Sir Titus Salt

Sir Titus Salt 1803-76, English textile manufacturer and inventor. He invented a machine for making worsted from coarse wool and a process for spinning and weaving alpaca. In 1851 he started to build, on the Aire River, extensive textile works and a model manufacturing town, called Saltaire, in which he attempted to embody his conceptions of ideal factory conditions for workers.

Salt, Sir Titus (1803–76). Salt, a worsted manufacturer and creator of the model village of Saltaire, entered the wool trade as a stapler and then moved into spinning (1834). A radical Liberal, Salt was a paternalist, who wanted to provide a good environment for his workers; he moved from central Bradford and created Saltaire between 1850 and 1875. Housing and community facilities at Saltaire were excellent.

Salt, Sir Titus (1803–76). Salt, a worsted manufacturer and creator of the model village of Saltaire, entered the wool trade as a stapler and then moved into spinning (1834). By clever technical adaptation, he exploited supplies of imported fine wools such as mohair and alpaca, manufacturing excellent worsteds for the women's fashion market. A radical Liberal, Salt was a paternalist, who wanted to provide a good environment for his workers; he moved from central Bradford and created Saltaire between 1850 and 1875. He rationalized production, previously in several plants, in one great mill (1853), designed in the Tuscan Renaissance style by Lockwood and Mawson of Bradford and built between the Midland railway line and the river Aire. Housing and community facilities at Saltaire were excellent. Knighted in 1869, Salt contributed to many charities and despite an introverted nature served the city of Bradford in almost every capacity, including MP (1859–61).

John Butt