three 17 18 small factories in Bradford”, not five . This ties in with reports in two 1849 editions of the Bradford Observer . They tell us that “The Workpeople of Mr. Titus Salt, at Holling’s Mill…”, at Union Street Mills and at Beecroft’s Mill had made donations to Bradford Infirmary. No mention of Thompson’s or Brick Lane or Hope Street. However, in Collinson’s West Riding Worsted Directory of 1851 (see below), Hope Street is added to the list. 19 1849: Salt instals smoke-reduction apparatus in two mills According to a Bradford Observer correspondent, these improvements were made to Salt’s mills in Union Street and Nelson Street. 1851 Collinson, Burton & Co’s West Riding worsted directory ALPHABETICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE WOOLSTAPLERS, SPINNERS, MANUFACTURERS, MERCHANTS, DYERS, MACHINE MAKERS, &c., &c., RESIDING IN THE BOROUGH OF BRADFORD, AND OTHERS ATTENDING THE BRADFORD MARKET... Salt Titus, spinner, mohair, alpaca, and stuff manufacturer: works, Union-street, Hope-street, Beecroft and Hollings' mills : office Union-street, res. Crow-nest, 20 Lightcliffe. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 6 21 Jack Reynolds The Great Paternalist 22 In summary, Reynolds tells us that Daniel Salt (aged 41) moved to Bradford in 1822 . House on North Parade. Had money to invest from sale of 100 acre farm at Crofton, Wakefield. Woolstapler: took office in Market Street. 1823: with brother (Leeds 23 24 ironfounder) bought land in Cheapside and built warehouse in Cross Street . Later built another warehouse in Piccadilly. 25 His was one of the largest in Bradford . Later (after 1834) had house further out on Manningham Lane (a continuation of North Parade). 26 After Titus’s marriage (1829 ), Caroline and he also had a house in North Parade, “a continuation of Manor Row, quite near to his father’s house”. Then, between 1836 and 1843, they had a home at the junction of Thornton Road and Little Horton 27 Lane . 28 Titus Salt came to Bradford in ~1821 after working in Wakefield with woolstapler “Mr. Jackson” . He then spent 2 years working for William Rouse and Sons under the instruction of John Hammond. Balgarnie is eloquent about the very close 29 30 relationship between Salt and Hammond, and with the Rouse family . William Rouse and Sons 1815: partnering with James Wade and Son, William Rouse and Sons built Bradford’s ninth mill (in this context, ‘mill’ means 31 32 ‘factory powered by steam’), at Canal Side . In 1829, Pigot records “Wade James, Son & Co. Mill street, Canal side” . Mill Street is later linked to Rouse. It was located close to the Bradford Canal – so we can take it that the 1815 mill was in Mill Street. 1822: “Wm. Rouse & Son”, located at ‘Canal Side’, appears in the 1822 Baines’ Gazetteer. This also records “Manufacturers attending the Piece Hall with their Inns houses [sic] in Bradford… 33 Rouse William & Son, Nag's Head… Salt, Daniel Do. [ie Nag’s Head]” 1824: the 18th mill in James’ list of 1833 mills is a Rouse mill: “When built: 1824-26. Situation: Canal Side. Occupiers in 34 1833: William Rouse & son… [Mill]18.-built and occupied by William Rouse & Son” . 1829: “Worsted Manufacturers… Rouse William & Son, 36 Commercial street” “Worsted Spinners… Rouse William & Son, 36 35 Commercial street” . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 7 1833: “in the Factory Commission report of 1833 data was collected from three Rouse Mills [my emphasis], the oldest at 36 Canal Side being built in 1815” . 1845: “Rouse, William and Sons, worsted spinners and stuff manufacturers, Mill street, res[idence]. Eastbrook House… 37 38 39 Worsted Spinners, &c… Rouse, Wm. and Sons, Mill street, Canal road, and Market st.” . 1847: “in the 1840s, after the death of old William Rouse, a long and costly Chancery suit, following a dispute between the three remaining Rouse brothers, caused the mill to be closed down for two years and created much distress among the hands. By order of the Court the mill was divided and auctioned in 1847, the larger part being knocked down to Titus Salt who, to everyone's surprise, was found to be simply bidding on behalf of William Rouse Junior. The mill once again flourished and 40 James Hammond became William Rouse's partner” . 41 Bradford’s “unconsidered trifles” records this about old William Rouse and his successors: William Rouse snr. (1765-1843) was a significant name in Bradford textile history. He developed a wool combing factory in the years before this process was mechanised. With his son John (1794-1838) he employed hundreds of hand combers who worked for him producing the wool ‘tops’ that were needed for the worsted process. By the time of William’s death the writing was on the wall for the poorly paid hand combers whose trade was effectively destroyed by mechanical combs in the 1850s. It is known that the business continued despite the deaths of William and John. The 1853 White’s Leeds & the Clothing District Directory does not record Holdsworth Street as a Bradford thoroughfare name, but does mention a William Rouse, spinner & manufacturer, of West Lodge, Great Horton Road. His company is Wm. Rouse & Sons, Old Market & Canal Road. So there clearly was a William Rouse jnr. (1809-1868) who succeeded his father. In the 1851 census Rouse reported employing 400 combers, 100 boys & 150 girls… By the time of the 1879 PO Bradford Directory Holdsworth Street did exist but an unnamed ‘mill yard’ is the only relevant entry it boasts. Wm. Rouse & Sons, manufacturer, are still trading and are now placed at North Brook Street Mills… North Brook Street joins Canal Road… North Brook Mills are mentioned in Yorkshire Textile Mills 1779-1930… Unfortunately it had already been demolished when the mill survey was undertaken in the early 1990s. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 8 42 Jack Reynolds The Great Paternalist (again) In summary: Salt and his father started a spinning department of their woolstapler’s firm in rooms in “Thompson’s Mill at the Goitside” where they shared facilities with Jowett and Smith and Robert Waud. Shortly after, Daniel retired and soon after that, Titus Salt started up on his own account (probably) at Hollings Mill in the Goitside. He quickly acquired further premises in or near Hope Street. By 1836, he had taken over a large mill in Union Street, just inside the Horton township. “It became the headquarters of a rapidly increasing alpaca empire to which were added three other mills before 1850”. ”He seems to have concentrated the work of the various mills by process or by product”. “… preliminary processes, including sorting and machine and hand combing, were controlled from Union Street where administration and financial matters were also seen to”. 43 Bradford Council’s Goitside Conservation Area Assessment The area around the goit and beck formed the site of Bradford’s earliest industrial development, which was the basis of the settlement’s wealth, influence and prestige during much of the 19th century. Holme Mill, the first factory in Bradford, was 44 constructed alongside the goit , on a meadow known as the Holme, at the turn of the 19th century. Following this a number of mills, factories and foundries, along with associated housing, were constructed in the vicinity… 45 According to James, Thompson’s Mill is likely to have been the second mill built in Bradford . This was constructed on the piece of land between Silsbridge Lane and the mill goit, which was purchased by Matthew and William Thompson in 1800, with the mill opening in around 1803. The Thompsons were the nephews of Benjamin Peile, who owned a dyeworks on Bradford Beck. The mill was originally a spinning mill, though expansion and redevelopment of the site over the course of the 19th 46 century mean that nothing of the original spinning mill remains (Sheeran, 2005 ). Thompson’s Mill, and consequently the goitside, had a strong association with Titus Salt. The weaving shed to the south of the goit provided room and power for the 47 weaving department of Salt’s firm, when it was still based in Bradford proper . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 9 48 John James History of the Worsted Manufacture in England James gives us this wonderful table of Bradford’s early mills. In addition: * “On the 25th of March, 1804, Messrs. Ramsbotham and Swaine's extensive worsted-mill (the first 49 erected at Bradford) was nearly destroyed by fire” . Re-built, it was sold to Richard Fawcett soon after. * Thompson’s Mill was built by the dyer Peile “at two different periods, being in fact two mills”. * “3.- Union Street mill, built by Mr Richard Fawcett, and occupied by him until about the year 1832. The mill built in 1830 adjoins to the other, and was erected by Messrs. Illingworth & Murgatroyd”. *“11- Union Street mill was built by Messrs. Wroe and occupied by them” * Note that this means there were three ‘Union 50 Street mills’ * Note also that William Rouse & Sons’ Canal Side mills appear in the table. * The 1826 “Silsbridge Lane” mill is Holling’s Mill. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 10 51 Ibbetson’s Directory 1850 “Worsted Spinners and Manufacturers… Salt Titus, spinner (mohair and alpaca), and stuff manufacturer, Brook street; works Union street, and Silsbridge lane ; house Crow Nest, Lightcliffe”. 52 Reports of the 1851 Great Exhibition’s juries . Occasionally, sources (such as Ibbetson) make minimal reference to raw materials (eg alpaca) used by Salt as well as some broad product categories (eg worsted), but in 1851, just as the construction of his Saltaire mill commenced, an external body summarised and assessed Salt’s principal products. 1851 was also the year of the Great Exhibition, the Exhibition of The Works of Industry of All Nations, at the Crystal Palace in London. Salt submitted a range of products in Class XII, Woollen and Worsted Manufactures. Subsequently, the reports of all the juries were published. The Class XII jury said this about the entry of Salt, Titus, Manufacturer, Bradford, Yorkshire: For a complete series of alpaca and mohair manufactures - (a branch of business carried on almost exclusively in England, - which illustrate, very strikingly, the great capabilities of these materials. The articles are of much variety, including fabrics composed of alpaca with cotton warps, and with silk warps yarn-dyed, and dyed in the piece: they are plain, twilled, figured, and Chinés, or made with printed warps. There are, also, goods composed of mohair with similar combinations. All are characterised by peculiar lustre and brilliancy, equal in many cases to silk; they are also remarkable for regularity of texture, softness, and fineness. It may be confidently stated that similar goods have never before been produced; and the great increase in the consumption of articles of this description among all classes of the community, renders the display an interesting and important one. Mr. Salt was one of the first to introduce alpaca wool into the Bradford trade, and by his enterprise and skill has mainly contributed to the extent and perfection which this department of industry has attained. In addition to the articles already mentioned, Mr. Salt exhibits an assortment of moreens used for furniture hangings; one series being made from English wool, and the other from the Russian Donskoi fleece wool. Both are worthy of notice for the perfection of their manufacture; the latter, especially so, considering the difficulties in the way of successfully working up so coarse a material, which had never been combed prior to Mr. Salt having effected that object. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 11 Not quite ‘Salt before Saltaire’… After Salts Mill was built, Titus Salt and Sons Co maintained a 53 warehouse at Well Street in the centre of Bradford which was close to, and to the SW of, St Peters Church/Bradford Cathedral (see 54 map, right ) In 1861, we know that Salts shared number 30 with several other firms, including the Fosters of Black Dyke Mill (see 55 below) . 56 Below right is 30 Well Street today though the buildings pictured 57 are likely to be those designed by Eli Milnes in ~1865 . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 12 Part 2: The Salts’ Early Years in Bradford In this, and Part 3, I will now try to make sense of the evidence presented so far. Titus Salt at William Rouse and Sons and Daniel Salt and Son 58 As we have seen , Daniel Salt, woolstapler and Titus’s father, moved to Bradford around 1820. Reynold says that his office 59 was in Market Street . Titus probably came to Bradford in 1820 and worked for the Rouses before joining his father’s firm two years later. It seems reasonable to assume that the 17-year-old Titus lived with his family at their house, no doubt the one on North Parade where we know Daniel and Grace were living 60 when they first arrived and where they 61 were still living in 1829 . After their marriage in 1829, Titus and Caroline took a house in North Parade, quite near his parents. By 1836, they were living at the junction of Thornton Road and Little Horton Lane. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 13 In 1823, Daniel and his brother bought land. In this same year, there is a reference to Daniel purchasing land in Cheapside, and he is 62 said to have built a small warehouse in Cross Street . It seems likely that these all refer to just one land purchase, by the Salt brothers, in one location: as the map (right) shows, Cross Street and Cheapside are connected. Daniel is recorded as working at number 20 Cheapside in 1829. Nine other woolstaplers and many other trades were amongst his 63 64 neighbours . By 1845 , when he had been retired for ~11 years, his company “Salt, Daniel and Son, worsted spinners” was at Lilly 65 Croft Mill, Manningham , with a warehouse in Piccadilly. This warehouse seems to have been built well before 1845 and was his major business location. I suspect this was the warehouse which Reynolds says “was one of the largest in Bradford at the time”. We can be confident that Daniel’s son Titus would have been familiar with all of these locations. William Rouse and Sons, the company that Titus joined, was well established. In 1815, they already had a factory, at Canal 66 Side. When Titus joined, the company was “rapidly rising into prosperity” . This was Bradford boomtime and by 1824 the Rouses would be building a further mill, Bradford’s 18th. It too was at Canal Side. This place name appears to refer to the Bradford end of the Bradford Canal where there are four locations linked to their firm. These are Canal Road, Holdsworth Street, Commercial Street and North Brook Street, the latter three being streets near the canal’s terminus and close to Bradford city centre. All three adjoined Canal Road, a major thoroughfare which still exists today. Titus must have spent much of his two Rouse years at Canal Side which was only a 10 minute walk from his North Parade home. He may also have worked at Old Market (the company’s office?), in effect the junction of Westgate and Kirkgate, right in the centre of the city and only 5 minutes from home. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 14 Titus retained a great regard both for the Hammonds and William Rouse jr. Early in his solo career he offered John Hammond a partnership. Later, when the Rouse family were at war, he put his own money on the line to secure significant Rouse property for Rouse jr, who then brought John Hammond into partnership. The Salts’ Congregational Chapels 67 “On coming to Bradford, [Titus Salt’s] family connected themselves with Horton Lane Chapel” says Balgarnie and for both 68 Daniel and Titus, this was not mere churchgoing. Both were very active lay members of congregations that became pivotal in Bradford’s political and municipal development. Both chapels were cornerstones of their Bradford lives. (Little) Horton Lane Congregational Chapel (?1782 - ~1960s) Little Horton Lane Congregational Chapel was opened in 1782 and demolished in the 1960's. Glyde House (below left) was originally the 69 Sunday School with the Chapel immediately to its north-east . 70 A rare image of the church is on the right , looming above Queen Victoria’s statue. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 15 Salem Chapel (built 1834-6) “The increase of the congregation in Horton Lane Chapel and the consequent insufficiency of accommodation had been long felt before, in 1835, a new chapel was resolved on. The building was opened in 1836, by sermons from Rev. R. W. Hamilton, 71 Theophilus Lessey, and Dr. Raffles. The cost of the building was about £7,000” . “Salem Chapel opened in 1835 and among 72 its first members were the Salts…” . At the junction of Manor Row and Salem Street, Salem Chapel is now Kenburgh House. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 16 Part 3: Titus Salt’s Bradford mills Thompson’s Mill This was the Salt family’s first mill, the location of Daniel Salt and Son’s spinning department. Whilst it was the first mill that they used, there’s no evidence that they owned it. The date of the Salts’ move to Thompson’s is not known, but Reynolds says it was probably around 1829 - and it was certainly before 1834 because that was when Edward Salt joined the family firm at 73 this same mill. Around 1835, Titus left both the firm and Thompson’s Mill . Curiously, I have not been able to find ‘Thompson’s Mill’ on any Bradford maps. Nor does it appear in the many lists that name, and then explain in some detail, the location of mills that are often of much less historical significance than Thompson’s 74. However our search for Thompson’s gets a helping hand from the sources quoted above and from Cudworth’s piece on the history of Thompson’s below. The mill was 75 • on Silsbridge Lane, Bradford 76 • at Goitside, Thornton Road, Bradford 77 • at the Goitside 78 • on the piece of land between Silsbridge Lane and the mill goit 79 • in the fields on the high side of the Goit . These references are not at odds. The goit runs along land with a pronounced incline. Silsbridge Lane was on the high side of the goit. However, the distance between goit and Lane is over 150m in most places 80 so the mill could have been situated some distance from the Lane – and actually much nearer to another significant thoroughfare, Thornton Road. Whilst our sources are not identifying the location of the mill precisely, the area in which it will be found is clear and it is not large. Moreover we have a detailed description of the mill’s origins. William Cudworth - the local historian writing about C19th Bradford in the C19th - identifies Thompson’s Mill in his Round About Bradford and tells its story. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 17 Matthew and Benjamin Thompson were the sons of the Rev. John Thompson, incumbent of Castleford… At about the 81 ages of fourteen and twelve respectively, the brothers Matthew and Benjamin were sent to Bradford , there to take part in the active business of life, being entrusted to the care of their uncle, Mr. Benjamin Peile, who was a dyer. To this business Matthew Thompson was brought up, while his brother Benjamin was apprenticed with Mr. Richard Fawcett to the worsted trade. That business, which has since so conduced to Bradford's greatness, was, however, then in the "day of small things." [sic] The work, such as it was, was done by hand, and there was not a single factory in the town! In 1798 Messrs. Ramsbotham & Co. erected one in Thornton Road of fifteen-horse power, and three years after one was erected in the Holme for Mr. Richard Fawcett. In 1803 the brothers Thompson, having acquired a knowledge sufficient to justify them in "setting up" business, commenced worsted spinning in partnership with their uncle in a mill built for them by Mr. Peile, who, being a bachelor, had in a measure adopted them, and chose this mode of furthering the interests of his charge. The mill was of twenty-horse power, and was situate in the fields on the high side of the Goit. These premises, still called Thompson's Mill [in 1876], have been greatly extended by the present owner, Mr. M. W. Thompson 82 . There is much overlap here with what is said in the Goitside Conservation Area Assessment. Not surprising, because Cudworth is a much-quoted, unique and trusted source. But the Assessment adds that “… Thompson’s Mill is likely to have been the second mill built in Bradford” and not the third as Cudworth implies. Early historian John James certainly identifies Thompson’s 83 Mill as second which makes it historically significant. And the fact that the mill was so early means that, if there are maps of the early 1800s when Bradford was very small and large factories were few and far between, we are likely to gather some helpful prompts from them. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 18 This is from a map of Bradford 84 dated 1800 . Silsbridge Lane is marked 1, the “MILL RACE OR 85 GOIT” 2, and Bradford Beck 3 . On Silsbridge Lane, there are a few buildings. On the top side of the goit, there’s a solitary building (or buildings?) G, and a further building or buildings B on the Beck. We will explore Thompson’s Shed next but at this stage note that its future site shares with G a distinctive rectangular parcel of land, most likely a farm field and perhaps, “the piece of land between Silsbridge Lane and the mill goit” referred to in the Goitside Conservation Area 86 Assessment ? Reader, please note… This map and its numbers/letters will be referred to again later. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 19 Thompson Shed In the evidence presented above, no mention is made of Thompson Shed – but since we have so little to go on to pin-point Thompson’s Mill, the name ‘Thompson’ and the location of the Shed cannot be ignored. It is a large building which is named on the 1908 25” OS 87 map . It stood on Silsbridge Lane, by this time re-named 88 as Grattan Road. What do we know about the Shed? Not much, though a couple of sources identify it 89 as a mill . And we know (from the ~1800 map) that it shares the same, distinctive, rectangular parcel of land as G - but the Shed was not there in ~1800 whilst G was. 90 On this 1908 map, G (immediately south of the Shed) is identified as “Woollen Mills” . The original parcel of land stretched from the Lane to the goit, the line of which is here named (in the tiniest of letters) as “GOIT SIDE”. The parcel would likely have been purchased as a unit and therefore there’s a chance that the Shed and the building immediately to its south originally had 91 common ownership . We may be closing in on the location of Thompson’s Mill! SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 20 Because it (uniquely?) features Thompson’s Shed, we have already looked at the 1908 OS map. Now we need to look at an 92 earlier OS map (~1850 ) to see what this area was like when Salt’s entire business was located in Bradford. The area is heavily urbanised, much changed since ~1800. The known location of Thompson Shed (red block, on Silsbridge Road in green) is occupied by several buildings which are not identified. Immediately to the south of that red block is B, Thompson’s Mill. It is labelled Mill with what I take to be Wor, an abbreviation for 93 ‘worsted’. Also worthy of note on this map is a mill immediately across the goit to the south of Thompson’s Mill (B). Watch out for WS below! SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 21 “Salt and his father had started a spinning department of their wool stapling business, using rooms in 94 Thompson’s Mill at Goitside, Thornton Road, Bradford” The Saltaire Collection’s website gives “Goitside, Thornton Road” as the location of Thompson’s Mill. In Salt’s day the course of Thornton Road was much as it is now - between the 95 goit 2 and Bradford Beck 3 . No doubt the Collection found this address in John James’ list (on the right) identifying all the 96 mills that existed in Bradford in 1833 . James has the “SITUATION” of Matthew Thompson’s mill not on Silsbridge Lane but on “Thornton Road”. This is plausible because of what was said earlier. Silsbridge Lane is on the high side of the goit but the distance between goit and Lane is over 150m in most places. So Thompson’s Mill may have been situated some distance from the Lane. Indeed, if it were on the goit itself, the mill would have been closer to Thornton Road than to the Lane. This adds weight to the proposition that the solitary building or buildings at location G on the goit itself on that very early (1800) map, is Thompson’s Mill. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 22 Holme Mill: Bradford’s first There appears to be no connection between Salt and Bradford’s first mill, Holme Mill, but whilst undertaking this research it was difficult not to discover information about Holme. And as it happens, that information may help us to firm up the location of Thompson’s Mill. James’ list of mills (copied above) is spectacularly unhelpful in identifying where Holme Mill was. Holme Mill’s “SITUATION” is said to be ‘Holme Mill’! But James also tells us that “the land adjoining between the Mill-race and the Beck was anciently called the Holme (signifying a piece of 97 ground enclosed by water) [sic]” . “Enclosed by water” does not describe location G: there is no water to the north of G. But it does describe B which sits on the Beck with the goit to the north. Unfortunately, that conflicts with what the Assessment says: that “Holme Mill, the first factory in Bradford, was constructed alongside 98 the goit” . However, the Assessment is in turn contradicted by a further source, a list of mills which supplies co-ordinates for what it believes is the 99 actual location of Holme Mill . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 23 The left-hand image applies those co- ordinates, the blue teardrop pin-pointing the alleged mill site. Note that it is south of Thornton Road and on the Beck not the goit. But then the Assessment says that “Holme Mill was constructed by Messrs Ramsbottom [sic], Swaine and Murgatroyd in 1800, close 100 to the present Holmfield Street” and, as the right-hand map shows, that suggests Holme Mill’s location is north of Thornton Road! The right-hand map also shows that there are two ‘Holme’ streets. Westholme Street is south of Thornton Road and close to the Beck. Moreover, ‘close to the present Westholme Street’ is consistent with the location shown on the left-hand map. It seems to me that the blue teardrop is likely 101 to give the best indication of Holme Mill’s actual location not least because of the existence on the ~1800 map of a literally outstanding building (B) in exactly that position – and no building at all in the location favoured by the Assessment. Metaphorically outstanding too. Bradford’s first mill would surely have a claim to a place on that map. But perhaps the most telling evidence for the Assessment being wrong is that, fixed to the Culture Fusion building (see right- 102 hand map above), there is a heritage plaque commemorating Holme Mill ! Having rejected some of its account, I am not above cherry-picking one further Assessment statement which sounds plausible: “Following [the building of Holme Mill] a number of mills, factories and foundries, along with associated housing, were 103 constructed in the vicinity” . And if Bradford’s second mill, Thompson’s was located at G, it would appear to be very much “in the vicinity”. 104 G is only ~125m from Holme . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 24 Thompson’s Mill continued: “when [Salt’s firm] was still based in Bradford proper”, “Thompson’s Mill, and consequently the goitside, had a strong association with Titus Salt. The weaving shed to the south of the goit 105 provided room and power for the weaving department” This statement has the potential to give us the final piece of the Thompson’s Mill jigsaw. The Assessment indicates that part of Thompson’s Mill - the weaving shed - was south of the goit. This is plausible, not least because the 1852 OS map on the right shows there is a large building (marked WS by me on this extract to the right) south of the original site of Thompson’s Mill (G). It stands between the goit and Thornton Road. If Thompson’s had the need to expand, what better than doing so next door? There is therefore this possibility: that in the early 1830s, the spinning department of Daniel Salt and Son was located in Thompson’s Mill (G) and that, at a later unknown date, Titus Salt’s company occupied the building (WS) next door to Thompson’s Mill for the purposes of weaving. After ‘discovering’ this, I found that others had gone before me: [Thompson's Mill] was built over two separate periods, the first, a worsted spinning mill was built to the North of the mill goit and commenced production in 1803. The second half was a worsted weaving shed and built [later] to the South of the spinning mill on the opposite side of the mill goit… [Titus Salt] leased part of Thompson's spinning mill, whilst working for his fathers [sic] business, and successfully spun the [Donskoi] wool…Eventually he would spin it under his own name at Hollings Mill…, his first mill when he went into business on his own account following his father’s retirement in 1834…Titus went on to weave worsted cloth at Thompson's Mill weaving shed under a 'Room and Power' agreement before eventually moving his entire workforce out of Bradford to the new model industrial village of 106 Saltaire... . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 25 107 Moreover, the 1852 OS town plan of Bradford seals the deal as it were. Both ‘Thompson’s Mill (Worsted)’ and ‘Thompson’s Mill (Worsted) Weaving Shed’ are marked on either side of the goit, and even more important ‘Thompson’s Buildings’ is splashed north to south along the rectangular parcel of land. It could not be much clearer that, earlier in the century and/or late in the last, the Thompson dynasty purchased the lot as they became key players in the founding of Worstedopolis. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 26 Thompson’s Mill: Summary We now return to the ~1800 map with a cartographic summary of what has been found. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 27 Thompson’s Mill: A researcher’s lament I started the Thompson’s section of these notes with this statement: Curiously, I have not been able to find ‘Thompson’s Mill’ on any Bradford maps. Nor does it appear in the many lists that name, and then explain in some detail, the location of mills that are often of much less historical significance than Thompson’s. As a result, I have spent a great deal of time using multiple scraps of information to identify the mill’s location to my satisfaction. As soon as that was completed, a fellow local historian wrote to me about the goit. Rose Reeve included a document in which 108 she described what she found when walking the goit west to east in 2012 . And when she reached the neighbourhood of Tetley Street, formerly Prospect Street, the western boundary of that early C19th, small, rectangular parcel of land, she recorded this: At Soho Street walk down to Thornton Road, turn left, and then left again into Tetley Street, where the other end of the gated stretch [of the goit] can be found. Opposite this is the site of Thompson’s Mill, which burned down in October 2011. This site is being demolished and cleared, and the works have exposed a length of the goit between Tetley Street and the NCP car park which is at the top of Goit Side. The goit is gated at Tetley Street The goit is visible on the Thompson’s Mill site SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 28 So author Rose not only visited Thompson’s Mill (G, on the high side of the goit) in 2012 but (unlike me) she knew precisely where Thompson’s Mill was – and that it had been destroyed in 2011. This in turn led to further searches, this time for images of Thornton’s Mill . And what a bonanza, starting with a heritage plaque! Photographer Mark Davis took a series of photos just before arson assassinated G 109.The plaque was on the northern side of 110 the mill, on Sunbridge Road . Mark’s interior photos paint a vivid picture of the workplaces that launched Bradford on the road to Worstedopolis. And you are looking at an actual room in which young Titus embarked on the road to legendary status! In this image, Thompson’s is the taller, darker building to the left. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 29 111 And finally, a fellow historian then drew to my attention a 1936 aerial view of Goitside on which I was able to identify Thompson’s Mill (G) and show it in a context which will be reasonably familiar to today’s Bradfordians. The other features in the photo are • three principal streets, 1 Grattan Road (formerly Silsbridge Lane) 2 Sunbridge Road 3 Thornton Road • and two significant buildings that still exist, O the Odeon cinema, now re-purposed as Bradford Live WW Woolston Warehouse (now flats). For non-Bradfordians, the Odeon is very much part of central Bradford. Its frontage (to the right in the photo) is at the very end of Thornton Road and you can walk from there to City Hall in less than 4 minutes. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 30 In search of Union Street… “In 1836 he took over a large mill in Union Street, whose previous owner had been Daniel Illingworth” “[Titus Salt] added a larger factory in Union Street… Trade grew so rapidly under his hands that in a few years he was carrying on, not only the two mills above mentioned [Thompson’s and Union Street], but also Hollings’ Mill, Brick Lane Mill, and one in Fawcett Court” 112 “He quickly acquired further premises in or near Hope Street” Union Street features three times in James’ list of Bradford’s oldest mills. These include the third oldest in Bradford 113 (construction started 1807), the eleventh (1818), and finally one in 1830 . It seems clear that it is this last Union Street mill that Titus Salt occupied. It was built and initially occupied by Illingworth and Murgatroyd. Salt had strong political connections 114 with both . 115 Reynolds says that the premises in Union Street became “the headquarters of a rapidly increasing alpaca empire” . 116 Ibbetson’s 1845 directory confirms Salt to be at Union Street in that year . In 1856, an advertisement in the Bradford Observer shows Salt offering some of these 117 premises “TO BE LET” . This indicates that a significant amount of Union Street property - an 80 horse power factory, “extensive warehouses” and a “large new” warehouse - was owned by Salt. The last two premises were “lately in the occupation of Messrs. Titus Salt, Sons and Company”. So now we have evidence that, 3 years after the completion of the mill at Saltaire, Salt had “lately” been operating a mill and 118 warehouses in Bradford. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 31 Not only that but the advert makes clear that ‘Union Street’ was big, and the maps of the time suggest that the term ‘Union Street’ may well have been used to refer to part or all of a large, more or less self-contained, industrial estate. On this extract from the 1852 OS town map Bradford 119, I have outlined it in yellow. It was big enough to include: 3 worsted mills at least 3 chimneys warping rooms 8 combing rooms a sorting room a wash house 2 weighing machines 2 reservoirs a cistern a boiler shed a timber yard stables and a large building called Bolton’s Place, plus the Neptune Inn and the Sion 120 chapel and school! This map also reinforces that ‘Union Street’ was very close to other Salt mills - at Fawcett Court (F), Nelson Street (N), and 121 “in or near Hope Street” (H) . It was also close to Titus Salt’s family house in the 1830s (in the area marked TS) and his 122 beloved (Little) Horton Lane Chapel (HC) . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 32 But Union Street may have had even greater significance for Salt than simply being his Bradford HQ. In May 1845, the Bradford Woolcombers Society set up a committee to report on their trade’s housing conditions. In June 1845, the Bradford Observer wrote about the meeting at which the evidence was presented 123. As can be seen from this cutting, it included references to Union Street and Nelson Court, locations closely connected with Salt - and its content was stark. The report had an immediate effect. Several prominent men called for a town meeting and from that a committee was established. Salt was a member. Regrettably, concerns over other matters, such as the proposed 10-hour Bill, were to steal the subsequent 124 headlines . But, for Salt, it was conditions like these that were a key factor in his migration to Saltaire – and most importantly, in the construction of a ‘model village’ which was the polar opposite of Bradford’s appalling conditions. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 33 125 Hollings’ Mill or Holling's Mill or Hollings Mill? Firstly, Hollings’ Mill. This version of the name is found in Balgarnie but elsewhere I have only been able to find references to Holling’s Mill and Hollings Mill. So, to Holling’s Mill. The location of this mill, north of Legrams Lane 126 (see map to left ), does not commend it as a Salt’s mill. It is in a very different part of town from the Union Street complex. 127 Thirdly, Hollings Mill, pictured right . This is highly significant in Titus Salt’s career as an entrepreneur: his first mill working on his own account. Moreover, as the 128 photo above shows, it still exists – the only Salt’s mill left in the City of Bradford! It is on Lower Grattan Road, ie part of . 129 what was Silsbridge Lane, the latter being the “SITUATION” quoted by James . If more evidence were needed, the area it inhabits adds to the conviction that this is the Hollings Mill used by Salt. It is in Goitside, sitting only 0.5m from those Salt’s mills in Bradford the locations of which we can identify with some confidence. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 34 The view of Hollings Mill above, seen from Lower Grattan Road, belies its size. The mill is uphill from Thornton Road, and looking at it from there (right) shows it to be very large indeed. However, the mill has changed significantly since the mid-C19th. The 1852 OS map of Silsbridge Lane (above) suggests that the western end of this complex was not the rectangular building we see here. And there is a problem with this being a Salt’s mill, in 1845 at least. Adolphus Tremel, stuff manufacturer and a resident of Eldon Place, occupied Hollings Mill in that year, which might suggest that Salt did not. Moreover, in that year, Salt is recorded in Ibbetson’s directory as 130 occupying Union Street and only Union Street . This does not seem plausible and a report in an 1849 edition of the Bradford Observer tells us that “The Workpeople of Mr. Titus Salt, at Holling’s Mill…” (and at Union Street Mills and Beecroft’s Mill) made donations to Bradford 131 Infirmary . In addition, we learn from the testimony of Henry Stolworthy that his father John was working for Salt at Hollings from ~1843 right through to ~1853. Moreover, Henry tells us that from 1843 his family actually “lived in the [Hollings] mill yard, and the keys of the mill used to be left at our house”. The Stolworthy/Salt link was not broken in ~1853. Both John and Henry went to 132 work at Saltaire and the family moved there . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 35 Brick Lane Mill 133 Brick Lane Mill, pictured right , is marked on the 1852 OS map below. Although close to Thornton Road, it was further out of Bradford than any of Salt’s mills, half a mile from Hollings, and just under a mile from Union Street. We have the two statements above indicating Salt used this mill – but there is no evidence in support of them. 134 Beecroft Mill I cannot find this mill. Could it be Beehive Mills? This was very close to both Hollings and Thompson’s, but it was not a Salt’s mill. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 36 Part 4: A Cartographic Summary of Titus Salt’s Bradford before Saltaire 135 This summary map can be viewed in greater detail by following the link in this endnote . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 37 THANKS and POSTSCRIPT Many people have helped me put this together. They include Derek Barker, Colin Coates, Mark Davis, Chris Hand, Mark Hill, Rose Reeve and Dave Shaw as well as the authors of the numerous books/booklets/websites etc that I’ve consulted. Thank you! A couple of issues arose as I learned more about Bradford in the C19th and, in an ideal world, they would have been tackled in these notes. The first is that there were innumerable warehouses in Bradford at the time and that they were of considerable importance. For example, woolstaplers like Daniel Salt were key players in the city’s textile industry and operated from warehouses, not mills. But (as we have seen) the great millowners like Salt also had warehouses. In the case of Salts Mill which was a vertical mill – meaning it encompassed all the clothmaking processes - warehousing was a feature of the mill itself, and I can’t imagine that was any different to a very significant number of the later, second and third generation mills. The second issue that I haven’t tackled is the multi-occupation of mills, and warehouses for that matter. It’s common to come across mills in multi-occupation – and that links to a further issue: that use and ownership are not one and the same. James knew this: it is reflected in his table of the earliest of mills which includes an ‘Occupied by’ column. And it has become clear to me that, as the C19th progressed, many entrepreneurs went into industrial property – and that included buildings factories specifically to rent. It would also be valuable to identify those locations that were of significance to the public Salt… the philanthropist, the campaigner, the mayor, the MP etc etc. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 38 APPENDIX: THE BRADFORD GOIT AND GOITSIDE The Bradford goit or mill race is a fascinating feature that makes an appearance several times in our search for Salt’s Bradford mills. It deserves its own section in this story. The goit is mediaeval in origin. Its purpose was to redirect water from Bradford Beck to power the water wheels of one or more manorial water 136 mills. The ‘soke mill’ which was later called Queen’s Mill “stood above Aldermanbury for centuries”. This was in the very heart of old, and new, Bradford. Remarkably, given C19th Bradford’s dramatic urbanisation, it was not until 1870 that Bradford Corporation bought out the feudal rights from the Ladies of the Manor, Mary and Elizabeth Rawson. The 137 138 mill was only demolished in 1871 . This 1828 map shows a building clearly marked ‘Soke Mill’. However, Industrial Heritage Online says that there was a fulling mill alongside – and we shall see later that this is correct. The map shows the tailrace returning water back to the Beck. And it is, I think, unique both in identifying the mill’s dam and that the 139 Soke Mill was built on the mill pond . SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 39 Unfortunately for the researcher wishing to present a consistent picture, two other maps from the period just before and after 140 the Soke Mill was demolished, do not fit neatly with the 1828 map . 141 The left-hand map shows the ‘Queen’s Mills’ to include ‘worsted’ and ‘corn’ which confirms there were two mills. However, it is difficult to work out the relationship between mills and mill race/goit. The ‘Soke Mills’ map to the 142 right shows the mills below the wide ‘Soke Mill Goit’ which looks to be the dam on the earlier map. It is not known precisely when the first water mill was built in Bradford but the manor’s accounts show repairs were made to a 143 mill in 1295 . It is plausible that the mill was built in the C13th since in 1246 Edmund de Lacy obtained a charter for holding a market. This was ratified in 1251 and thus Bradford gained manorial status. With that came feudal rights, for example the right of the lord to have a ‘soke mill’, a cereal-milling monopoly. The 1277 inquisition for the Hundred Rolls does not mention 144 a mill . This evidence implies that the first mill may have been built between ~1280 and ~1290. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 40 Within ancient Bradford, I’m not aware of any water mill locations other than that above Aldermanbury. Nor of any that get their power directly from the Beck. So if there were a mill in that location in ~1280 to ~1290, it was presumably getting its water power from the goit – which must therefore be a C13th century creation. The early existence of two mills supports that. 145 By the 1311 inquisition, there was a ‘water mill’ and a fulling mill in the parish of Bradford and Empsall agrees that by the 146 C14th there were two mills, one for corn and the other for fulling cloth . This challenges the proposition by Ared and Brown that the goit was constructed to power a mill built around 1530 in Millergate, ie above Almondbury. The prior existence of two 147 mills suggests that the goit was constructed much earlier and it seems probable that the 1530 creation could be a 148 replacement . After all, the original mill was likely to have been over 200 years old. The goit was (is!) more than 800m in 149 length and as we have seen above, the ~1800 map of Bradford shows it clearly as it largely runs through farmland. But even as Bradford grew exponentially, it could still be recognised as the 1852 OS map shows. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 41 Today, it has been swamped by buildings, culverted over virtually all of its length, and many stretches have been gated and rendered inaccessible . But its route can still be seen occasionally as this GoogleMaps satellite image shows. The top middle car park has been identified as the former location of 150 Thompson’s Shed and the aerial shot exposes the line of the ancient goit in the blocks to the south and south-west of the Shed site - and 151 especially on the grass in the southern block , the upper part of which was the site of Thompson’s Mill (G). But this exposure is unusual. More numerous and obvious indications of the goit’s route are the streets, ginnels, boundaries and building lines that pay homage to a feature that may be 800 years old. One example which can also be seen on this map is ‘the top of the T’ in the T-shaped street called Goit Side. That top aligns almost perfectly with the goit’s route. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 42 ENDNOTES and REFERENCES 1 Don’t be afraid to get in touch with the author with comments. Additions, criticisms and corrections will be welcomed. Email les.brook@yahoo.com 2 http://www.mark-davis-photography.com/explore/thompsons-mill-bradford/. Big thanks to Mark for allowing me to use his excellent photos. The image to the right is of Thompson’s Mill. Read on and all will be revealed! 3 Balgarnie’s Salt with commentary and additions by BARLO & SHAW 2003 p28. The original publication date of Balgarnie’s book – Sir Titus Salt Baronet His Life and Lessons - was 1877. 4 Edward Baines Baines’ Directory: History, Directory & Gazetteer of Yorkshire Vol. I: West Riding 1822 p155. A woolstapler (or wool-stapler) was a dealer in wool. 5 David King Who was your grandmother, Titus, and when did you arrive in Bradford? https://saltairevillage.info/saltaire_history_0070_Debunking_myths_concerning_Sir_Titus_Salt_050620.html. I think David may be wrong to assume Titus “arrived with his parents”. I also think there is no evidence for the 1820 arrival of the entire family, and good reason to think that Titus might have been otherwise engaged: in 1820, he was 17 years of age and recently employed by a Mr Jackson in Wakefield. 6 Pigot and co.'s national commercial directory for 1828-9: extracts to be found at https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Bradford/Bradford29Dry 7 The locations in red in these early, reference pages are those I will seek to identify. I return to each of them later. 8 Jack Reynolds The Great Paternalist Titus Salt and the Growth of Nineteenth-Century Bradford 1983 p47 John Reynolds, always known affectionately as Jack, was one of the most highly respected of Bradford's twentieth-century local historians. Keith Laybourn Jack Reynolds (1915-1988) First published in 1991 in volume 5, pp. 91-93, of the third series of The Bradford Antiquary, the journal of the Bradford Historical and Antiquarian Society https://www.bradfordhistorical.org.uk/reynolds.html 9 Ibid p70 10 Balgarnie op cit p58 11 Ibbetson's General and Classified Directory of the Borough of Bradford 1845 p71 SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 43 12 Website of the Saltaire Collection https://www.saltairecollection.org/portfolio-item/sir-titus-salt-1803-1876/ 13 The goit and Goitside will appear many times in these notes. A goit or mill race is a small artificial channel carrying water taken from a stream or river. This water is then used (usually in mills or factories) for power and/or for water-hungry processes like washing raw wool. In the present case, ‘the goit’ is a specific channel from Bradford Beck at a point to the west of the centre of Bradford. It passed through an area that became known as Goitside. See the APPENDIX for more, including a map. 14 On the Saltaire Collection’s website, this information is presented without a reference so the sequence of mills may not be accurate. 15 William Cudworth Round about Bradford A Series of Sketches 1876 p310 16 Balgarnie op cit p46. On this page, Barlo and Shaw have a footnote. In summary, they observe that an ~1854 map by Rapkin (in Bradford libraries’ Local Studies department) shows the location of all the mills mentioned in the extract. They go on to indicate these locations in broad terms. I failed to spot this before embarking on my research but have rectified that mistake by contacting the department. I’m told in an email from them that on the map catalogued at BRA 1854 RAP “there are no specific mills indicated or mill names”. 17 James Burnley A Yorkshire Colony in All The Year Round Vol.5 Charles Dickens (ed) January 21 1871 p185. Burnley was a prolific Bradford writer working in the second half of the C19th and contributing many articles to local newspapers. Amongst other books, he wrote Sir Titus Salt And George Moore. https://biblio.co.uk/james-burnley/author/79834 18 Bradford Observer 19 July 1849 and 23 August 1849 19 This letter appeared in the Halifax Guardian on 20 January 1849 but refers to its previous publication in the Bradford Observer 20 1851 Collinson, Burton & Co’s West Riding worsted directory https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dple2AjuarcC&pg=PA363&dq=samuel+ellis+ossett+cloth+manufacturer&hl=en&sa=X& ved=0ahUKEwjxvPOlz8rpAhUQM8AKHYIgBXk4HhC7BQhDMAM#v=onepage&q=samuel%20ellis%20ossett%20cloth%20manuf acturer&f=false 21 Reynolds op cit pp 41 onwards 22 Reynolds follows Balgarnie’s lead 23 Later, we’ll see that Reynolds got this wrong. It was Daniel’s father who supported the purchase. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 44 24 It seems very likely that Cheapside and Cross Street refer to the same location. On the 1852 OS map, Cross Street runs at a right angle, eastwards from Cheap Side. 25 But which one of his warehouses was the largest? 26 Reynolds op cit p47 says the marriage was in 1829 but Balgarnie says 21 August 1830 (op cit p43). It was 1829. 27 Reynolds op cit p47 28 Thompson identifies Salt’s first employer as “Jo Jackson”, “an important woolstapler”, who had a warehouse in King Street. W J Thompson (ed) A Brief Guide to the Industrial Heritage of West Yorkshire (1989). Joseph Jackson appears in Baines's Directory and Gazetteer Directory of 1822 which can be found at https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Wakefield/Wakefield22Dry 29 Balgarnie op cit p 30: “For his practical knowledge of wool-sorting he was chiefly indebted to John and James Hammond, two brothers, in the employment of the firm. He once acknowledged this in our hearing, when the name of Hammond was mentioned. “It was John Hammond,” he said, “who taught me to sort wool.” As evidence of the value attached to the services of these two brothers, by the firm, they were both remembered in Mr. John Rouse’s will, and one became afterwards a partner in the business”. Balgarnie op cit claims that the Hammond connection continued after he left the Rouses to join his father’s business, Salt frequently travelled to buy wool: “To him was entrusted the duty of attending the public wool sales in London and Liverpool, and effecting purchases from farmers in Norfolk and Lincolnshire, after the season of sheep-clipping. John Hammond, who travelled on behalf of the Rouse’s [sic], was frequently his companion in these journeys, and his judgment was sought in any emergency” p31. Little wonder then that, not long after Titus left his father’s firm, he “made overtures to John Hammond to join him in partnership… But these overtures were respectfully declined on the ground that the Rouses having always treated him with kindness and liberality, he must remain in their employment as long as he lived. It was in Garraway’s coffee rooms, London, that these two early friends had the interview for the consideration of the above proposal, which ended by Mr. Titus Salt saying “Well, John, I am going into this alpaca affair right and left, and I’ll either make myself a man or a mouse” ”. Balgarnie op cit p49. 30 Titus Salt’s son Edward would marry Sarah Amelia Rouse, daughter of William. 31 John James History of the Worsted Manufacture in England 1857 [hereafter James 1857] available free at https://archive.org/stream/historyofworsted00jame/historyofworsted00jame_djvu.txt James’s list of mills and his comments on that list will be referenced throughout these notes, often in detail. On p 592 of James 1857, he uses the words “wrought by steam” to describe the mills in the list. The table and comments are repeated in other James books and other editions of these books. His The History of Bradford and its Parish 1866 [hereafter James 1866] is particularly useful. Can be downloaded from SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 45 https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5Qad8i94XjtYAeaOC2lCkeNs5i9DsMTChudW5WRrylteALUEiOjFY fONSlGJACoiKv0XDDqH2N5iz8DhJaq_lmy7bRiOcFmB1VkRRMv_- NYhdcYQ2hkL059rn_201QMQv0xMc1x3UOP0C12T5TZ0x9etfkwTRdlFc-77zKnM_Ls7- jXr06EPLHbqLgeUjm9hOVrtLVDvjcEHazQOmvkUpHfKIon8sRMSar8LDaTbOZ8HwPQ4jlh_NksrwySeR1GzZnjrmhRGaFA8IakbG- lVXB6BrHoiqzVqhZt1_vC1prHqnbtNWMYQ 32 Pigot op cit 33 Baines op cit p157. ‘Inn houses’ refers to the pubs that they used for business meetings 34 James 1857 p605 35 Pigot op cit. Commercial Street no longer exists but it appears to follow the route of today’s Valley Road, to the east of Forster Square station and sharing a junction with Canal Road. Very close to many other Rouse addresses. 36 https://bradfordlocalstudies.wordpress.com/tag/industry/ 37 Ibbetson’s op cit p70 and p131 38 Mill Street was parallel to Commercial Street and only metres away. Holdsworth Street was very close and all shared a junction with Canal Road 39 Eastbrook House was located east of Bradford Cathedral and close to the extant Paper House. With extensive grounds, it is clearly major and is probably the grandest house close to the city centre. It stands out on the 1852 OS map. For more, see https://bradfordunconsideredtrifles.wordpress.com/2018/04/11/eastbrook-house/ 40 Catherine Thackray Brunswick Place – Bradford A study based on the Census 1841 to 1881 in The Bradford Antiquary 1986. Available at http://www.bradfordhistorical.org.uk/brunswick.html. It is unclear in Thackray’s account which of the Rouse mills was being auctioned. 41 https://bradfordunconsideredtrifles.wordpress.com/tag/bradford/ 42 Reynolds op cit pp 69 on 43 Bradford Metropolitan District Council Goitside Conservation Area Assessment (hereafter, BMDC GCAA) 2005 https://www.bradford.gov.uk/media/3237/goitsideconservationareaassessment.pdf 44 This is incorrect. It was built by Bradford Beck as we shall see later. 45 In James 1866, it is also reported that “in 1798 Messrs. Ramsbotham , Swaine, and Murgatroyd erected [a worsted mill] in the “Holme.” [sic] The engine which supplied the propelling force was of fifteen horses' power”. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 46 46 George Sheeran The Buildings of Bradford: An Illustrated Architectural History 2005 47 This is not an explicit statement that the weaving shed was part of Thompson’s Mill – but I think that is implied 48 The table and the statements made on this page are from James 1857 pp605-606 unless stated otherwise 49 James 1866 op cit p161 50 XXX 51 Ibbetson's General and Classified Directory, Street List and History of Bradford, 1850 52 The full title of this document is Exhibition of The Works of Industry of All Nations 1851 Reports by the Juries on the Subjects in the Thirty Classes into which the Exhibition was Divided. London. Printed for the Royal Commission, by William Clowes & Sons, Stamford Street and Charing Cross. MDCCCLII. Available online at https://library.si.edu/digital- library/book/reportsjurieson00grea 53 The Builder 19 February 1898 54 OS 1852 map. Image is from GoogleMaps 55 White’s Directory and Topography of the Borough of Bradford 1861 available at https://www.bradfordfhs.org.uk/_resources/tradedirectories/white-directory-for-bradford-1861.pdf 56 Image from GoogleMaps street view 57 See Bradford Heritage Trail at https://mediafiles.thedms.co.uk/Publication/YS- Brad/cms/pdf/Bradford%20Heritage%20Trail.pdf 58 See evidence presented earlier. In this section, I have duplicated some of the info already given but not all of the references 59 Baines op cit seems to confirm this 60 Reynolds op cit p42 61 Pigot’s op cit 62 Thackray op cit “Among the many Deeds relating to the Cousen & Thackray quarries is one of 1823 recording the sale of land to Titus Salt of Hunslet and his son, Daniel, grandfather and father of Sir Titus, respectively. The Salts had opened a small warehouse in Bradford in 1822”. It seems this transaction might have been for the Cheapside/Cross Street land. Thackray’s reference to Titus’s grandfather is a mistake. At this time, the grandfather would have been ~100 years old. The error probably occurred because the grandfather and Daniel’s brother were both called Titus. It was brother Titus who put money into the 1823 transaction. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 47 63 Pigot op cit 64 Ibbetson’s op cit p71 65 BMDC GCAA op cit “In 1837 Ellis Cunliffe Lister [father of the more famous Samuel Cunliffe Lister] built his last mill, a factory in Manningham, Manningham Mill (known as Lilly Croft Mill on some maps) for Lister and his elder brother John. Lister supervised the on site building and the quarrying of the stone from his father’s quarry at Daisy Hill. The mill opened in 1838 and had been fitted out by James Ambler who was made a partner with Lister and his brother John, the company being named Lister and Co. There are no clear records of what this mill looked like, although it was large by local standards…. Ellis Cunliffe Lister then built a row of 12 cottages to the east of the mill and a year later added another row facing onto Heaton Road …. The mill and two rows of housing are clearly visible on the Ordnance Survey Map published in 1852 as an island of development to the northwest of Manningham village”. See extract from 1852 OS map after the conclusion of these endnotes. 66 Balgarnie op cit p 30: “The manufactory of Messrs. Rouse and Son had commenced in 1815, and was rapidly rising into prosperity”. 67 Balgarnie op cit p32 68 Reynolds op cit pp 42 and 47 69 https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2669351/congregational-chapel 70 https://photos.bradfordmuseums.org/view-item?i=2402 71 https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Bradford/Bradford-SalemChapelCongChurch 72 Thackray op cit 73 There are some differences between the sources on which was the first mill Titus occupied when working on his own account. Balgarnie quoted above does not explicitly say that Titus struck out on his own and moved into Thompson’s, but that’s certainly implied. In the passage quoted at length above, Cudworth appears categorical - He accordingly commenced business as a spinner and manufacturer at Thompson's Mill. Since there is considerable agreement that Daniel Salt and Son started their spinning business at Thompson’s and that this was several years before Titus set up a business of his own, I’m inclined to think that Reynolds is right: Titus certainly worked for Daniel at Thompson’s but Hollings was the son’s first mill. 74 However ‘Thompson’s Shed’ does appear… more of that later 75 Balgarnie op cit 76 Website of the Saltaire Collection op cit and Cudworth op cit 77 Reynolds op cit SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 48 78 BMDC GCAA op cit 79 Cudworth op cit 80 Calculated using GoogleMaps 81 I have not found dates for these brothers – but the tale of their setting up business in a new mill in 1803 suggests that they may have been born around 1780. So they probably came to Bradford at the very start of its factory era. 82 Cudworth op cit pp424-425 83 James 1857 p606 84 From Bradford and District Libraries Map Collections https://bradfordlibrariesmap.wordpress.com/ and see Bradford Local Studies Library Local History from Maps and Plans at https://www.bradford.gov.uk/media/2926/local-history-from-maps-and- plans.pdf The map here was actually published much later than 1800 with some additions (notably, more buildings) but these do not alter the specific area in which we are interested. 85 I have marked the approximate route of Thornton Road which is not on the original map. This is odd because it surely existed by 1800 as it is on the Jefferey map of 1775. John Jefferey made the first large scale map of Yorkshire, published 1771-72. The map’s new edition of 1775 which I rely on is in the Bradford Local Studies Library. 86 BMDC GCAA op cit 87 This map contains the first (and only?) documentary mention of it. 88 This paragraph needs some qualifying (and perhaps further research). It is highly unlikely that this is one building. Firstly, because the map shows the outlines of several smaller buildings. Secondly, because we know that later maps show several buildings on the site, most if not all of which were built before this 1908 map. And thirdly, because the goit goes through the parcel of land, and certainly at a date most likely before 1908, there were two separate buildings above and below the goit. Why then does the map show a single building? Simply because it is a small scale map. So what was Thompson’s Shed? Probably a local name for a bundle of buildings on a distinct parcel of land that was owned by Thompson. 89 http://yorkshire.u08.eu/bradford/62494/ and https://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=List_of_mills_in_Bradford&params=53.79476_N_1.75874_W_&tit le=Thompson+Shed 90 Given the dramatic developments in Bradford during the C19th, it is highly likely that the building on this map is not that on the 1800 map – and in any event the shapes of the buildings are different. On the 1893 6” OS map, the buildings that are here “Thompson’s Shed” and two “Woollen Mills” appear much the same as on this map but they are not named. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 49 91 I say “likely have been purchased as a unit” because of what I’ve learned from Ian Watson’s research published in The Land Acquisitions of Titus Salt in 2011. Ian describes how one major capitalist (Salt), driving the transformation of agricultural into industrial land (in what became Saltaire), did so field by field. In Bradford, a ~1800 plan of the area (which we shall see later) shows the land south of Silsbridge Lane to be a patchwork of narrow rectangular fields, each stretching from north to south. 92 Published 1852 but surveyed from 1847 to 1850, ie it shows the area as it was before Salts Mill’s construction started. It is available from the National Museum of Scotland’s website, https://nls.uk/maps/. The town plan is especially large-scale and detailed. For Goitside, see Bradford Sheet 4 at https://maps.nls.uk/view/229405260 93 Though it does not prove or disprove anything, it is not possible to reconcile what we see here with James’s statement that Thompson’s Mill was built “at two different periods, being in fact two mills” – though later (on the 1908 map) two mills can certainly be seen on the original parcel of land. 94 12 See endnote 95 A very short stretch to the northwest does not run between them and beyond that, the road leaves both behind. 96 James 1857 p606. Whilst in this list Holme Mill is said to have been built in 1800, as we have seen elsewhere (James 1866) 1798 is also given. 97 James 1866 p288 98 BMDC GCAA op cit. My emphasis. 99 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mills_in_Bradford#Bradford 100 BMDC GCAA op cit. The 2007 BMDC Goitside Conservation Area Appraisal repeats the ‘near Holmfield Street’ proposition. 101 … and BMDC GCAA op cit was wrong when it stated that “the Holme Mill, the first factory in Bradford, was constructed alongside the goit”. 102 Sighting reported to me by Rose Reeve 103 BMDC GCAA op cit 104 Calculated using GoogleMaps 105 BMDC GCAA op cit 106 www.industrialhistoryonline.co.uk/yiho/shortform.php?Trans_ID=WYK02352 Note ‘leased’ - an indication that Salt did not own the mill. 107 https://maps.nls.uk/view/229405260 SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 50 108 Rose Reeve Tracing the Bradford Goit 2012. Unpublished report. 109 http://www.mark-davis-photography.com/explore/thompsons-mill-bradford/. Davis quotes from the Telegraph and Argus 10 October 2011: “A blaze which destroyed one of Bradford’s oldest mills was started deliberately, fire chiefs confirmed today. The fire ripped through the five storeys of Thompson Mill in Tetley Street, off Thornton Road, last week, leaving it so badly damaged that it had to be demolished. Traffic was brought to a standstill as firefighters fought the blaze last Tuesday night. Crews were able to prevent it spreading to nearby properties but could not save the mill”. 110 Personal communication from Mark Davis 111 Thanks go to Chris Hand. The photo can be found at https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW052165 112 These three quotations are included in earlier parts of this paper, and they are referenced there 113 Copied from the text above: “3.- Union Street mill, built by Mr Richard Fawcett, and occupied by him until about the year 1832. The mill built in 1830 adjoins to the other, and was erected by Messrs. Illingworth & Murgatroyd”. “11- Union Street mill was built by Messrs. Wroe and occupied by them”. James 1857 pp605-606 114 Based upon other research undertaken by myself. 1837 Dec 28 Bradford Observer (BO): death near Salt's dam in Union Street. 1838 Apr 19 BO: ref to death at work of washing machine engine tender in the employ of Messrs D Salt & Son in Union St. Caught in belts. 1839: room&power ad for Providence Mill by D Illingworth also mentions Edward Salt acting as one of assignees of bankrupt James Holdsworth. 1839: Salt's employees have Blaize 'do' at Union Street pub. 1851: "Titus Salt, Esq., it is rumoured, is about making most extensive improvements, in regard to his property in Union Street". 115 Reynolds op cit 116 Ibbetson's op cit: “Salt, Titus, Union street mill” and “Salt, Titus, spinner of mohair and alpacha [sic] yarns, and manufacturer of moreens, Union st. mill, res. Hipperholme [sic].” Hipperholme is very close to Salt’s beloved Crow Nest. 117 Bradford Observer 19 June 1856, 118 The advert also tells us that there are “TWO good PIECE ROOMS in Peel Place” to let. My guess is that a ‘piece room’ was a place where customers could inspect pieces of material produced by a textile firm. So, some years after his move to Saltaire, Salt was still keeping hold of this Bradford property too. But we knew that. See what was said about Well Street above – and after consulting the maps of the time, I have concluded that ‘Peel Place’ and ‘Well Street’ refer to the same location. 119 OS Bradford town map published 1852 but surveyed in 1848 120 I am not arguing that Salt occupied, let alone owned, the entire Union Street complex. Indeed, the 19 June 1856 ‘to let’ advert suggests just the opposite. SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 51 121 On this map, close to N and F, there are two images labelled ‘Worsted Mill’. It is tempting (and maybe correct) to identify these as Salt’s Nelson Street and Fawcett Court mills. 122 Reynolds op cit p42. The connection with this Chapel starts with Titus’s father. There are many other refs in Reynolds. 123 Reynolds op cit p126-127. I find the alleged speed of compiling/publishing the report unconvincing, but there is no doubt that it was published in June 1845. 124 Reynolds op cit p128 125 Hollings appears to be a well-established Airedale, landed-family name. It appears in Cudworth op cit on p102 (dated c1660) and on many other pages. It is closely associated with the Aire valley in locations including Shipley, Baildon and Cullingworth. In the 1800s, the Hollings were also linked to the worsted trade. Cudworth calls Hollins Hill, one of Baildon main roads, Hollings Hill, and https://www.bradford.gov.uk/media/2046/tongparkdamwalk.pdf tells us that close by it is Hollings Head. Later note: more or less parallel to Hollins Hill is a road called Old Hollings Hill. 126 https://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=List_of_mills_in_Bradford&params=53.79308_N_1.77378_W_&tit le=Holling%E2%80%99s+Mill 127 The mill is identified by James as the 19th mill built in Bradford. James 1857 op cit p606. It dates from 1826 and was most likely the work of Thomas Hollings and Sons since James says they were occupying it in 1833. 128 … though it is highly likely to have been amended in the last ~170 years! 129 This location is also confirmed by https://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=List_of_mills_in_Bradford&params=53.79441_N_1.76163_W_&tit le=Hollings+Mill and https://www.thebradfordsockcompany.co.uk/ 130 Ibbetson's op cit The directory offers a further variation on Hollings – Hollings’s. It also tells us that William Maud was the mill manager for “A. Tremel, worsted spinner &c., Holling [sic] mill, Silsbridge lane [sic]” 131 Bradford Observer 23 August 1849 132 Shipley Times 31 August 1923. The Stolworthys’ house “in the [Hollings] mill yard” also still exists! Further information on the Stolworthys can be found at https://saltairevillage.info/Mill_workers_biography_S.html 133 This image is from https://www.flickr.com/photos/93176113@N03/8666027826/in/album-72157633124214092/ and there is a brilliant set of photos of the derelict Brick Lane Mills at https://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/threads/brick-lane-mills- bradford.17752/ SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 52 134 Beecroft is a family name. Cudworth op cit references a couple of Beecrofts and they are associated with Leeds/Pudsey. G S Beecroft was MP for Leeds in mid-century. 135 To see this map in all its glory, go to https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/e3i157rznjq1mtdplosbr/1852-OS-MAP-Bradford-crop- feat-Salt-mills-v33-cropped-annotated.jpg?rlkey=7gqolmwan3x2sgcdwkp4qt6zn&dl=0 This version can be enlarged significantly without losing clarity. 136 “the right of soke – that is, the right to charge the villagers for grinding their grain”. Mills were owned by the monarchy, although day-to-day control was delegated downward, eventually resting in the hands of the lord of the manor http://www.castlefordheritagetrust.org.uk/TheMill.php. Local people were bound by law to take their corn to the soke mill for grinding, giving a portion of the grain in payment to the Lord of the Manor. HTTPs://www.ossett.net/beyond/Horbury_Junction.html 137 https://bradfordunconsideredtrifles.wordpress.com/tag/bradford/ 138 The illustration is from William Scruton Pen and Pencil Pictures of Old Bradford 1889. Thanks to Derek Barker. 139 www.industrialhistoryonline.co.uk/yiho/shortmedia.php?Image_ID=WYK02339.877: “Extract from a map of the land belonging to the Rev. Godfrey Wright drawn by Joseph Smith, Land Surveyor of Bradford in 1828. This shows the Soke Mill and goit very clearly. Many thanks to Bradford Libraries for permission to reproduce this”. 140 “after”, because an older map which show the mills was used as a base for illustrating planned highway changes 141 https://bradfordlibrariesmap.wordpress.com/2020/01/11/the-development-of-late-nineteenth-century-bradford/ 142 https://bradfordlocalstudies.wordpress.com/2016/03/15/map-of-the-week-goitside/ 143 Kathleen Ared and Jean J K Brown Manorial mills of Bradford and the people connected with them 2006. I am relying on notes made by Rose Reeve when she read this book. 144 Ibid 145 Scruton op cit 146 T Empsall Bradford in the middle of the 14th century 1888. http://www.bradfordhistorical.org.uk/fourteenth.html. However, there were places where two mills occupied the same building: “two mills of Castleford under one roof” (http://www.castlefordheritagetrust.org.uk/TheMill.php) 147 Ared op cit says that the new 1530 mill was a second mill which seems to be contradicted by the evidence for two earlier mills. They also say that it involved creating a dam at Brownroyd, ~1.2 miles further along Thornton Road out of central SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 53 Bradford. This seems to be confusing the goit/dam for the Bradford mill(s) with the goit/dam for Manningham soke mill? This was very close to Brownroyd. 148 www.industrialhistoryonline.co.uk/yiho/shortform.php?Trans_ID=WYK02339 has it that the mill demolished in 1871 was that built in 1530. 149 Calculated using GoogleMaps 150 http://yorkshire.u08.eu/bradford/62494/ 151 I have picked out the route by adding three blue marks SALT BEFORE SALTAIRE April 2024 v1 54