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Telling the stories of Titus Salt's mill and model village

Saltaire: West Yorkshire's World Heritage Site

Titus Salt opened his state-of-the-art mill in 1853 on a new site a few miles from Bradford. Over the next twenty years he oversaw the building of a new model village.

Saltaire’s neatly planned streets were a world away from overcrowded and insanitary Bradford. Saltaire had schools, a hospital, a social club, an educational institute, a park, and a magnificent Congregationalist ‘cathedral’. It even had proper sewers.

Today, Saltaire stands largely intact. In 2001 it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as an outstanding example of a nineteenth century model town that demonstrates the social and economic impact of the textile industry.

Our collection of over 6000 documents, photographs, maps, plans, newspaper cuttings, artworks, books and objects tells the local and global story of Saltaire since the 1850s.

Saltaire Collection

Explore the Collection

Search and browse the Collection catalogue

View online exhibitions

See some of our items from the comfort of your own home

Discover the stories of Saltaire and its people

View our histories of Saltaire, travel through our timelines, and read the biographies and personal memories of some of the people who built, worked in, lived in, and saved Saltaire

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Featured contents

The story of Saltaire

Learn about the history of Saltaire from its foundation to its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site 

Tours of Saltaire

Follow our video tours around Saltaire in English (with subtitles) or Urdu. Or travel our online or downloadable heritage trails for families and children

For researchers

Find out how our collection can help local historians, academic researchers and others interested in industrial heritage and social history

Get involved

Discover the opportunities for volunteering, donating items, and supporting the Saltaire Collection

Recent news

A free travelling exhibition by Chris Peltier in collaboration with the Saltaire Collection. ‘The Real McCoy’ is an interactive, educational exhibition designed …

May Rhodes (1921-2024)

The Saltaire Collection are sad to hear about the death of May Rhodes (1921-2024). May donated a detailed biography of her life including time in Saltaire.

We have made several important changes to our website aimed at improving accessibility – mainly for disabled people, those who are neurodiverse …

Supporting learners

As one of only two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Yorkshire, Saltaire allows learners of all ages to engage directly with the past at a site of global cultural significance.

Our Learning Resources are currently being updated ready for publication later in 2024.