Major textile industrialist, businessman and philanthropist in nineteenth century Bradford. Commisioned the building of Salts Mill and Saltaire.
Sir Titus Salt's Hospital: C2b-190: Sir Titus Salt's Hospital with two storeys (late nineteenth century)
2021.12: Salt & Silver - A Story of Hope
C3b-533: Toasting Sir Titus with Victorian Ale
2022.2: Saltaire And Its Founder by Abraham Holroyd
E2b-085: Education - Shipley College : Images
2019.36: Sir Titus Salt. Baronet: His Life and its Lessons.
2019.31.1: Saltaire: The origins of a model industrial community
A1-011a: Sir Titus Salt's subscription for seats on opening of Royal Albert Hall
A1-080: The Late Sir Titus Salt Bart, Founder of Saltaire
A1-124: Summary of the Will of Sir Titus Salt & codicils
A2-082: Salt family Residences - Crow Nest
2022.14: Bradford Fifty Years Ago 1847-1897
A1-007: Letter from the Church to Titus Salt
2018.9.7.3: Education: Intellectual, Moral and Physical
2022.18: Share certificate of the Bradford Cemetery Company
C2b-102/7/1: Portrait of Titus Salt (136)
C2b-102/7/10: Portrait of Titus Salt with quote
C2b-102/7/2: Portrait of Titus Salt (138)
C2b-102/7/5: Portrait of Titus Salt (43)
C2b-102/7/6: Portrait of Titus Salt (38)
C2b-102/7/8: Portrait of Titus Salt (110)
C2b-102/7/9: Portrait of Titus Salt (109)
H2-125a-c: Milner Field mortgage document
C3b-343a: Saltaire village, Documents (Places)
2022.37: Saltaire and its Founder, Sir Titus Salt Bart. by Abraham Holroyd
2022.38: Saltaire and its Founder, Sir Titus Salt Bart. by Abraham Holroyd
2022.65: Will & Codicils of the late Sir Titus Salt Bart
2022.39: Saltaire and its Founder, Sir Titus Salt Bart. by Abraham Holroyd
2022.42: 'Saltaire - the origins of a model industrial community'
2022.30: The Great Paternalist - Titus Salt, The Growth of Ninteenth-Century Bradford by Jack Reynolds
2022.40: 'Sir Titus Salt - George Moore' by James Burnley
H2-123a: Map of Milner Field and Stubbing House estates
2021.8: Salt & Saltaire by W.E. Alderson
2022.35: Textile History 1968-70 - volume 1. Edited by K.G. Ponting
2021.11.1: Salts Mill- The Owners and Managers 1853-1986
C3b-272a-b: The Land Acquisitions of Titus Salt in Shipley & Baildon
2021.6: Salt & Saltaire by Dr. Gary Firth
2018.42.2: Yorkshire Past and Present Vol. 2. 1870
2018.42.3: Yorkshire Past and Present Vol. 2. 1870
A4-003: Mortgage loan by Titus and Edward Salt
C2b-102/7/15: Sir Titus Salt statue outside Bradford Town Hall in late nineteenth century
2017.2: Sir Titus Salt and sons: A farming legacy
A1-041: Research resources about Sir Titus Salt
C2b-102/11/12: Titus Salt's statue in Saltaire Park
C2b-102/12/18: Lifeboat station Stromness. Sir Titus Salt donated money for the provision of a lifeboat at Stromness in the Orkney islands.
C3a-009: Inscription plaque for 'Saltaire' lifeboat
E2-075: Subscription for a memorial for Sir Titus Salt for the Science & Art School
2022.76: Bradford Charity and the Public Purse: A history of Bradford hospitals from 1780
2021.15: Balgarnie's Salt - with commentary and additions by Barlow & Shaw
2022.81: Sir Titus Salt Bart 1874 coin token
C2b-102/15/19: Titus Salt plaque Crofton
C2b-102/7/14: Salts head on Wool Exchange
C2b-102/7/16: Salt statue in Lister Park (41)
C2b-102/7/17: Salt statue in Lister Park (42)
C2b-102/7/20: Titus Salt's childhood drawing
2021.11.2: Salts Mill- The Owners and Managers 1853-1986
A1-085: Sir Titus Salt and the Orphans of Hull
2024.15: Titus Salt - and how he built Saltaire by Emily Parkin
2024.32: Sir Titus Salt: The founder of Saltaire and its Mills
A1-117: 'The Lifeboat 'Saltaire' in Stornoway
C5-010: Saltaire village, Documents (Places), - Miscellaneous Adverts etc.
C3b-022: Sir Titus Salt and George Moore
F1a-191: 'The Alpaca - Its Introduction to Australia
2022.93: Bradford Antiquary Third Series No.1 1985
2022.99: Bradford Antiquary Third Series No.9 2005
2024.38: British Wool Textile Industry 1770-1914
2024.39: Salt and Silver - a story of hope
2024.40: Salt and Silver: a story of hope
2024.45: Pen and Pencil Pictures of Old Bradford
2024.47: Human Documents of the Industrial Revolution in Britain
2024.55: Historical Notices of Shipley, Saltaire, Idle, Windhill, Wrose, Baildon, Hawksworth, Eccleshill, Calverley, Rawdon, and Horsforth
2024.57: Historical Notices of Shipley, Saltaire, Idle, Windhill, Wrose, Baildon, Hawksworth, Eccleshill, Calverley, Rawdon and Horsforth
2024.64: Sir Titus Salt and George Moore
2024.70: Illustrated history from Hipperholme to Tong by James Parker, Great Horton
2024.74: The Story of Saltaire written, produced and directed by David Weber
2024.75: From Mill to Microchip, Bradford in the Making by Bradford Heritage Recording Unit
2024.77: The History of Brighouse, Rastrick and Hipperholme by J Horsfall Turner
C4a-015.1: Saltaire History Club poster September 2006
2024.134: Frontal view of Crow Nest house
2025.12: British entrepreneurship in Poland
2018.71: Sir Titus Salt 1876: Centenary events in the village of Saltaire, November 1976
2018.74: Saltaire: History & Regeneration
2018.77.1: Saltaire: History & Regeneration
D1-071.2: Article discussing the relocation of the TItus Salt status to Saltaire
Salt, Titus, Sir: Portrait photograph of Titus Salt in later life
2018.9.3.3: Report of speeches book & News cuttings, 1909-1947 & Women's Review Magazine
Report of speeches book & News cuttings, 1909-1947 & Women's Review Magazine
A news cuttings book and loose news cuttings on a variety of local and international subjects including: Women's Liberal Associations, women's suffrage and franchise; Maurice Hewlett; the League of Nations, peace and disarmament; conscientious objectors; women and war; free trade and war; white slave traffic; Saltaire Hospital and Saltaire Adult School. The records are arranged as follows: 2018.9.3.3.1 'Reports of Speeches' book, 1909 - found in box 157 2018.9.3.3.2 Loose news cuttings, 1909-1915 2018.9.3.3.3 Loose news cuttings, 1916-1918 2018.9.3.3.4 Loose news cuttings, 1920-1947 2018.9.3.3.5 Liberal Women's Review magazine - found in box 155
2018.9.3.3.1: Reports of Speeches book, 1909
Loose news cuttings, 1916-1918: The War and After - Candida
2018.9.3.3.5: The Liberal Women's Review
2018.9.3.3.7: The Liberal Women's Review
The Liberal Women's Review: Excerpt from page 24 showing Isabel Salt
2018.9.3.3.6: The Liberal Women's Review
Loose press cuttings kept by Isabel Salt, 1905-1915. Comprises: - 'Burley Women Liberals - Annual Meeting' (29.10.1909) - 'Saltaire Hospital Re-opening', The Yorkshire Post (03.11.1909) - 'The Saltaire Hospital - Re-opening After Extension', The Yorkshire Observer (03.11.1909) - 'Saltaire Hospital - Re-opening Ceremony', Times & Express (05.11.1909) - Saltaire Hospital - Re-opening Ceremonial by Mrs Salt of Denton Hall, Ilkley Free Press (Nov 1909) - Minehead Liberal Association - Conversazione and Meeting (with address by Miss Salt on the licensing Bill) (1909) - Ilkley Women Liberals - Lecture by Mr WM Wade on the Budget - Miss Salt in the chair, Wharfedale & Airedale Observer (1909-10) - Flyer for Poole Women's Liberal Association Public Meeting. Address by Miss Salt (02.12.1909) - 'The Liberal Campaign - meeting. Miss Salt speaker', The Bath Herald (03.01.1910) - 'Liberal Meeting', with speech by Isabel Salt, The Wiltshire Times (08.01.1910) - 'Shipley Women Liberals - Address by Miss Salt', Times & Express (11.11.1910) - Liberal Women and the Vote - Four points of View Presented at Otley. Miss Salt & Adult Suffrage,Wharfedale & Airedale Observer (1910) - Ilkley PSA Bazaar - Excellent Effort in the Wesleyan Assembly Hall - Miss Salt's Encouragement, (Mar/Apr 1911) - 'Yorkshire Women Liberals Conference', The Yorkshire Observer (05.04.1911) -'Wisdom While You Wait' (including quote from Miss Salt), The Morning Leader, London (06.04.1911) - 'Liberal Conference at Yeadon', The Ilkley Free Press & Addingham Courier (07.04.1911) - 'Wharfedale Board of Guardians - Salary Question Discussed', [The Ilkely Free Press & Addingham Courier] ([7].04.1911) - Good Citizenship - Address by Miss Salt - PSA Meeting, Ilkley (30.4.1911) - 3 items - 'Denton - Change of Tenancy of the Hall', The Ilkley Gazette (06.05.1911) - 2 items - Flyer for Outdoor Gathering, Ipswich Women's Liberal Association, address by Isabel Salt (20.07.1911) - Coronation Gift to Queen Mary (Miss Salt organiser for Central Wharfedale) (1911) - Miss Salt at the PSA (address on Thoughts & Actions) (1911-1912) - Menston Women Liberals. Address by Miss Salt on Home Rule, Welsh Disestablishment & Revision of Electoral System (2.2.1912) - 'Otley Women Liberals - Miss Salt's Views of the Coal Crisis & Disestablishment - address by Miss Salt', [Wharfedale Observer] [08.03.1912] - 'The Deeper Side of the White Slave Traffic Problem', letter to the editor from Isabel Salt, [Ilkley Free Press] [29.11.1912] (2 items) - Address by Miss Salt at PSA Sunday Service on 'On Helping one another', Ilkley Free Press (1912) - 'Facing the Future' - Isabel addressed the Huddersfield Women's Liberal Association - undated - Letter head for Yorkshire Council of Women's Libeal Association (1914) - Letter from Yorkshire Council of Women's Liberal Associations re meeting in Leeds (16.06.1915) - Programme for Annual Meeting of Yorkshire Council of Women's Liberal Associations, Leeds (chaired by Miss Salt) (18.10.1915) - 'Women Liberals. Yorkshire Associations conference in Leeds', Yorkshire Evening News & Agenda (18.10.1915) - 2 items - 'Women and War Problems - Prospects of a Sex Conflict', Leeds Mercury (19.10.1915) - 'Women Discuss War-time Economies' (article re Yorkshire Council of Women's Liberal Associations meeting in Leeds), 'Miss Salt elected as President', Daily News & Leader (19.10.1915) - 'Yorkshire Women Liberals - Meeting in Leeds - Solving the Problems of War-time' (annual meeting of the Yorkshire Council of Women's Liberal Associations - Miss Salt president), The Yorkshire Observer (19.10.1915) - 'Yorkshire Women Liberals. Discussion of War Topics at Annual Meeting', The Yorkshire Post (19.10.1915) - Yorkshire Women Liberals - Discussion of war topics at annual meeting - Threat of a sex war in industry - The Yorkshire Post (19.10.1915) - Otley Division Woman's Liberals: The Voluntary Spirit & True Patriotism. Address by Miss Salt on 'What Women can do for the Race', Yorkshoire Observer (24.11.1915) - Readers Views - The War & After -Harrogate & Caro Times (31 Dec 1915) - 7 items
Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Plan of Saltaire
2018.9.3.3.2.20: Outdoor gathering poster
Silver Trowel presented to Mrs Catherine Salt (wife of Titus Salt junior) after the laying a ceremonial stone for the extension of Sir Titus Salts Hospital in 1925.
Sir Titus Salt's Hospital building, Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Silver Trowel: Detail of the foundations stone
Silver Trowel: Photograph of the foundation stone for the Saltaire Hospital extension
2019.27.1: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1867-1899
Part 1 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital from 1867-1899
2019.27.10a-b: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1938-1941
Part 10 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital from 1938-1941
2019.27.11: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1942
Part 11 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1942
2019.27.12: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1943
Part 12 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1943
2019.27.13: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1944
Part 13 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1944
2019.27.14: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1945
Part 14 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1945
2019.27.15: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1946
Part 15 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1946
2019.27.16: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1947
Part 16 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1947
2019.27.17: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1948-1949
Part 17 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1948-49
2019.27.18: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1950-1952
Part 17 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1950-1952
2019.27.19: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1953-1959
Part 17 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1953-1959
2019.27.2: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1900-1906
Part 2 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital from 1900-1906
2019.27.20: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - hospital governors from 1902 to 1939
Saltaire Hospital Timeline - hospital governors from 1902 to 1939
A spreadsheet showing the Governors of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital for 1902-1939
2019.27.3: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1907-1913
Part 3 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital from 1907-1913
2019.27.4: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1914-1918
Part 4 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital from 1914-1918
2019.27.5: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1919-1923
Part 5 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital from 1919-1923
2019.27.6: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1924-1927
Part 6 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital from 1924-1927
2019.27.7: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1928-1930
The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital part 7 from 1928-1930
2019.27.8: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1931-1934
Part 8 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital from 1931-1934
2019.27.9: Saltaire Hospital Timeline - 1935-1937
Part 9 The history of the Sir Titus Salt Hospital from 1935-1937
B1-356-21: Messrs Salts (Saltaire) Ltd. (Sir Titus Salt's Hospital)
Messrs Salts (Saltaire) Ltd. (Sir Titus Salt's Hospital)
Details of the new building for the Sir Titus Salt's Hospital - drawn up by W.J.Morley (architects)
B1-356-22: Messrs Salts (Saltaire) Ltd. (Sir Titus Salt's Hospital)
Minutes of a special board meeting of the Board of Sir Titus Salt's Hospital discussing plans for new hospital
B1-356-23: Messrs Salts (Saltaire) Ltd. (Sir Titus Salt's Hospital)
B1-356-24: Messrs Salts (Saltaire) Ltd. (Sir Titus Salt's Hospital)
Sir Titus Salt's Hospital Board to Morley re. meeting to discuss new hospital
B1-356-25: Messrs Salts (Saltaire) Ltd. (Sir Titus Salt's Hospital)
Salts to Morley re. compensation received from War Department relating to the Hostel in Park Street.
C1-012a-b: Saltaire village - Maps & Plans
2 copies of floor layout of Saltaire Hospital (1989 Sales plan from Dacre Sone & Hartley)
Copy of second floor layout of Saltaire Hospital (1989 Sales plan)
C1-014a-b: Saltaire village - Maps & Plans
2 copies of plan for a W.C. in Saltaire Hospital (1911)
Salts Hospital (55). One of a collection of Slides relating to Saltaire compiled by Albert Bowtell.
Salts Hospital (54). One of a collection of Slides relating to Saltaire compiled by Albert Bowtell.
Hospital portico. One of a collection of Slides relating to Saltaire compiled by Albert Bowtell.
C2b-168: Saltaire village Images (Places)
Photograph of Saltaire Infirmary showing 2 storeys
C2b-169: Saltaire village Images (Places)
Photograph of Saltaire Infirmary showing 3 storeys
C2b-190: Sir Titus Salt's Hospital with two storeys (late nineteenth century)
Sir Titus Salt's Hospital with two storeys (late nineteenth century)
Black and white photograph of Titus Salt's Hospital. Has the original two storeys. A group of schoolchildren stand outside.
Photograph of Sir Titus Salt's Hospital with 3 storeys.
C2b-192: Saltaire village Images (Places)
photocopies on items re. history of Sir Titus Salt Hospital
C2b-197: Saltaire village Images (Places)
Printed card of photograph of 'Salts Hospital showing 3 storeys'
C2b-274: Saltaire village Images (Places)
One of a set of mounted photos on long cards. 'Albert Terrace - The School - Salts Hospital'
C2b-323: Sir Titus Salt's Hospital & almshouses
Photograph of the Sir Titus Salt's Hospital and adjacent almshouses on Victoria Road, Saltaire.
C2b-361: Sir Titus Salt's Hospital with three storeys
Sir Titus Salt's Hospital with three storeys
Photograph of Sir Titus Salt's Hospital showing added third floor in the 1920s.
A personal history by Jack Hogg, born in Saltaire in 1922. His account includes details of growing up in Saltaire, including attending Albert Road School.
To view the full story please contact the Saltaire Collection
Jack was born in 1922 and was told that his great grandfather had originally lived in the area but had moved to Richmond, North Yorkshire, where his father and his father’s brothers and sisters were born. His father’s family came back to live in Saltaire when his father was a boy. The family lived in Upper George Street and Jack describes how the kitchen was fitted out with a gas stove and a large sink with (cold) running water. Jack was fascinated by the dry closet toilets in the village that had to be emptied manually by the ‘night soil’ men using a horse and cart. Before long, sewers were laid in the village and an innovation was installed in each house – the ‘Tipler Toilet’. This was a simple system involving a 10-inch diameter shaft that had a seat at the top end and was connected to the sewer at the base of the shaft. All waste water drained into the shaft and when an optimum weight was reached, the lid tipped over and emptied the shaft which was a bit of a shock for anyone sitting on the seat when it happened. Jack’s mother and Auntie were weavers at Salts Mill and when Jack’s father married his mother, they were allocated a house at 18 Helen Street. Most of Jack’s close family worked in the Mill. His grandfather was a lift and hoist operator and other family members worked in different areas. His mother and Aunt were responsible for two standard looms, arranged in a ‘gate’ position and driven by large belts from overhead shafting. Jack recalls the noise being ‘shattering’ and that the only communication possible was through lip reading. A poignant memory for Jack was the outbreak of both Diphtheria and Scarlet Fever in his childhood. In the late 1920’s he was confirmed as being infectious and taken to Morton Banks Isolation Hospital for seven weeks in the ‘Fever Van’. He was aged 7 years, but his parents could only visit once a week on a Saturday and visits were only allowed outside the building, where his parents could only shout greetings to him through a sealed window. Jack's memories include those of his school days, ‘wash days’ at home, the cobbled back alleys, the places of worship and the many other amenities in Saltaire.
C3a-083a,c,e: Saltaire born and bred by Audrey May Tattam
Saltaire born and bred by Audrey May Tattam
An account of being born in and growing up in Saltaire by Audrey May Tattam (nee Lee). Audrey was born in 1926. The booklet contains personal recollections of her early years, including attending school and the Second World War. Includes some photographs. Copy C3a-083a is signed by Audrey and says 'Love from Audrey Tattam 'God gave us memories' ' says
Audrey was born on May 6, 1926 in the Norman Rae Nursing Home at the top of Kirkgate, Shipley – a stones throw from her family home. She was carried home by her father, John Charles (Charlie) Lee to their house at 11, Albert Road Saltaire. It was the year of the miners striking and coal shortages and a national strike, when mass unemployment allowed some employers to lower wages. Audrey’s memories of her childhood include recalling the common practice in Saltaire residences of taking lodgers and of an unusual visitor who stayed with her family. The visitor was Learie Constantine who played cricket for the West Indies (and later went on to be a distinguished politician, High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago, and campaigner for racial equality) and was visiting to consider whether to play cricket with either the Saltaire Cricket Club or at Windhill Shipley Cricket Club – in the event he was offered better terms by Windhill. Audrey’s father was a proficient cricketer and captained Saltaire for some years. Of her school memories, one described was the practice of learning proverbs and sayings that ‘taught wisdom’, proverbs such as ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’ and ‘a stitch in time saves nine’. After starting school, Audrey could explore the village and remembers playing safely in Saltaire’s streets because horses, carts and bicycles were the only traffic. She recalls that Saltaire’s children, both at home and at school, were taught to be good, obedient, honest and hardworking to deserve living in Saltaire and that the children were eager to conform to Sir Titus Salt’s high standards. Audrey’s recorded memories include her fascination with the street names, the Lions on their pedestals on Victoria Road, borrowing books from the Institute’s library, her brother’s visit to Salts Hospital when a cut required stitches and a royal visit in the 1930’s.
Saltaire born and bred by Audrey May Tattam: Front cover
Letter from William Fry to Mrs M. Giles regarding the continuation of her late husband's pension from the Sir Titus Salt's Hospital. The amount was seven shillings to be collected weekly
C3b-014: Saltaire village, Documents (Places)
Copy of the sales catalogue for 'Sir Titus Salt's Hospital'
The Land Acquisitions of Titus Salt in Shipley & Baildon
2 copies of booklet: 'The Land Acquisitions of Titus Salt in Shipley & Baildon' by Ian Watson
Content available under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA licence
THE LAND ACQUISITIONS OF TITUS SALT by Ian Watson 1 Ian Watson (2011) 2 3 INTRODUCTION The basic story of Titus Salt building up his textile empire in Bradford, and then, at the point when he might have been expected to retire, deciding to start a whole new project, developing a gigantic mill and model village, is well known. What does not seem to have been covered within the general literature on Salt and his mill, is the story of his property purchases in this area. In particular, there is little reference to his, quite substantial acquisitions in Baildon; which, as I will show, were not only on a larger scale than his purchases in Shipley, but in one instance pre-dated them. Also, few of the authors who have covered the story of Saltaire mention Dixon Mill Lane. Neither Balgarnie nor Cudworth refer to it at all, and those authors who do mention it, do so only in passing. There is also an assumption, by some authors, that the old lane, seen in the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map, was upgraded and widened and became Victoria Rd. The evidence presented below disproves that assumption. It details the chronological developments relating to Dixon Mill Lane and Victoria Rd, and the bridging of the River Aire. This occurred between the survey for the first edition Ordnance Survey map, published in 1852 and the next series, surveyed in the 1880s, by which time the building of Saltaire had been completed. This report concentrates on previously unpublished information on the development of the village and tries to avoid repeating those well-known aspects of its history. Most of the information regarding Titus Salt’s purchases in Shipley and Baildon comes from the collection of deed copies held in the Registry of Deeds at the West Yorkshire Archive Service Office based at the West Yorkshire History Centre in Wakefield. The Registry is the place where property owners could have details of their freehold property and mortgage transactions recorded and covers the years between 1704 and 1970. One of the problems with these deed copies is that it is very unusual for the early ones to have any maps or plans attached, as do some of the later ones. This means that, in some cases, the precise boundaries of the purchases are not always easy to determine. 4 The description of the properties transferred in the deeds tend to be lists of field names, so I have tried to relate the information in the deeds to the details shown on the tithe maps of Shipley and Baildon, which date from the mid-1840s. However, some of the boundaries of the acquisitions that I identify may not be a hundred percent accurate, as it is not always possible to make a perfect match between the two sets of documents. A second source of information comes from the collection of Shipley and Baildon papers that can be found within the West Riding Quarter Session records, also held at Wakefield. These Quarter Sessions courts were the main system of county administration before the introduction of County Councils in 1888. Among the many issues considered by these courts were the applications to approve the transfers of public rights of way from old roads to new ones. The information contained in these records has proved particularly informative. The papers relating to Baildon [the QT series] are part of the Quarter Session papers for the Liberty of Cawood, Wistow and Otley. As the parish of Otley, of which Baildon was a part, was a ‘Peculiar’ of the Archbishopric of York, their Quarter Session records were administered separately from rest of the West Riding until 1864, when the ‘Liberty’ was brought within the West Riding. As a result, on their arrival at Wakefield, these records were recorded separately. They are now searchable via the West Yorkshire Archive Service web-site (http://www.wyjs.org.uk). The files relating to Shipley [the QS1 series] can only be accessed on- site at the Wakefield office. Many of the plans used as source material for this study have been in storage for over a 150 years. As such, they are often creased and dirty. Consequently, the illustrations used below reflect the non-pristine condition of these plans. The plans reference to the Quarter Session papers [the QS and QT series] are reproduced here by the kind permission of the West Yorkshire Joint Archive Service, who own the copyright. In addition, I would like to thank the following people and organisations: The archivist and volunteers of the Midland Railway Study Centre, Derby, and Julie Woodward and the management of Shipley College for permission to copy and reproduce documents held with the Saltaire Archive Collection. Ian Watson 2011 5 THE SHIPLEY PURCHASES The full extent of Titus Salt’s land purchases in Shipley is highlighted with this aerial view. Salt’s Shipley Acquisitions (taken from Google Map) The area within the purple border, which extends from Hirst Mill and Hirst Lane in the west, to part way down Saltaire Road in the east, shows the whole of Titus Salts acquisitions in Shipley. The northern boundary is the River Aire, while the southern boundary is Bingley Road. This can be compared to the area occupied by the mill and village, which is shown in orange. Here, then, is evidence that Salt bought well over twice as much land as he needed for the village. The orange border also marks the boundary of the Saltaire World Heritage site, on the Shipley side of the river. Though Roberts/Saltaire Park, across the river in Baildon, is also included within the SWH boundary. The yellow oblong marks the one piece of quarry land, situated behind the Alms Houses at the top of Victoria Road, that was bought by his sons after Titus Salt’s death . 6 The original owners The above plan identifies all the individual blocks of land that Titus Salt bought in Shipley. The land now occupied by the mill and village was originally owned by 8 different land owners. In addition to these purchases, Salt bought land on both the east and west side of the future village from a further 6 individuals. Making a total of 14 separate purchases between 1850 and 1874. All of the fields shown in the plan, with the exception of the land between Saltaire Road and Bingley Road, consisted of conventional farmland at the time of the purchases, and contained a range of arable, pasture and grass-meadow. The fields between Saltaire Road and Bingley Road, though, had been created out of rough moorland by the Shipley Enclosure Act (1815-1825). This land contained good quality sandstone, which was suitable for quarrying. It is almost certain that, having obtained permission for quarrying from the Lord of the Manor, stone from this site, and quarries in other parts of Shipley and the surrounding area were used in the construction of the mill and village. 7 First Shipley Purchase 1850 According to the information in the deed of sale, the first purchase in Shipley appears to have been in late December 1850 when Titus Salt bought around 22 acres of land from William Crompton Stansfield of Esholt Hall, for £12,000. There appears to have been no public notice of this land being placed on sale, so it may have taken place through a private contact. This land ran between the Shipley to Bramley Turnpike Road, later Saltaire Road, and the river. This purchase, highlighted in red in the above plan, included most of the fields on either side of an ancient track called Dixon Mill Lane, along with the old corn and fulling mill down by the river. It also included a tiny piece of land on the Baildon side of the river. There had been a mill at the bottom of Dixon Mill Lane since 1635, when William Dixon had bought or leased the land on the south bank of the Aire, along with the small plot on the north bank in Baildon. This, I presume, would have been a standard requirement when someone needed to build a water-driven mill, as they would have needed control of at least some land on the opposite side of the river in order to build the weir. Following the purchase, Dixon built a water-powered corn mill and a fulling mill on the site, along with the weir and a goit. Fulling is one of the final processes in the manufacture of woollen cloth. Fulling stocks consisted of large wooden hammers, which were driven by the power from a water-wheel. They were used beat the woven cloth in order to blend the short woollen fibres together and produce a firm hard- wearing cloth. 8 The main part of Dixon’s Mill was built over the gap created by the cutting of a goit (a man-made cut) along the length of a gravel bank that lay roughly parallel to the south bank of the river. This goit allowed water to be drawn under the mill to power the water-wheels. It then ran out along the goit. A surviving plan of the complex (see page 11) shows that the mill complex consisted of relatively small buildings, and, as such, would only have employed a limited number of workers. th By the beginning of the 19 century there was a corn mill, a fulling mill and a woollen mill operating here. The whole complex was run through the power of three water-wheels; one running the corn-milling stones; one running four fulling stocks and one running the carding and scribbling, a processes involving the disentangling of the woollen fibres, prior to spinning. As the deed of purchase shows, however, at the time that Salt bought it, only the corn mill and the fulling mill were operating. The corn mill was being operated at that time by John and Joseph Knowles, and the fulling mill by James Davidson. Dixon’s Mill and the cottages 9 Just four years prior to Salt’s 1850 purchase, the new railway line from Shipley to Colne had been cut through Dixon Mill Lane. The plan above shows how the land on which the future mill and village would be constructed looked in the mid-1840s. The construction of the railway would have required some alteration to the lane as it approached the intersection with the line. It would seem that the levelling of the bed for the rail track as it passed this section had created a shallow embankment on the southern side of the line, and this would have needed to have been breached to allow the old road to descend to the track level. A level crossing was constructed at the intersection with the lane, and a cottage was built on the north side of the track for the crossing-keeper. In 1851, the crossing was manned by Joseph Goldsborough. Immediately to the north of the crossing-keeper’s cottage was a long row of cottages running parallel to the lane. It is likely that they were built sometime after 1837, following Crompton Stansfield’s purchase of the land on the west side of Dixon Mill Lane. Prior to this time the land had been owned by a wealthy Bramhope man, Christopher Driver. By 1837, it had passed into the hands of a John Morley of Dishforth, and it was Morley who sold it to Crompton Stansfield. Salt’s deed of purchase says that there were eight cottages in the row, though the census, taken in March 1851, shows that there were 11 families living in the houses. The heads of the households included a clothier, three wool combers, a cloth miller and a cloth fuller, all of whom, presumably, would have worked in the nearby mill. There was also a maltster, who might have worked in any of the many beer-houses in Shipley, two stone-quarrymen, who would probably have worked in the quarries off ‘Saltaire Rd’ and two coal miners, who may have worked in the pits of nearby Moorhead and Northcliffe. One of the cottages was occupied by a William Craven, who had nine children, which, along with his wife, meant that there were 11 people in that one small cottage. 10 Dixon’s Mill yard -The path to the stepping stones Beyond the cottages, a swing-bridge carried the old lane over the Leeds and Liverpool canal. (The base of this bridge can still be seen on the south bank of the canal, just to the east of the present canal bridge) Dixon Mill Lane, being, presumably, part of an ancient cross-valley route between Shipley, Baildon and Eldwick, was a public bridle way and public right of way. Once over the canal the public pathway led through Dixon’s Mill yard, and then towards the river bank, where a set of stepping stones allowed traveller to cross the river. (The public right-of- way is shown on the above plan by the black line) Once on the Baildon side, the traveller would then have had to wade through a shallow ford, before fully gaining the northern bank. The most famous user of these stepping-stones was the Airedale Poet, John Nicholson, who drowned at this spot in April 1843, while crossing the river, on his way to Eldwick. 11 The second Dixon Mill Lane A short time after Titus Salt had completed the purchase of this land he started the construction of a new road, that ran, more or less parallel to the old Dixon Mill Lane. In order to complete this new road, which initially became the second Dixon Mill Lane, Salt also built a set of bridges over the railway, the canal and the river. Prior to this he obtained permission from the Quarter Session Magistrates to close the public right of way on the old lane and stepping stones and transfer the rights to his new lane and bridges. (The above plan, incidentally, gives a slightly misleading impression of these roads, due to the fact that the original plan was folded and crumpled, and proved impossible to smooth out when taking the photograph of it). Salt must have recognised the necessity of constructing a new road and building bridges over both the canal and the railway, in order to facilitate the expected heavy traffic following the opening of the mill, and avoid the obvious problems of using the level crossing and a swing-bridge, 12 However, the cast-iron bridge over the railway line required the approval of two railway companies before it could be built: “We the Leeds and Bradford Railway Company being the owners and We the Midland Railway Company being the occupiers of land over and near which the Extension of the Leeds and Bradford Railway from Shipley to Colne passes, being part of the lands described in the plan hereunto annexed, through and over which part of a certain highway lying between the Shipley and Bramley Turnpike Road and the River Aire is intended to be diverted and turned, in consideration of Titus Salt of Crownest in the township of Hipperholme cum Brighouse in the Parish of Halifax in the West Riding of the County of York Esquire, his heirs or assignees, making and for ever hereafter maintaining such new Highway and the bridge by means of which the same is to cross the said railway, Do hereby consent to the making and continuing such new highway through and over the said Lands and Railway Given under our respective common seals this twenty eighth day of April One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two”. (QS1/191/10) The construction of the new road would have involved the demolition of the cottages lining the old lane, and the relocation of their tenants. It is not known what happened to the majority of these people. Census records show that by 1861 one of the hand wool-combers, Mr Else and his family, had moved to Briggate in Windhill; while Mr Goldsborough, the level-crossing keeper, had become a gardener, working at Holling Hall, at the top of Moorhead Lane. The corn miller, Mr Pickard, who had been living in Dixon Mill yard, was in the same occupation in 1861, though now living in Providence Rd, at nearby Dockfield. 13 In order for the new road to go over the railway, at the height required to allow rail traffic to pass safely under the bridge, an embankment had to be constructed to raise the road. This embankment appears to start just north of Caroline Street and increases in height as the road approaches the railway, while at the same time allowing the road to drop very gently, at the rate of seven feet between Caroline Street to the start of the bridge. The rear of the lower Victoria Road shops The extent of this ramp can best be seen by looking from Albert Terrace along the rear of the Victoria Rd shops, and noting the differing heights of the basements (see illustration above). The natural fall of the hill can be seen in the slope of the back lane. The road on the north side of the railway bridge is supported on a much shorter ramp, designed to carry the road down at a steeper angle to bring it down to the level of the mill yard within a short distance. The canal was then crossed by another new bridge, 68 feet long. (Evidence of the canal company’s approval for the canal bridge, which would have been required, has not, as yet, been located). 14 The First Bridge across the river Once across the canal, the new road was carried over the river by a new, 450 ft. long, bridge, which crossed the river at a 30-degree angle to the road. There appears to be no logical reason for the decision to build the bridge at an angle, as it would have been a much narrower span if the bridge had crossed the river in a straight line, and there is no doubt that by this time Salt owned the land directly opposite. The bridge was a type of tubular girder bridge. That is, a bridge that was not a fully enclosed box, but where the tubular element was in the sides of the bridge and consisted of narrow hollow sections locked together by a hollow box on top of each side. As can be seen in the illustration below, the box-type top sections of the two sides are a feature of the bridge. Although there is no evidence to prove it, it is possible that the bridge was designed by William Fairbairn, who had played an important part in the construction of the mill. It is known that Fairbairn had done much of the early research into the structural properties of wrought iron, the material used in the construction of the bridge. The only known fact about this first bridge is that it was constructed by Messrs. Butler of Stanningley, a firm of bridge builders. 15 First Bridge-print The print above is of that first bridge, though the angle of the view gives the appearance that the bridge is straight. We know that it is the first bridge because of its stone piers. (This print differs from the plan submitted to the Quarter Session Magistrates, shown on page15, in that it only shows four buttresses; one on the north bank of the canal, one on the south bank of the river, one in the middle of the river and one on the north bank of the river; while the plan suggests that there were as many as six, with a double pair on the north bank of the river, and an extra one between the canal bank and the river bank). Following Salt’s application to the county authorities, two West Riding magistrates, Benjamin Thompson and Richard Dyneley Chamberlain came to Shipley in May 1852, to survey the existing arrangements, and to assess the planned changes. They reported back to the Quarter Sessions on the improvements that the new road and bridges would bring compared to the old lane and stepping-stones. “ … and we certify that the said proposed intended new highway or part of a highway is nearer and more commodious to the public … as it crosses the said River Aire by a wide and permanent bridge, whereas the (existing) highway … crosses the said River Aire by a ford and stepping- stones, and is often attended with danger and is altogether impracticable 16 in consequence of the flooding of heavy rain during a considerable part of the winter months … and that the said proposed bridge is of the width th of 27 feet.” (5 May 1852: QT3/4/11) This was followed by: “It is ordered that so much of the said mentioned highway (which leads_ from the town of Shipley …. (over) the ford and stepping stones over The River Aire … (is to be) diverted and stopped up... And in its place a new highway is to be set out and made”. rd (3 July 1852: QT3/4/11) Approval for the stopping up of the old lane and the transfer of the public right of way onto the new road and bridge was sought and given at a sitting of the Quarter Session magistrates at Bradford in June 1852. Although the records show that the road and the bridge were not officially passed for public use until October 1855, it is almost certain that both were in use prior to this time. The first bridge across the river stood for about 12 years. It was then demolished, and a new bridge was built to replace it. There is little information concerning the demolition and re-building. One of the few newspaper references to the changes taking place is a newspaper report referring to an incident in May 1868, when a man, named Henry Wood, working on the demolition of the old bridge, was killed. The accident was witnessed by Titus Salt Jr, who happened to be observing the work at the time. Construction of the new bridge, 327 feet in length, and running straight across the river this time, commenced in 1867. It was completed in 1868. The new bridge was supported by cast-iron columns. The reason for the replacement of the stone buttresses with hollow, cast-iron tubes is not known. It is more than likely that the top section of the old bridge was used in the new bridge, as old photographs show that the new bridge was also a tubular girder bridge. These old photographs also imply that the caps of the supports were re-used, though they were removed some time before this second bridge was demolished. 17 Reconstruction of the two Dixon Mill Lanes relative to Victoria Road It is important to realise that the new road that Titus Salt constructed to replace the original Dixon Mill Lane was not the Victoria Road that exists today. Using the plans from the various Salt applications to the Quarter Sessions and an undated plan of the village by Lockwood and Mawson, showing the village superimposed onto the early field layout of the site, it is possible to make a reasonable calculation for the line of the two roads that preceded Victoria Road. In the plan above, the outline of the original Dixon Mill Lane is shown in purple, while Salt’s first road, which became the second Dixon Mill Lane is shown in green. The top part of the original Dixon Mill Lane is now covered by the first few dozen yards of Exhibition Rd. It then ran across the area now occupied by the end houses of Titus St and Mawson St, the rear of Victoria Hall, and the middle of Lockwood St, finally, it ran under the site of the later Congregational Church Sunday School, now the Caroline St car-park. 18 The second Dixon Mill Lane started at the end of Harold Place, then cut through the site now covered by Titus St, Mawson St and the middle of Victoria Hall, before straightening up about the end of Caroline St. The remaining part of the present-day Victoria Rd, from the junction with Caroline St, down to the river, is the surviving part of that second Dixon Mill Lane. The reason for the unusual line of this first road is not easy to interpret. It is possible that it was laid out simply as a temporary road, in order to allow heavy traffic to have easy access to the site during the construction of the new mill and village. Though why Salt did not have the road go straight up the hill from the start, given that he owned the land as far as the Shipley to Bramley Turnpike, now Saltaire Road, is something of a mystery. The terrace of shops between the railway line and Caroline St, fronting onto the present Victoria Rd, were built around 1854. At the time of the 1861 census they were described as being in ‘Victoria Street’, and they would have been the only buildings in the road south of the railway bridge. It would appear that the second Dixon Mill Lane was only in existence for around ten years. In August 1863, Titus Salt applied to the Shipley Local Board to have the southern portion of this 1853 road, between Caroline St and the turnpike road, closed, as he intended to integrate the northern portion into another new road that he had laid down. Having by this time purchased the land all the way up to the Bradford-Bingley Road. The Shipley Local Board were in favour of the scheme, though they had to get the formal approval of the West Riding Magistrates in order to confirm their decision. This was done in the Quarter Session meeting at Leeds in September of that year. The process of closing roads and transferring public rights of way allowed for public consultation and the right to object to the plans. The law required that notices of the intention of a change of use had to be posted at either end of the ‘old’ lane, and that duplicate notices were to be fixed to the door of Shipley Parish Church for four successive Sundays st after the 21 August. It was also required that notices be published in the local press. This had also occurred in 1852, in connection with the first road and bridge. The Bradford Observer ran the formal announcement about the changes in Saltaire for four weeks, from the last week in August through to the third week in September 1863. The records show that there were no objections from either Shipley or Baildon residents to any of the proposals that Salt had planned, and the transfer of rights to the new road went ahead as planned. 19 The new Victoria Road, showing its relationship to the second Dixon Mill Lane The new road was integrated into Dixon Mill Lane at Caroline Street. The legal closure of the southern section of the lane, (marked in blue on the above plan) allowed it to be eradicated and subsequently lost, by the development of the houses that constitute the eastern side of Victoria Rd, the building of which commenced in 1868, and the building of the Institute (later Victoria Hall), opened 1871. This same period also saw the development of the Alms houses and the hospital. 20 Shipley Purchase 1852 Towards the end of 1851, one year after the purchase of the Dixon Mill site, Titus Salt bought another set of fields running from the turnpike road down to the river, (shown in green on the above plan). He also bought two fields between the river and the canal at this time from Dr. John Outhwaite of Bradford. Now this situation is interesting, in that, as we can see, he now had two blocks of land, separated by another piece of land that he didn’t own. And it highlights another of the big questions regarding Saltaire. That is, why did Salt start building the mill and the village before he had bought all the land that he needed for the construction? We do know that house building for the village started in 1853. The first houses to be erected were in William Henry Street and the lower eastern side of George Street. Shortly after the first few houses had been built, work stopped for some time. There are various theories for this stoppage, though it did coincide with the period before he obtained the middle block of land, which he acquired from the Earl and Countess of Rosse, the lords of the manor of Shipley, in February 1854. Following the recommencement of the work, building then proceeded slowly, up, and across the hill, for the next 21 years, as and when the various blocks of land were purchased. The implication of this second purchase with a gap between it and the first block, is that either Salt must have been very confident about his future purchases, or he was very flexible concerning the final development of the village. It is known that there was an original plan for a much larger development than the one that took place, with the village stretching across both sides of the river. If this is evidence that Salt changed his mind at least once, 21 the implication is, therefore, that he could have changed his mind on several other occasions. Shipley Purchase 1854 - 1856 In the same year, 1854, Salt bought land on the south side of the Shipley to Bramley Turnpike Road from two members of the Denby family. This land would be used for the future development of Dove Street, Jane Street and part of Gordon Terrace. In 1857 Salt bought several plots of land between the railway and the canal from the Midland Railway Company. Shipley Purchase 1864 There was then a gap of a few years before he bought the next plot of land from a Thomas Chambers of Brighouse. This consisted of the land that lies to the east of the present Albert Road, (marked in yellow on the above plan). 22 But, even though by 1864 he now had virtually enough land for his village, he didn’t stop there. A couple of years later, in 1866, he bought the land on the south side of Saltaire Road, between the present Park Street and the rear of the top section of the present Victoria Road. Also, around this time he bought a large area of land to the east of his first acquisition from Matthew Wilson of Eshton Hall at Gargrave, one of the trustees of the estate of William Wainman of Cowling, whose family had owned Shipley Hall, now the Conservative Club in Otley Road. This new land stretched all the way down Saltaire Road to just beyond, what is now the Wycliffe Middle School, and included the site to the east of the school. Sir Titus sold the land for the school, following the 1870 Education Act. The school, which opened in 1876, was at first known as the Shipley Board School and later as Shipley Central School. In 1872, Sir Titus gave land to the east of the school to the Primitive Methodists, who built a large chapel on the site. Saltaire Road showing the Central School and the Primitive Methodist Church 23 Shipley Purchase 1871-74 That same year, 1872, Salt bought a large area of land to the east of Hirst Lane (coloured orange on the above plan), from the paper manufacturer, William Wright. The purchase also included Hirst Mill where Wright had had his manufactory. Much of this land was bought by Shipley Urban District Council in 1922 and used for the building of a new council estate. The land between the river and the railway was converted into playing fields and allotments around the same time. 24 In 1871, Salt had bought the very corner site at the junction of what later became Saltaire Road and Bingley Road. The buildings on the site, at the time of the purchase, consisted of a few cottages and a beer-house. These buildings may have included the old turnpike house, as this had been the junction of Shipley to Bramley Turnpike road and the Bradford to Keighley Turnpike, and there is some evidence of a chain bar being located in somewhere in this vicinity. But the absolute last piece in the jigsaw of Salts acquisitions of land required for the village, was the plot of land, on the eastern side of that corner plot. It had been owned by the Shipley Overseers ever since the enclosure in the 1820s and had been used for many years as a council yard, until Sir Titus obtained it from the Shipley Local Board in 1874. Corner Plot 1871-74 25 Gordon Terrace It was this final purchase that allowed Salt to complete the building of Gordon Terrace, Jane Street and Dove Street, the eastern sections of which had been built some 8 years earlier. This purchase marked the final stage in the building of the village of Saltaire, and indeed, the end of Salt’s land purchases in Shipley. In fact, Titus Salt died two years after this final purchase. The Salt’s mill company did acquire more land in Shipley after Titus Salt’s time, but that is another story. 26 BAILDON The origins of Titus Salt’s first purchase in Baildon lay in the decision of the Lord of the Manor, and the largest property owner in the township at this time, Miss Anna Jane Meek, to sell off the 750 acres of land, comprising her manor and farms in Baildon, in 1849. At the time of the sale, Miss Meek was in her seventies. In all probability, she had been born in Baildon Hall, but by this time she was not a Baildon resident. She lived in Kirk Hammerton, which lies between Harrogate and York, and so perhaps she had just lost interest in the area, or perhaps property prices were on the rise, and she decided to take advantage of the situation. Baildon Manor sale advert : Bradford Observer August 1849 27 In 1737, the lord of the manor of Baildon was Lt.Col. Francis Thompson. His Baildon lands included ‘Jowetts Farm’, now the eastern end of the Coach Road; ‘Hall Farm’, which spread from the banks of the River Aire and then up the hill between Cliffe Lane and Baildon or Barnsley Beck; ‘Brackenhall Farm’, on the Glen and the ‘Moor Farms’, better known now as Low Springs Farm, by the boundary with Hawksworth. The manor also included the possession of Baildon Hall and the Corn mill by Baildon Bridge. There were also a few isolated small farms and individual house properties scattered around the township. Thompson-Meeke-Meyer Family Tree Francis Thompson and his wife Nancy had one child Anna Jane, who had married a Paul Meyer of Pontefract in 1760. Following the death of Francis in 1741, in South America, at the battle of Cartagena, now in modern day Columbia, his widow, Nancy, married a William Meeke of Wighill Park, near York. They had a son also named William, who eventually inherited the Baildon manor and lands from his half-sister, Anna Jane, who was childless. But she left it to him, following her death in 1765, only on condition that he changed his name to that of her late husband, and he adopted the name of Meyer. th On the evening of the 18 October 1780, this same William Meeke, now William Meyer, shot dead a York court official named Joseph Spink. 28 It appears that earlier in the day Meyer had been arrested by the bailiffs of York for debt. The Sheriff of York had signed the warrant, as Meyer owed £82 in an unpaid debt to a James Beckwith, which suggests that, despite his apparent wealth, he was living beyond his means. Following the arrest, it was the intention of the officials to take Mr Meyer to the debtor’s prison on the Ouse Bridge. But he managed to persuade the bailiffs to let him remain in his lodgings in Micklegate, in order for him to try and arrange bail. So, the bailiffs left him in the care of two of their staff, one of whom was Joseph Spink. Sometime during the course of the evening, Meyer persuaded his wife to bring him his pistols from another room, and on acquiring them, he threatened his guards. As they were trying to run away, Meyer fired, and Spink was hit in the throat. (National Archives: ASSI 45/34/2) He died of his injuries the following day, and both Meyer and his wife were put on trial for murder. His wife was found not guilty, but William Meyer, who had claimed in his defence, that he had only meant to frighten the guards, and that the pistol had gone off by accident, was found guilty. He was sentenced to death, and subsequently executed at th the York Tyburn on the 6 April 1781. On his death William Meyer left a widow and two children, William and Anna Jane. William was only 9 years old when his father was executed, and it can be assumed that the family estates would have been held in trust for him until he reached legal maturity at twenty-one. What we do know is that practically the first thing he did when he finally came of age was to change his name, presumably to try and avoid the embarrassment of being connected to his notorious father. As the London Gazette for that month shows, on March 18th 1794 he legally adopted the name of Thompson. Although he had no blood connection to the Thompsons of Baildon, he claimed it was a means of honouring the old family whose lands he now possessed. On his death in 1839, he left everything to his sister, the second Anna Jane Meyer. Though by this time she had changed her name back to Meeke, in order to inherit from her Meeke grandfather. (London Gazette th 29 October 1839) And it was this Anna Jane Meeke who placed all her Baildon property up for sale in August 1849. 29 The auction, held in Bradford in October of that year, was not a complete success, and only part of the property was disposed of. The unsold land was then advertised for sale in the February 1850 issues of the Bradford Observer. And it was at this second sale that Titus Salt bought his first Baildon property, according to the date in the deed, in July of that year, 5 months before his first Shipley purchase of Dixon’s Mill. st 21 February 1850 Sales advert of Baildon property 30 Salt’s 1850 Purchase The first blocks of land that Salt bought in Baildon covered the area between Baildon Road and Cliffe Lane, as well as a large area of land between Otley Road and the river. While the block of land that Salt bought down by the river does not correspond precisely with the above sales notice, it is close enough in description and size to suggest that this is the land that was advertised in the auction notice. Now, it’s interesting to note that the February sales notice made specific reference to the riverside land being suitable for mill construction; and it raises the question of whether Salt might possibly have originally planned to build his mill and village on the Baildon side of the river. According to Balgarnie, Salt approached Lockwood and Mawson, the architects, in November of 1850, and told them that he had purchased land, ‘near Shipley’, and that he wanted them to do part of the work. He explained that the Shipley based architect and land agent, George Knowles was also to be involved in the project (p.91 Balgarnie’s Salt, Barlo and Shaw (Nemine Juvante (Saltaire Publications 2003). This story presents two problems. The evidence of the deeds suggests that Salt did not purchase the Dixon Mill site until the end of December, also, as far as I am aware, there is no evidence that George Knowles had any connection with the Dixon Mill purchase. He did, however, have some connection with at least some of the land that Salt purchased in Baildon, as he was a partner of Bailey Blackburn (see below). 31 There is, therefore, just a hint of suspicion that the land that Salt was referring to when he went to see Lockwood and Mawson, was this land in Baildon. If this was the case, then it is likely that Salt only changed his mind when the more suitable location of the Dixon Mill site in Shipley, with its closer proximity to the canal and railway, came up for sale later that year. Of course, the real problem is our lack of knowledge on Titus Salt’s thoughts at this time. And I have to say that this is simply a speculative idea on my part. Although, what else he might have wanted this land for, given that, subsequently, he did nothing with it within his own lifetime, suggests that the theory might be worth considering. Salts 1851-2-Purchase The year after his first purchase, Salt bought another large piece of land to the west of Otley Road. (This is the area marked in orange on the plan above. The area marked in black is the Midgeley Wood and Thompson Lane area, bought the following year from Richard Paul Amplett, the son in law of the Ferrands of Bingley, who had originally owned the land.) This riverside land had been part of Miss Meeke’s first sale, and had originally been bought by Bailey Blackburn, a Bradford chemist and land speculator, who lived in Baildon. George Knowles appears to have advertised this land for sale in June th 1850 (see Bradford Observer 27 June 1850), though Salt did not purchase the land until September 1851. According to Cudworth, Blackburn sold this land to Salt for £10,000, which was twice the amount he had paid for it a year earlier. 32 The new and old Green Lane 1851 A short time after buying the river-side land, Salt had a new road cut through from Otley Road up to the sharp right-hand corner of the old Green Lane. This new road replaced the old, narrow lane, that for some reason didn’t suit Mr Salt. The laying out of this new road, does suggest that Salt was planning something in the area, and it has been suggested that he had intended to build a house, and create a parkland along the riverside. The original Baildon Green Lane was a public right of way, and in 1852, Salt applied for permission to transfer that right onto his new road and eliminate the old lane. 33 Baildon-1856-Purchase In 1856, Salt bought the small wooded hill to the north-east of Green Lane, called Fairbank Wood, along with the associated farm. The Knoll In 1862 he sold this land to Charles Stead, a manager and later a director of the mill who built a house called ‘The Knoll’ at the highest point in the wood. 34 Baildon-1855-62-Purchase In 1855, Salt had bought a small group of cottages and orchards at the junction of Cliffe Lane and Otley Road. But in 1862 he transferred most of this land and the land to the north of it to his son Edward, who had the house he called ‘Ferniehurst’ built on the site. Ferniehurst 35 There are no known photographs of Ferniehurst, but as can be seen from the OS map above, it was a substantial house. It had formal gardens, several large glass-houses and from the lodge in Baildon Road, a long winding drive through a private wood. Even though Salt was buying a lot of land during this period, he also occasionally sold some. Throughout 1856 and ’57, he was selling off small plots of land around the area of Green Lane and Cliffe Lane, to various private individuals. Following these sales, several private houses, and terraces were constructed in the area. Green Lane junction It may be argued that whatever his original intentions regarding his Green Lane and Otley Road purchases, Salt had changed his mind, and he was getting rid of some of his surplus land. He did however, remain committed to most of the land lying to the west of Otley Road. A few years after laying out the new Green Lane, Salt started the construction of another brand-new road, leading from the corner of Green Lane to the bottom of Victoria Road. The plan above shows the first section of the new road, with the old riverside path highlighted in blue. And the plan below shows the continuation of the new road as far as the bridge. 36 Coach Road 2-1863 The plan above shows the continuation of the new road as far as the bridge. I also shows the relationship between Salt’s new mill and the old Dixon’s Mill. The junction of the road and bridge may look slightly strange, compared to the present Coach Road, but it’s only because there was a re-alignment of this western end of the road, when the new straight bridge was put across the river, and a new link to the bridge had to be made. It’s interesting to note that in all probability, this road, which was nearly 1 mile long, was built simply as a private carriage road to allow Salt’s son, Edward, and his manager, Charles Stead, to travel to the mill easily, rather than going around and through Shipley. And of course, he also built an extension to this road following the purchase of Milner Fields, for the benefit of Titus jnr., all of which seems to be an indication of the extravagance of Salt at this time. Having completed this eastern section of the Coach Road, Salt applied to have the ancient public right of way transferred from the river-side path up onto his new road. This meant that although the Coach Road was a private road, pedestrians and horse riders had the legal right to use it. 37 Gate house Old photographs show gates at the corner of Green Lane and the Coach Road, and there were also gates at the bottom of Victoria Road, But they were only there to stop the unauthorised entry of commercial vehicles, who needed permission to access the road and the bridge. However, various farmers and other property owners who lived within this area had certain legal rights of access, and they did have the right to use the new road and the Victoria Road bridge. The removal of the legal entitlement to use the old riverside path meant that it could now be closed, leaving the land free for some form of development, though we now know, this never happened in Salt’s lifetime. There are, of course, sections of this path still surviving on the side of the river between Otley Road and the Victoria Road bridge. Though it can be assumed that they are not officially public rights of way anymore, and their survival is presumably just a matter of luck. 38 Baildon-1865-6 purchase In 1865 Salt bought two fields just below Walker Wood, from the Dawson family of Baildon Green (marked in light green on the plan above). The following year, Richard Paul Amplett sold Salt the two Trench Farm properties. Their fields ran from the lower section of the future Saltaire Park, right up to the boundary with Bingley at Load Pit Beck (This land is marked in orange). Now these, at least as far as I have been able to identify, were the final acquisitions that Titus Salt made within Baildon. It is possible that I have missed some of the purchases while searching the indexes at Wakefield; and I should point out that, there is just one field in the centre of this picture that I have not been able to prove was bought during Titus Salt’s lifetime, though it almost certainly came into the possession of the family at some point in time. It’s also possible that his sons bought more land either before or after Titus’ death, but that is something that I have not gone into up to the present time. But what I have been able to show is that Titus Salt himself, bought at least 250 acres of land in Baildon, over a period of 16 years; and this compares with just over 100 acres that he bought in Shipley. 39 The western Coach road The western section of the Coach Road, was constructed sometime before 1870, following the purchase of the Milner Fields estate, which, of course, is in Bingley, and outside the scope of this study. The green-arrowed track on the above plan shows the line of this new road, cutting through the fields towards the eastern entrance to the Milner Fields estate. The closed lanes In March 1870, following the completion of this new road, Titus Salt applied to the Baildon Local Board of Health to close several old paths running between the bridge at Saltaire and Load Pit Beck. These are shown in green on this plan. And just as on the eastern section of the road, he wanted the old rights of way transferred onto his new road. 40 Interestingly, the public right of way on this side of the bridge was not on the river-side path, but on the lower of the two paths leading up to the Trench Farms. I can only assume that this change had been made when th the farms were built in the 18 century. After passing between the two farms, the public path then returned back down to the river-side path, which leads on towards the Seven Arches. For some reason, Salt decided to restrict access to the two Trench properties, and that section of the old way that ran between the two farms was closed to the public. Western Coach Road - New Trench Road It was replaced by a brand-new lane leading up to the junction with the ancient pack-horse route between Baildon and Bingley (marked in green on the above map). Following the construction of the new lane, the top section of the old lane was removed. Approval for all these changes was given at the Quarter Sessions held in th Bradford on the 27 June 1870. 41 Saltaire Park It would have been about this time that Salt started to develop Saltaire Park, which was opened in July 1871. Interestingly, the park was laid out across part of the old lane leading from the stepping stones to the Trench farms. And that section of the old lane survives to this day (marked in green on the above map) in the form of the path that divides the cricket field from the higher terrace and formal gardens. 42 Green Lane junction-with houses As I mentioned earlier, much of the land on the top side of Green Lane and at the bottom of Cliff Lane, had been sold off in the late 1850s. These small-scale sell-offs continued, and in the early 1870s Salt sold most of the land, fronting Otley Road, between the bridge and Green Lane, and a terrace of houses were built on the site. The corner plot, though, was not sold until 1887, by Salt’s sons. BAILDON POSTSCRIPT As far as the land on the other side of Otley Road is concerned, with the exception of a few sales, Salt did practically nothing with the bulk of this site, and it was left to later generations to dispose of it. He had sold a large plot of land (A) (see below), at the south-western end to C.F.Taylor in 1862, and Taylor built a new mill on the site. While at the other end, he sold, or maybe he gave, the land for Charlestown cemetery,(E) which was opened in 1863. Though, for some reason the deed of transfer from Salt to the Airedale Cemetery Company, does not seem to have been made until 1871. The land for the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel had been sold to the Trustees in 1870. While the Midland Railway Company had bought the land required for the viaduct, in November 1874. Nothing much then seemed to happen to this area during the remainder of the Salt’s family involvement with the mill. 43 I have not been able to determine the sequence of events regarding the one field on top side of Otley Road (F), that had been part of Salt’s original purchase, and which is now covered by the bottom of Midland Road. In 1895, the Salt’s mill company tried to sell off all their undeveloped land in both Shipley and Baildon. But the planned disposal appears to have been a failure, because most of the land advertised in the sale notice of that year was left unsold. In 1898, though, William Butterfield bought one plot on this Charlestown site (B), on which he later built a galvanising works. Nine years later, he bought the neighbouring plot (C) in order to extend his business. The remainder of the land between Butterfields and the railway viaduct (D) was bought from the mill company by Bertram Roberts, the son of Sir James Roberts, in 1910. He gave the land to the people of Baildon for recreation purposes, and it came to be known as Roberts Park. The land then seems to have remained in Baildon’s possession until 1952, when the UDC sold it to Butterfields So, that is the story of Titus Salt’s property acquisitions in Shipley and Baildon, as far as I have been able to determine it. And, it brings us back to the original question. Why did he buy so much land on both sides of the river and left so much virtually untouched. It’s probably the case that we will never know why he did what he did, but it’s this kind of question that keeps the interest in the subject of the life and work of Titus Salt alive. 44 45
C3b-347: Newscuttings relating to closure of Sir Titus Salt's Hospital
Newscuttings relating to closure of Sir Titus Salt's Hospital
Photocopy of a scrapbook of news cuttings relating to the closure of Sir Titus Salt's Hospital. Cuttings date from 1977.
C3b-352: Saltaire village, Documents (Places)
Laminated copy of Programme cover for a 'Hospital Concert 18th Nov. 1925 at Victoria Hall
C3b-353: Saltaire village, Documents (Places)
Collection of cuttings on Salts Hospital & Opening of new wing Feb. 1928
C3b-361: Saltaire village, Documents (Places)
Poster for a 'Concert in aid of Salt's Hospital
C3b-404: Items on the Sir Titus Salt Hospital
Items on the Sir Titus Salt Hospital. A booklet from the 'Saltaire Resource Base'
C3b-440: News cuttings related to closure of Sir TItus Salt's Hospital
News cuttings related to closure of Sir TItus Salt's Hospital
A scrapbook of cuttings on the closure of Salts Hospital
C3b-442a: Programme of service for centenary of Sir Titus Salt's hospital
Programme of service for centenary of Sir Titus Salt's hospital
Programme for: Thanksgiving Service for the centenary of Sir Titus Salts Hospital' (1968)
C3b-442b: Service marks Salts hospital centenary
Newspaper cutting 'Service marks Salts hospital centenary'
C3b-550: Newscuttings concerning Sir Titus Salt's Hospital
Newscuttings concerning Sir Titus Salt's Hospital
Items on the Sir Titus Salt's Hospital (infirmary) with news cuttings and photographs. Includes: snippet detailing hospital staff Surgeon W. H. Ellis and Nurse Sarah Turner; article from SHipley Times and Express about the newly-opened hospital; costs of running the hospital in 1906; and a partial reproduction of the commemorative leaflet from 1922 of the Foundation Day celebration.
Newscuttings concerning Sir Titus Salt's Hospital: Page 1
Newscuttings concerning Sir Titus Salt's Hospital: Page 2
C3b-551: Saltaire village, Documents (Places)
Telegraph & Argus newspaper cutting on:'Salt's Hospital is 100 years old' (10th September 1968)
C3b-553: Article on Salt Auxilliary Hospital during the First World War
Article on Salt Auxilliary Hospital during the First World War
Transcript of an article in the Shipley Times & Express on the Staff of the Salt Auxillary Hospital (25 May 1917).
C3b-554: Saltaire village, Documents (Places)
Copy of a report on the proposed closure of Sir Titus Salt Hospital - March 1977
C3b-555: Saltaire village, Documents (Places)
Copies of pages from the sales brochure for the sale of Sir Titus Salt's Hospital - 1989
D1-068a: Hospital concert 18 November 1925
Programme for Sir Titus Salt's Hospital Concert: November 18th 1925
Victoria Hall, Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
D1-068b: Programme for Hospital concert 18 November 1925
Programme for Hospital concert 18 November 1925
Copy of programme for Sir Titus Salt's Hospital Concert: Nov 18th 1925
D1-068c: Notes for ticket prices for Hospital concert 18 November 1925
Notes for ticket prices for Hospital concert 18 November 1925
Typed notes for ticket prices for Sir Titus Salt's Hospital Concert: November 18th 1925
D1-068d: Typed notes for Hospital concert 18 November 1925
Typed notes for Hospital concert 18 November 1925
Typed notes of artist for Sir Titus Salt's Hospital Concert: November 18th 1925
D1-068e-g: Programmes for Hospital concert 12 March 1925
Programmes for Hospital concert 12 March 1925
3 Programmes for Sir Titus Salt's Hospital Concerts: March 12th 1925
D1-068h: Advert for Hospital concert 12 March 1925
Advert for Hospital concert 12 March 1925
Copy of advert for: 'Grand Concert in Aid of Sir Titus Salts' Hospital 12th March 1925
Poster for a Grand Concert at Victoria Hall 18th November 1925 in aid of Sir Titus Salt's Hospital. THe poster lists 6 performers including 4 singers, a humorist and someone 'in character sketches'.
No copyright restrictions. Please acknowledge the work's author (if known) and the item's source
E1b-153b: 2 black & white photos of Saltaire Buildings
2 black & white photos of Saltaire Buildings
Small photos in pairs mounted on card Salts School & Sir Titus Salts's Hospital
F1a-167: Norman Rae & Northcliffe Shipley, Miscellaneous Documents.
Norman Rae & Northcliffe Shipley, Miscellaneous Documents.
Photograph of Norman Woodhead (grandson of Sir Norman Rae) at the opening of the extension of Shipley Hospital 4th September 1996. Shipley Hospital had previously been the Sir Norman Rae Nursing Home, paid for by a donation from Sir Norman Rae.
F1a-168: Opening of Norman Rae nursing home
3 newspaper cuttings on the extension to Shipley Hospital and its origins, with Norman Woodhead (grandson of Sir Norman Rae). Shipley Hospital had previously been the Sir Norman Rae Nursing Home, paid for by a donation from Sir Norman Rae.
H2-139: Sir Titus Salt Hospital Re-opening
Advertisement re.'Sir Titus Salt Hospital Re-opening' (Shipley Times & Express)
C2b-032.2: Victoria Road, Saltaire in the 1920s
Photograph of Victoria Road pointing down towards the mill with hospital on right, around 1920s. Almshouses are visible.
Saltaire Images of Places: Folder and first page
H2-210.10: Pages 15-16 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
Pages 15-16 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
May 26 1906 'The Life of a Factory Girl' (2). May 31 1906 Hospital Scheme abandoned. June 1 1906 Hospital Scheme abandoned. June 1 1906 Sir Titus Salt Charity Report (1)
H2-210.11: Pages 17-18 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
Pages 17-18 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
June 1 1906 Sir Titus Salt Charity Report (2). June 1 1906 High School extension scheme (1). June 1 1906 Mr Roberts on the Hospital Question (1)
H2-210.12: Pages 19-20 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
Pages 19-20 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
June 1 1906 High School extension scheme (2). Mr Roberts on the Hospital Question (2). June 1 1906 High School extension scheme (3). Mr Roberts on the Hospital Question (3)
H2-210.3: Page 2 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
Page 2 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
May 26 1905 Saltaire Mills. June 2 1905 Saltaire Hospital extension. June 2 1905 Saltaire Hospital Charity Commisioners (1)
H2-210.4: Pages 3-4 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
Pages 3-4 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
June 2 1905 Saltaire Hospital Charity Commissioners (2). June 16-17 1905 adverts. July 22-28 1905 adverts. July 28 1905 Anthrax. July 31 1905 Saltaire Embezzlement. Aug 4 1905 George Morrell retirement. Aug 4 1905 Mill man's embezzlement
H2-210.5: Pages 5-6 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
Pages 5-6 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
Aug 25-26 1905 adverts. Aug 24-26 1905 adverts. Sept 4-6 1905 adverts. Sept 8 1905 Salts Mill's rating appeal. Sept 11 1905 SJR on South African Ethnic Labour. May 4 1906 Proposed new Hospital at Saltaire (1)....
H2-210.6: Pages 7-8 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
Pages 7-8 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
May 4 1906 Proposed new Hospital at Saltaire (2). May 4 1906 Shipley UDC business *
H2-210.7: Pages 9-10 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
Pages 9-10 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
May 11 1906 Dr. Ellis on Council election. May 11 1906 Mr Roberts offer for a new hospital. May 11 1906 Mr and Mrs Roberts on holiday. May 17 1906 Strike at Salts Mill. May 18 1906 Strike at Salts Mill. May 18 1906 Mr Roberts offer to Shipley (1)
Born Caroline Whitlam. Wife of Sir Titus Salt who she married in 1830.
Sir Titus Salt’s Hospital was opened in Saltaire in September 1868 and provided crucial medical help many decades before the foundation of the National Health Service.
2022.33: A Dose of Salts by Vera Hornshaw
The autobiography of a nurse at Salts Hospital
A Dose of Salts by Vera Hornshaw: Front cover
Strathallan Castle, Perthshire, United Kingdom
Strahallan Castle was purchased by Sir James Roberts in 1910. Sir James offered the castle for use during the First World War, and it was used a a Red Cross convalescent hospital. Durng the Second World War it temporarily hosted a Glasgow girls school that had been moved for safety. Today the castle is still home to some of Sir James's descendants.
H2-210.54: Pages 103-104 from a book of James Robert's newspaper cuttings 1905-1918
H2-147: Strathallan Castle and convalescent soldiers
William Fry started working life on the railways but his life was transformed in his thirties when he moved to Saltaire to become the long-serving Secretary and General Manager of the Salt Schools. The 'Salt Schools eventually incorporated the High School (for Girls and Boys), the Saltaire Club and Institute, and the Technical and Art School In the late 1880s a new School of Art and Science was instigated by Titus Salt Junior. To help fund the new school and partly celebrate its opening, and Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee, Salt devised the Royal Yorkshire Jubilee Exhibition. William Fry became heavily involved in its planning, travelling round the country to visit other exhibitions at Edinburgh, Folkestone and Liverpool as well as the Colonial Exhibition in London. He wrote numerous letters to obtain exhibits and enlist support for the Exhibition. This was a difficult task because of competition with other exhibitions and attractions. William wrote that ‘obscurity, too small an affair’ were ‘prominent ideas to be combated’. William also became Secretary of the Sir Titus Salt's Hospital, likely after the management ot the hospital was passed to the Salts School Board in 1887.
Royal Yorkshire Jubilee Exhibition: Welcome arch on Victoria Road
Biography on Saltaire Collection website
A3-121: Arrangements for the Royal Yorkshire Jubilee Exhibition
A3-004: Arrangements for 1887 Royal Exhibition
E2-004a-c: Report and Balance Sheet of the Fancy Fair
E1a-062: Letter to school governors about the Royal Yorkshire Jubillee Exhibition
E1a-063: Letter from William Fry concerning Vincent Riordan
Titus Salt built an infirmary in Saltaire to care for the village residents. It had enough wards and beds for 27 patients, a dispensary and a surgery for treating workers injured in Salts Mill. The hospital was taken over by the NHS in 1948. It was sold in 1974 and became a private nursing home. It has since been converted to private residences.
H2-208.138: Baker Letters - regarding: leak at Green Lane Lodge
Baker Letters - regarding: leak at Green Lane Lodge
Burst pipe at Green Lane Lodge. Plumbers / builders were taking down the hospital at Morten Bank and re-erecting one on the quarry grounds besides Saltaire Hospital - hostel for 100 women. So too busy to fix leak. Alterations to mill described.
The Sir Titus Salt Hospital, opened in 1868, before the building of the third storey. 1 of a set of 12 photographs from the collections of the Saltaire Village Society and the Saltaire Traders' Association
2024.34: 1872: When samurai came to Saltaire
A research document from local historian Les Brook on the visit in 1872 of the Japanese Iwakura Embassy visit to Saltaire. The Iwakura Embassy was a high-level governmental group from Japan who toured the world to investigate the latest developments in industry and technology. They visited Saltaire to view the renowned Salts Mill and the model village of Saltaire. Contents include: What was the Iwakura Embassy? The Embassy’s historical backstory The members of the Embassy The Embassy in the USA Four months in Britain The visit to Bradford and Saltaire DAY 1: Thursday 24 October 1872 DAY 2: Friday 25 October 1872 DAY 3: Saturday 26 October 1872 DAY 4: Sunday 27 October 1872 DAY 5: Monday 28 October 1872 From Yorkshire to London The Embassy in continental Europe, and beyond
Salts Mill, Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE The Iwakura Embassy’s visit to Bradford and to Titus Salt’s model village Compiled and edited by Les Brook with support from members of the Saltaire History Club Special thanks to Colin Coates and to Tomoe Murai of the Iwakura Mission Society March 2024 1 Leaders of the Iwakura Embassy photographed in San Francisco in 1872 L-R: Kido Takayoshi, Yamaguchi Masuka aka Yamaguchi Naoyoshi, Iwakura Tomomi, Itō Hirobumi, Ōkubo Toshimichi 1 https://www.historyofjapaneseinny.org/blog/artifacts/iwakura-mission/ 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 2 CONTENTS PREFACE ................................ ................................ ......................... 3 What was the Iwakura Embassy?................................ ........................ 4 The Embassy’s historical backstory ................................ ..................... 5 The members of the Embassy ................................ .......................... 14 The Embassy in the USA ................................ ................................ . 16 Four months in Britain ................................ ................................ .... 18 The visit to Bradford and Saltaire ................................ ..................... 20 DAY 1: Thursday 24 October 1872 ................................ ............... 20 DAY 2: Friday 25 October 1872 ................................ .................... 22 DAY 3: Saturday 26 October 1872 ................................ ................ 30 DAY 4: Sunday 27 October 1872 ................................ .................. 31 DAY 5: Monday 28 October 1872 ................................ .................. 32 From Yorkshire to London ................................ ................................ 32 The Embassy in continental Europe, and beyond ................................ 33 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING ................................ ................... 37 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 3 PREFACE This paper summarises what we know of a remarkable event that occurred in 1872, when Titus Salt’s now universally-celebrated Saltaire 2 played host to a group of Japanese dignitaries. However, Saltaire’s ‘remarkable event’ was just one small episode in the extraordinary story of the Iwakura Embassy. Whilst I shall set out the details of the Embassy’s visit to Bradford and Saltaire, it is essential that readers understand what the Embassy was and the context of its many visits, in order to appreciate the high significance of the Embassy, for Japan and for the world. The original account of the Iwakura Embassy’s global odyssey was compiled by Kume Kunitake (pictured), secretary to the Embassy’s leader and chronicler of its travels. In 1878, it was published in Japanese in five volumes under the title Tokumei Zenken Taishi Bei-O Kairan Jikki 「特命全権大使米欧回覧実記」. In this paper, Kume’s account is often mentioned or quoted and this invariably refers to text from the full English translation, also in five volumes. A full translation into English was published by The Japan Documents in 2002. It was edited by Graham Healey and Chushichi Tsuzuki and entitled The Iwakura Embassy 1871-73. A True Account of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary's Journey of Observation through the 3 United States of America and Europe . The translators were Andrew Cobbing, Martin Collcutt, Graham Healey, P F Kornicki, Eugene Soviak and Chushichi Tsuzuki. Japan Rising, Cambridge University Press 2009, is a one-volume abridgement of the English translation. It was prepared by Chushichi Tsuzuki with the assistance of R. Jules Young. It includes an introduction 4 by Ian Nish. 2 now universally-celebrated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 3 I believe this to be a faithful translation of the original title. 4 I acknowledge a heavy reliance on Nish’s introduction in drafting The Embassy’s historical backstory. I have not made multiple individual references to that work. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 4 What was the Iwakura Embassy? ‘Iwakura Embassy’ (or ‘Iwakura Mission’) refers both to a group of leading Japanese statesmen and their support staff, and also to their round-the- world diplomatic voyage that lasted for more than 20 months, from 23 December 1871 to 13 September 1873. The aims of the Embassy were threefold: • to gain recognition for the new Japanese imperial dynasty under the Emperor Meiji • to begin preliminary renegotiation of unequal treaties with the dominant world powers and • to make a comprehensive study of modern industrial, political, military and educational systems and structures in the United States and Europe. ‘Iwakura’ refers to Iwakura Tomomi, the Embassy’s leader. He was 5 Japan’s Foreign Minister . He was also Minister of the Right: in effect, the 6 Deputy Prime Minister . For the purposes of the Embassy’s journey, he was ‘Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Europe and the United States’. 5 When the Embassy set out, Taneomi Soejima was made Japan’s Foreign Minister. Thanks to Tomoe Murai for this information, and for that in the next footnote. 6 At this point in history, the most senior ministerial post was the Daijō-daijin (Grand Minister) and his deputies were the Minister of the Left (Sadaijin) and Minister of the Right (Udaijin). The Sadaijin was the more senior of the two, but the post was vacant. As a result, Iwakura was second in command of Japan’s government. His importance and qualities are made plain in the following, from https://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e- culture/sannomaru/zuroku-79.html : The young Emperor still in his teens, was to face many difficult situations, supported by [Grand Minister] Sanjo Sanetomi… and Iwakura Tomomi… [Iwakura] was from a family not so highly ranked [as the Grand Minister], but he stood out with his brilliance and became a close advisor of [the Emperor]. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 5 The Embassy’s historical backstory 7 The Embassy’s backstory is one of national revolution. Until 1867-1868 - and for 700 years!- Japan was governed by the shōgun 8 based at Edo, later called Tokyo. The shōgun was the representative of a warrior family which kept Japan under strict control. Not the same family: there were three distinct periods in which different families held sway. At the time of the revolution, the Tokugawa family was at the helm – as it had been since 1603. The shōgun was the lord at the apex of a feudal system (the han system) of roughly 280 hereditary land holdings (domains or fiefdoms) throughout 9 Japan . Power was split between the shōgunate in Edo and the feudal lords. The lords had a degree of local sovereignty in exchange for loyalty to the shōgun who was responsible for foreign relations, national security, coinage, weights, and measures, and transportation. The extent of Japan’s revolutionary change can be gauged from the fact that the han system was abolished. Roughly 280 fiefdoms were turned into 72 prefectures, each under the control of a nationally-appointed governor, not a local lord. The dramatic incident which precipitated upheaval in the years building to revolution was the visit, on 8 July 1853, of the US East India Squadron. The expedition was commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry, under orders from President Millard Fillmore. The USA’s primary goal was to force an end to Japan's 220-year-old policy of isolation and to open Japanese ports to American trade - through the use of gunboat diplomacy if necessary. Perry's 'Black Ships' sailed into a small port at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. The vessels were symbols of the technological progress being made in other nations. It scared the Japanese. The shōgun accepted a US presidential letter brought by Perry. 7 Note that the Japanese do not use the term ‘revolution’ for this change – but looked at from a European standpoint, the scale of the changes were certainly ‘revolutionary’. 8 Shōgun (= Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians) was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Though nominally appointed by the Emperor, shōgun s were the de facto rulers of the country. Shōgun ate = government of the shōgun . 9 Han = fiefdom or domain. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 6 By this bold step, the USA broke the seclusion which had marked Japan for over two hundred years. Equally dramatically, the event lit the fuse for 10 huge national, social and constitutional change in the country. Perry returned on 13 February 1854 with eight vessels and 1600 men. By the time of Perry's return, the Tokugawa shōgunate had decided to accept 11 virtually all the demands in Fillmore's letter. 12 10 Pulitzer prize-winning US historian John Dower has described the two Perry missions as a moment when the world stood on the cusp of phenomenal change. Note ‘the world’. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Mission_of_Commodore_Perry_to_Japan_i n_1854_%28BM_2013%2C3002.1_105%29.jpg 11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Expedition 12 Perry’s fleet. A contemporary image. Wikipedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ca._1853_Kawaraban_- _Commodore_Perry%27s_Arrival_in_Edo_Bay.jpg 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 7 13 Perry called for a response to US President Fillmore's letter and presented a draft treaty. Though impressed by the opulence and resources of the Americans, the shōgunate was not inclined to talk, and procrastinated. As a result, it took until 31 March 1854 to conclude the US-Japan Treaty of Peace and Amity (the Convention of Kanagawa). The main provisions were for two small ports to be opened, primarily for refuge, and for the opening of a US consulate in Japan. A further US-Japan treaty was concluded in 1858. It opened five more ports to international trade. Within six months of the earlier treaty, the fears of the Japanese about yet more foreign intrusions were confirmed. The British Far East Squadron visited Tokyo Bay. Pursuing Russian ships in East Asian waters as part of the Crimean War of 1854, they asked for access to Japanese ports for the repair of their vessels and the shōgunate opened the ports of Nagasaki and Hakodate. Within months, the Dutch, Russian and French governments sent their representatives to negotiate treaties. 13 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Commodore-Perry-Visit- Kanagawa-1854.jpg 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 8 But the shōgunate ’s compliance with the foreigners ran into domestic 14 opposition, especially from the emperor's court in Kyoto . Attacks took place on foreigners and their Japanese associates. The samurai of the Chōshū and Satsuma fiefdoms in Japan’s far southwest were heavily implicated in these attacks. In 1863, following the killing of a British merchant in Satsuma, the British government authorised the bombardment of Kagoshima, Satsuma’s capital. Later, in retaliation for attacks on American and French ships off Shimonoseki, Western powers took punitive action against this Chōshū port too. 14 Since the late C12th until this period, there were two ruling classes in Japan: the emperor who acted as ‘chief priest’ of Shinto, the official religion, and the shōgun , head of the army who also enjoyed civil, military, diplomatic and judicial authority. Although in theory the shōgun was the emperor's servant, the shōgun was the power behind the throne. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 9 15 The response of the clans was surprising: they changed their attitude. Sonnō jōi (尊王攘夷), ‘Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians’, was the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s. But with the increasing number of incursions by foreign ships, the 16 17 sakoku (‘closed country’) policy came increasingly into question. The ‘expel the barbarians’ portion of sonnō jōi, changed into a reaction against the Convention of Kanagawa which opened Japan to foreign trade. Signed under duress, it was vehemently opposed, not least in the Imperial court. The Tokugawa shōgunate was seen to be powerless against the foreigners, and this was taken as evidence that ‘revere the Emperor’ was not being observed. The conclusion? That the shōgunate must be replaced by a government loyal to the Emperor. This philosophy was thus adopted as the battle cry of the rebellious regions of Chōshū and Satsuma. And surprisingly, from being seclusionist and hostile to foreigners, they developed a desire to catch up with the West. They even started to send their ambitious young men overseas to learn foreign skills – and they sought help from Western experts. 15 I find confusing the use of the term ‘clans’ in the literature. There were “ancient clans” which appear to have faded into history by the C19th, a “royal clan”, and four “noble clans” (see https://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_clans) – but in descriptions of the revolutionary period, ‘clan’ appears to be used to mean people from a particular fiefdom. 16 The key points of the 1635 edict included: • The Japanese were to be kept within Japan’s own boundaries. Anyone trying to leave the country, or who managed to leave and then returned, was to be executed. Europeans who entered Japan illegally would face the death penalty too. • Catholicism was strictly forbidden. Those found practising the Christian faith were subject to investigation. Prevention of missionary activity was also severely restricted. • Trade restrictions and strict limitations on goods were set to limit the ports open to trade, and the merchants who would be allowed to trade. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakoku_Edict_of_1635 17 Japanese passports only became freely available in 1866 after the long-standing ban on leaving the country was removed. The Iwakura Mission in Britain, 1872 John Breen, Oliver Checkland, Andrew Cobbing and Akiko Ohta 1998 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 10 In 1865, the Satsuma fiefdom sent a mission to England, one of the aims of which was to request assistance from Platt Brothers of Oldham to instal a modern cotton textile factory. Thus, the first mechanized cotton spinning and weaving mill in Japan started operating in Kagoshima in 18 1867. 19 In his introduction to the story of the Iwakura Embassy in Japan Rising, Nish sees this as “an essential ambiguity about the Embassy itself”: On the one hand, the Japanese leaders of the time were fearful and suspicious over the imperialist ambitions of the West. On the other, they admired the West and wanted to learn from it. So their fundamental object was to study the West in order to resist the West. 18 As the visit to Bradford/Saltaire shows, the Embassy was deeply interested in mechanised textile production. A very interesting reference is https://galleryoldham.org.uk/oldhams-incredible-mark-on-japanese-industry/. See also Andrew Cobbing The Satsuma Students in Britain: Japan's Early Search for the essence of the West, and Serguey Braguinsky and David A. Hounshell Spinning Tales about Japanese Cotton Spinning: Saxonhouse (1974) Then and Now 19 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platt_Brothers 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 11 This action by Satsuma clearly challenged sakoku and this confrontation was typical of Japan in the late 1860s. The shōgun was losing control but still in power: • in January 1868, the court proclaimed the restoration of imperial rule; • agreements between the shōgunate and the rebels were made and then collapsed; • the fiefdoms on the periphery of the country took up arms against the shōgun and civil war (the Boshin War) ensued; • it was November 1868 before the shōgun resigned, but his followers 20 resisted and were not defeated until late 1869. 21 The Tokugawa family handed power to a coalition of rebellious clans. Mutsuhito, the teenager occupying the national throne, was invited to become head of state. The court of the emperor had for centuries been in Kyoto. Mutsuhito moved his capital to Edo which was renamed Tokyo. He 22 was given the title of Meiji (‘enlightened rule’). 20 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Meiji 21 Image from the civil war aka the Boshin War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ueno 22 For the non-Japanese observer, the use of Meiji is a little confusing. As well as being used as Mutsuhito’s imperial name, it refers to a period and to the emperor Mutsuhito’s ‘posthumous name’. ”On 23 October 1868 the era was changed from Keiō to Meiji, or "enlightened rule", which was later used for the Emperor's posthumous name”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Meiji 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 12 23 This tumultuous change of government, after centuries of tranquility, was (and is) described in Japan as the ‘Meiji Restoration'. It heralded a 24 transformation, from the old to the new Japan . But the impact of the Meiji Restoration would not be confined to the homeland. It was global: 25 today, Japan has the fourth largest economy in the world . On the domestic front, the new government made huge and fundamental social changes, abolishing the han system, ending feudalism and bringing 26 an end to the role of the samurai . It centralized national administration. Feudal lords, court nobles and government officials were pledged to support the Charter Oath which set out the programme of modernization. The Restoration government felt confident that its new progressive measures to abolish feudalism would be welcomed in Western countries. As early as February 1868, the head of Japan’s Board of Foreign Affairs 23 The palanquin and procession of Emperor Meiji, from Kyoto to Edo/Tokyo. https://www.lesleydowner.com/jsnw-online-talk-on-17th-september/ 24 The New York Times summarized this transformation at the emperor's funeral in 1912: "the contrast between that which preceded the funeral car and that which followed it was striking indeed. Before it went old Japan; after it came new Japan". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Meiji 25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan. The extent and speed of Japan’s modernisation during this period is well described at http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1750_meiji.htm 26 Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early- modern Japan from the late 12th century. They were the well-paid retainers of the great feudal landholders. They had high prestige and special privileges. Many of the Iwakura Embassy had been samurai. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 13 called together the diplomatic corps at the port of Kobe and informed them of the restoration of rule by the emperor. Foreign governments duly recognized the new administration. The new government thought that the treaties of earlier years were humiliating and 'unequal'. It blamed the Tokugawa rulers for their weakness in agreeing to them and emphasized its desire to renegotiate them. The idea had been maturing that an exploratory embassy from the new government to its treaty partners was necessary. On 29 August 1871, Iwakura Tomomi - an aristocrat and former court official who had come to accept the need to open Japan to trade - was appointed Foreign Minister. He announced that he would head a special mission to observe Western countries at first hand and exchange views on treaty revision. The Embassy set off on 23 December 1871, carrying letters from the Emperor to heads of state. Iwakura was clearly charged with the task of discussing the treaties, but the authority he had was somewhat ambiguous. This led to complications, especially in the United States. 27 27 The ship in the background is the SS America which carried the Embassy to the USA. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 14 The members of the Embassy The members of the Iwakura Embassy were young. Apart from Iwakura, their average age was 32 – but the revolution had given them government experience. Although Kume’s report refers to these members as ‘we' and tends to omit mention of individuals by name, they were significant statesmen and strong-minded individualists. They were not always in agreement over policy, and they squabbled. Ambassador Extraordinary Iwakura was supported by Vice-Ambassadors: • Kido Takayoshi and Ōkubo Toshimichi represented the Restoration government. They were the most prominent politicians from Chōshū and Satsuma respectively; • Itō Hirobumi of Chōshū was from the Ministry of Public Works. The most Westernised of his senior colleagues, Itō had already spent 28 time as a student in London , and six months in Washington in 1870 as a finance official. As a result, he was able to speak passable English and was the deputy ambassador often called upon to deliver formal addresses at receptions; and • Yamaguchi Masuka aka Yamaguchi Naoyoshi of the Hizen clan was assistant vice minister of foreign affairs. Itō Hirobumi’s participation in the Embassy indicates its heft and the longevity of its impact on Japan. As a 29 young man, he was the samurai we see here , but by the early days of the Meiji era, he was leading the writing of a constitution for the newly-formed Empire of Japan. He has been described as “the most powerful figure in the Meiji government”. Little wonder: he was Japan’s first Prime Minister and went 30 on to become Prime Minister, a further three times! In addition to these leaders, there were staff charged with writing specialist reports, and junior officials and students who ran errands. The retinue of councillors and officials from various ministries totalled forty- 31 eight in all . In total, 108 people left Japan's shores – but it would be inaccurate to say that the Embassy consisted of that number. For 28 See the UCL references listed in SOURCES AND FURTHER READING below. 29 In the 1860s, when in his early 20s? 30 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%C5%8D_Hirobumi 31 This figure is somewhat flexible! 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 15 example, 6 year old Tsuda Ume (later, Tsuda Umeko) was on board, 32 destined to be schooled in the USA. 33 It was remarkable that, in a country like Japan which had recently come through civil war and revolution, so many important leaders could be spared for such a lengthy journey. At the point of departure, of course, it could not be foreseen that the Embassy would encounter the very lengthy delays that occurred in both the United States and Britain. But the sheer size of the group was amazing, and created many administrative problems. It goes without saying that there were acute jealousies between those who were able to join the deputation and those who were left behind in Tokyo. 32 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuda_Umeko 33 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuda_Umeko 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 16 34 The Embassy in the USA On the morning of 15 January 1872, the SS America, a US-owned mail steamer, arrived at San Francisco with its 108 Japanese passengers. That the Embassy could start in the USA was facilitated by the fact that its advancing frontier had by this time reached California, a neighbour of Japan on the coastline of the Pacific Ocean and one that was, from 1869, linked by a trans-continental railroad to the States’ eastern seaboard. This spectacular railroad gave the ambassadors their first major experience of the advanced technology of the outside world. Unfortunately, the Union Pacific railroad on which they embarked in February could not cope with the heavy snowfalls in the Rocky Mountains and beyond. The ambassadors were snowed up in Salt Lake City for eighteen days, visiting the famous Mormon Tabernacle and meeting Brigham Young. Despite the snow and the floods that followed, Kume reported enthusiastically that Thanks to the admirable engineering achievement of the Central Pacific Railroad Company, we were able to cross much of this vast territory in a train, comfortably relaxing or sleeping. Japan was not industrialised and had only small-scale agriculture. The delegates were astonished at the agricultural states they passed through. But they were equally amazed at the smoke rising from chimneys of factories in the urban centres. They unquestionably suffered culture shock. The delegation arrived in Washington DC at the end of February. On 4 March, ten of its principal members met US President Ulysses S. Grant. When they had arrived in San Francisco, the Embassy had received a warm and generous welcome: Kume wrote that The citizens of San Francisco had learnt of the Embassy’s visit from newspaper reports, and the news of our actual arrival was telegraphed from the Golden Gate to City Hall and to our consul. As a result, when we passed Alcatraz Island we were greeted with a fifteen-gun salute from the battery on its cliffs. 34 The main focuses of this paper are on the Embassy, its historical context, and the visits to Bradford and Saltaire, so the Embassy’s journey through the USA is not described in detail. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 17 Now, they were in the US capital and the doors of the White House were open to them. Their status and importance had been recognised from the start – and was now confirmed, at the pinnacle of US power. But there was a problem. Whilst there appeared to be a distinct possibility that the State Department might be responsive to the idea of revising the 1858 treaty, the Embassy had not been given a specific mandate to negotiate and had not brought adequate powers of accreditation. The crucial decision was made that two senior members, Okubo and Itō, should return to Japan in order to procure the necessary documents. They left Washington on 20 March for their daunting journey of 8,000 miles by land and sea. This meant a significant hiatus which Mission members filled by taking what Kume entitled 'The Journey Through the Northern States'. On their return to Washington on 22 June, they found that diplomatic business was almost at a standstill. Such a lengthy stay for such an enormous retinue was a burden for the Americans. However, Congress had made an appropriation of $50,000 for the purpose and so part of the Embassy's expenses was paid by American leaders who clearly saw great potential in looking after a delegation which was likely to include the next generation of Japanese leaders. Okubo and Itō did not return until 20 July. They brought better credentials but were given instructions not to conclude a new treaty solely with the United States, and to propose convening an international conference on the subject. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish would not agree to negotiations alongside other powers, especially if they were to be held in Europe. The result was that the Embassy did not pursue re-negotiation during the rest of its world tour: its members ventilated the issue but merely explored the views of the countries they were visiting. Two days later Iwakura went to the White House and announced that his party would soon be leaving the country. On 6 August, after short visits to Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, the ambassadors left from Boston for Liverpool. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 18 35 Four months in Britain The Mission landed in Liverpool on 17 August 1872. It had travelled from a pioneering society moving rapidly towards industrialisation to a country which had already experienced an industrial revolution - and its dire consequences. No sooner had Kume reached the south bank of the Mersey than he records: [T]he smoke of coal fires billowed up in dense clouds [over Liverpool] to a height of two or three hundred feet, permanently darkening the blue sky. Our escorts pointed to this and said, 'The people of the city have to breathe in the midst of that black haze.' Between September and early November the delegates travelled over 2,000 miles and visited twenty British cities - either individually or in groups. It is important to note this last point, because whilst Kume might record that ‘we’ visited a particular place, it might have indicated that only a handful of ambassadors and/or junior staff did so. Young-Suk Lee of South Korea’s Guangju University has written an overview of the Embassy’s itinerary in Britain – and perhaps most importantly, has set out solid information on how this itinerary was 36 devised . Lee tells us that it was immediately after their arrival in Liverpool that the Iwakura Embassy left for London by special train. On August 20, Iwakura visited Lord Granville, the British Foreign Minister, and requested a formal audience with Queen Victoria. At the time, the Queen was at Balmoral Castle, her Summer residence. The mission decided to stay in Britain until the Queen’s return… and, with a different timetable in mind, began to amend the existing itinerary. The new itinerary would reflect the Embassy’s latest priorities. As a result of their frustrating experience of treaty revision in the USA, many had almost given up on revision of the UK-Japan trade treaty. Their interests were pivoting towards the collection of information on industry, technology, or commerce in the major industrial cities of Britain. 35 Much of this section of the paper relies on Kume’s account. This is supplemented by local newspaper reports when we get to Bradford and Saltaire. 36 Young-Suk Lee The Iwakura Embassy and British Industrial Cities…Gwangju University, South Korea …Downloaded from Brill.com 12/07/2022 09:49:41PM via free access. I have drawn extensively from the work, and what follows in this section, in italics, is an edited version. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 19 The re-planning of their itinerary was largely the work of Sir Harry Parkes, the British envoy to Japan, and William Aston, a diplomat who had been 37 translator to the British legation in Japan since 1865… On June 3, before the Mission arrived in Britain, there had been an exchange in the House of Commons. Arthur Kinnaird MP asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, George Byng, “whether the Government are preparing to take steps to receive the eminent Japanese statesman Iwakura and the other distinguished persons composing the Japanese Embassy”. Byng’s reply was that “Sir Harry Parkes and Mr. Aston, interpreter to the Legation in Japan, have been appointed to attend to the Japanese Embassy on their arrival and during their stay in 38 this country”... Meanwhile, Parkes was selecting the cities and factories that the Mission could visit, and organising a schedule of all the events that they would attend. This cannot have been easy for him because his personal life was demanding. His health was very poor and his wife was pregnant. His elder son hung between life and death, suffering from a fever during his return home, and his elder daughter died of diphtheria immediately after her mother’s delivery. In spite of this misery, he continued the planning and then accompanied the Mission throughout their round-Britain journey. After they had stayed in London from August 17 to September 28, the Mission started out. Between September 29 and November 9 they visited 39 Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, the Highlands , Newcastle, Bradford, Sheffield, Staffordshire, Coventry, Birmingham, and Cheshire, 40 and returned to London. 37 On May 22, 1871, writes Lee, Parkes left Japan by steamship for America and he only reached Britain on 8 August. He emphasized to the Foreign Office that, in Japan, Britain’s trade rival would not be European countries but the United States. The National Archives (Kew), Foreign Office 391/15, Hammond Papers, June 15, 1871. ‘Parkes to Hammond’. William George Aston (9 April 1841 – 22 November 1911) was a British diplomat, author and scholar-expert in the language and history of Japan and Korea. He wrote Shinto (“the way of the gods”). Shinto is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan itself. It remains Japan’s major religion alongside Buddhism. 38 In addition to Parkes and Aston, the Foreign Office asked G G Alexander, Major- General of the Royal Marines, to act as escort to the Mission. However, he does not appear to be travelling with them when the Mission arrived in Bradford. 39 When they reached Edinburgh, they were so exhausted by the daily round of receptions, factories and offices that their escort urged them to visit the Scottish Highlands and relax says Lee op cit 40 Kume reported that The view of the flat English landscape and of the Scottish lowlands was one of unrelieved monotony. The hills of Edinburgh were pretty enough, but there was more than this to the beauties of the Scottish landscape. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 20 The visit to Bradford and Saltaire 41 DAY 1: Thursday 24 October 1872 Kume tells us that, at 10 in the morning, the Embassy left Newcastle and travelled ninety miles south through County Durham to West Yorkshire, arriving in Bradford at 2.30 in the afternoon. 42 In the C19th, Bradford became ‘Worstedopolis’ , the worsted capital of the world. Its global pre-eminence in woollen textiles made it a required place for an Embassy visit. Kume described Bradford thus: The city of Bradford… lies in Yorkshire… [and] is rich in coal and iron… manufacturing is carried on there on a very large scale… In prosperity it rivals Lancashire, which lies on the other side of the mountain range… [It is] possible to transport goods by water all the way to the sea… Bradford is noted in Britain for the spinning and weaving of wool and the production of sheepskins… We saw that all round the city, on the hills and in the valleys, were great heaps of spoil from the mines, staining all the earth black, and that a forest of factory chimneys darkened the sky with black smoke. Bradford’s much smaller but very close neighbour, Saltaire, is today a World Heritage Site, but in 1872 it was not even complete! However, it was gaining a reputation for the innovative approach of its capitalist founder, the recently-ennobled Sir Titus Salt. Alongside a colossal factory, he was only 4 years away from completing the construction of an entire village, primarily for his workers. Saltaire had good quality services and a remarkable range of splendid public facilities. That Parkes chose to include Saltaire in the itinerary surely indicates he regarded it as amongst the best of Britain. The Embassy was welcomed at Bradford’s station by the town’s leading citizen, the Mayor, Matthew William Thompson - indicating the importance Bradford accorded this encounter. 41 The Bradford Daily Telegraph 25 October 1872 is a significant source of the text that follows. 42 A word coined by Bradford historian William Cudworth in 1888 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 21 43 The visitors then went by carriage to the Victoria Hotel . Bills had been posted in the streets announcing Japanese Ambassadors Will Arrive On Thursday, Escorted By The Mayor and, both inside the station itself and lining the street leading to the hotel, was what Kume describes as an uninterrupted throng of onlookers. Crowds turned out to see us in every other city we visited, both before and after, but this was the largest such reception we received. When they arrived at the hotel, the ambassadors found lunch had been prepared for them at the Mayor's behest and, after the meal, he came in person to present an address of welcome. “His hospitality knew no bounds”, Kume reports. In the evening, the Mayor hosted a formal dinner at the hotel and there were speeches. In reply to addresses by Bradford Corporation and the Chamber of Commerce, the “Chief Ambassador” responded in Japanese. He expressed gratitude for the cordial welcome the Embassy had received and said he realised that one nation cannot maintain the highest prosperity without the co-operation and sympathy of others. He said that the Embassy was charged with searching out the sources of the wealth and prosperity now enjoyed to so great a degree by “our brethren of a Western Civilisation”. The Japanese had made their journey in order to select, from amongst the various institutions in “enlightened nations”, which of them are best suited to Japan’s present condition. They planned to adopt them through gradual reforms and improvement. But they were not there just to examine factories, mines and shipbuilding. 43 Almost certainly the present Great Victoria Hotel in Bridge Street (pictured). According to the hotel’s current administration, the building dates from 1867 and is the oldest in Bradford. Its first name was The Great Northern Victoria Hotel. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 22 They wanted to make personal contact with the people in order to establish relations of peace and friendship and a feeling of lasting brotherhood between the two countries. DAY 2: Friday 25 October 1872 Kume records that At ten o'clock in the morning we travelled about [three] miles by train to the village of Saltaire, and his co-traveller Kido Takayoshi tells us in his diary that The scenery is superb [and the] most 44 famous woollens [sic] factory in England is here. Introducing Saltaire, Kume noted that Until twenty years ago this had been open moor-land, used only for the pasturing of sheep and cattle. But since Sir Titus Salt had built a mill for weaving the wool of the animal called the 'alpaca', industrial and commercial enterprises had flocked there from all quarters, eventually creating a village. It was now a considerable town with a population of 5,000. Kume explains what an alpaca is before recounting the story, popularised 45 by Dickens , of how Titus came across “useless” alpaca wool in a warehouse in Liverpool and went on to work out how it could be used to make cloth. This innovation was to make him immensely rich. Kume explains the building of Salt’s Mill and the village, and Salt’s elevation to the baronetcy. 46 The Bradford Daily Telegraph reported that The members of the Embassy left the Midland Station at twenty minutes to ten and travelled by special train to Saltaire. Considerable preparations had been made for their reception but the number of people who assembled was not large. The station platforms were kept clear, and the crowd was therefore confined to the lodge and Albert Terrace. Comparatively few men were present, they being mostly 44 Kido Takayoshi The Diary of Kido Takayoshi. For more on ambassador Kido, see https://alchetron.com/Kido-Takayoshi#Early-life 45 A footnote in the translation of Kume’s A True Account… says this: “The story of how Salt, having examined a handful or two of alpaca from bales which he had found abandoned and rotting on the Liverpool docks, bought up the whole consignment - to the gratified astonishment of the owner - for eightpence a pound, first gained wide currency in a version by Charles Dickens, embellished with characteristic comic effects, published in Household Words”. 46 Bradford Daily Telegraph 25 October 1872. The report has been lightly edited. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 23 at work in the mill, which was kept running all day. Titus Salt’s son Edward, and Charles Stead, partner and senior director of Sir Titus Salt and Co, received the Embassy on the platform. Their Excellencies were accompanied by Matthew Thompson, the Mayor of Bradford, and Alderman Law, president of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce. After the formal introductions, the Mayor and his Excellency the Chief of the Embassy, took the lead and proceeded to view the village and then repaired to the schools. They first visited the boys’ school, where they found all the scholars at work - some ciphering, some reading, some writing, but all clean and orderly. Mayor Thompson, who was with Iwakura, drew His Excellency’s attention to a map of Asia that hung on the wall, and pointed out Japan with his umbrella. His Excellency was evidently pleased with the compliment the Mayor had paid him. The Ambassadors were delighted with the orderly and intelligent appearance of the children, and asked several questions of Messrs. Edward and George Salt, who accompanied the party, answers to which were given by the interpreter. Before leaving the room, the lads gave three hearty cheers. The party then went to the infant school in which they seemed particularly interested. Some of the children are fine looking. When a question had been asked by the Ambassador and answered by the schoolmistress, one little girl was called out, and the whole of the children lifted their hands as she did, clapped, cheered, and were silent at her command. The girls' school was then visited, and here as in the other departments considerable interest was taken by the Ambassadors in the occupations of the children. After leaving the school the party repaired to the almshouses, and visited the domicile of Elizabeth Gill, No. 26. Her sitting room, bedroom, &c., were each viewed, and some surprise was felt when it was explained to the Ambassador and his associates that these buildings were endowed for ever by the munificence of Sir Titus Salt, and that the only thing required to fit for entrance [sic] was good 47 moral character. 47 Colin Coates informs me that number 26 Almshouses in 1872 is 30 Victoria Road today. In this photo, it is through the left arch of the facing pair of cottages in the very middle of the photo. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 24 48 The Infirmary was the next place of interest that was visited. There are only two patients present, and both of these were seen. The party afterwards went through the Saltaire Institute [now Victoria Hall], beginning with the reading room. They appeared to take great interest in the Gymnasium, and a remark from Sir Harry Parkes to one of the members of the Embassy, that if he had been brought up to exercise his muscles he would have been twice as big, seemed to be relished extremely. The gentleman addressed was the most diminutive of the 49 party. The visitors afterwards went to the Dining Hall adjoining the station, over the entrance of which the Japanese flag was hoisted, and then the whole party went to the works where they were shown the whole process, from carding up to 50 finishing. 48 Some of the almshouses at Saltaire today. Author’s photograph. 49 !!! 50 Not an image from 1872 of course, but a playful view of what the Dining Hall might have looked like. Author’s photograph, photoshopped by Judy Robinson. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 25 Note that Sir Harry Parkes was with the Embassy on this visit, and actively participating. Earlier, this paper mentioned him as a key player in developing the British itinerary which the Embassy adopted, and it will be remembered that Sir Harry Parkes and Mr. Aston, interpreter to the Legation in Japan, have been appointed [by the British government] to attend to the Japanese Embassy on their arrival and during their stay in this country. We now have evidence that he was doing just that in late October 1872 in West Yorkshire. The party then lunched with Sir Titus Salt, reports the Bradford Daily Telegraph. But maybe it didn’t!? Kume tells us that on the day of our visit he was away from Bradford and we were not able to meet him. [However] we were conducted round [the mill] by Sir Titus's sons. And Kume’s record is supported by fellow ambassador Kido: Salt was 51 absent today. Kume adds details the Bradford Daily Telegraph omits. Lunch was in the boardroom52, and afterwards they walked to a park on the edge of the village [Saltaire Park, now Roberts Park]. This, too, had been provided by Sir Titus as a gift to the workers. It occupied a sloping site on the banks of the river Aire, backed by rolling hills, and presented a very fine prospect. Kume is full of admiration for what Salt has done: “At none of the factories we saw before or after [my emphasis] were there such provisions as these” he writes, in a lengthy eulogy: Sir Titus had built a primary school in the village and arranged that the villagers' children, both boys and girls, went to the factory to work at their trades for half of each day and for the rest of the day attended school to receive an education. By this excellent method, practical skills and theoretical understanding progressed side by 51 Kido Takayoshi op cit 52 Like so many of the Saltaire locations visited by the Embassy, the Mill’s boardroom still exists. The fact that the C19th village is largely intact was one of the reasons it was awarded World Heritage status by UNESCO. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 26 side. Moreover, not only did the children benefit by receiving a wage from the mill, but their work there was, in return, of benefit to the enterprise. The British regard it as a point of honour to look after their employees and to do their utmost to succour the poor [sic]. The provisions made by this factory-owner are to be admired… In front of the school were the almshouses. Those among the workers who were no longer able to work because of old age were placed there to be cared for. There were [sic] also a hospital, which treated those in the village who were ill, and a church, which the residents of the village attended in order to hear sermons and thus 53 rectify their moral natures . At none of the factories we saw before or after were there such provisions as these. Every one of the five thousand inhabitants of the village looked up to the Salt family. This way of organising the town in which the mill-hands were housed was of great significance as a way of encouraging work. At the end of their visit to Saltaire, the ambassadors boarded a train which took them to Manningham station in north Bradford, and then a carriage to Manningham Mills (better known today as Lister, or Lister’s, 54 Mill) . Kume notes that the mill, which had stood on this site for 27 years, had been destroyed by fire in the previous year and there were 55 plans to re-build it on a larger scale. Indeed, whilst the Embassy was visiting, building work must have been continuing and well advanced. The fire took place in February 1871 and 56 building was completed two and a half years later . The new mill was opened, complete with a magnificent coat of arms and the completion year. 53 The positioning of this reference to a church suggests Kume is referring to the small chapel that was in one of the almshouses. Indeed, it was next door to Elizabeth Gill at No. 26 and was for almshouse residents’ use. 54 This, and most of what follows, is from an article headlined The Ambassadors at Manningham Mills in the Bradford Daily Telegraph, 26 October 1872 55 The resulting factory was colossal, and along with its huge chimney, dominated and still dominates the skyline in the north of Bradford. 56 The original was called Lilycroft Mill. A very good newspaper article tells the story of the 1871 fire and the re-build: https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/19891658.look-back-lilycroft-mill-fire/ 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 27 Notwithstanding the building work, it is clear from Kume’s account that the Mission was able to see a factory which was in production. Moreover, this visit must have been particularly interesting because Lister’s was a silk mill. Commodore Perry’s arrival in 1853 played a key role in taking Japan’s silk market on to the international stage. At the same moment that Japan was opening its ports, the demand for its raw silk greatly increased. In 1855, French silkworm nurseries became infested with disease which eventually spread across Europe. In addition, China was experiencing the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) in which the sericulture regions were greatly damaged. Thus, at this time, Japan had hardly any competition in the silk 57 markets and profited tremendously. The Bradford Daily Telegraph 58 tells us that The Embassy was welcomed by several partners of the firm - but not by [the firm’s founder and owner] Mr Lister who was confined to his office with a sprained ankle. The party went to his office to meet him. 57 https://samurairevolution.omeka.net/exhibits/show/vtj/section2/cmo 58 Bradford Daily Telegraph 26 October 1872 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 28 They then visited the store-house where the raw materials were kept, as they are received from the East Indies, China and Japan. The Ambassadors had in this department the pleasure of seeing several bagfulls [sic] of cocoons, which had been exported from their own country. This must have been of special interest to the visitors! The tour lasted 2.5 hours and encompassed every stage of silk/velvet production – and 59 included inspection and explanation of the very latest machinery. Kume’s description of the use of silk to make textiles is typically technical and detailed. Little wonder that, as the Bradford Daily Telegraph reports, One of the [Japanese] party took voluminous notes during the walk through the works, and he seemed to write with considerable rapidity. This description starts with a link to a Salt innovation: This mill wove velvet in particularly large quantities. The ingenuity of the process exceeded even that of the process used to weave 60 alpaca… and continues with an epic, 1,000 word description of spinning waste cocoons and waste silk yarn… 59 I have deliberately included some long passages, in part to indicate what accurate observers and note-takers Kume and his team were, but also to demonstrate just how much detail was reported. Goodness knows how much was actually recorded! For example, There were several kinds [of raw wool]…First, the hair of the 'angora' goat, which is also called ‘mohair’. This is produced in 'Asia Minor' (a region which belongs to Turkey…). Its price was from three to four shillings a pound. It has a long staple and a high gloss. Second, 'alpaca' wool, which comes from South America. Its value was three shillings and sixpence a pound. It resembles mohair, but its lustre is somewhat inferior…… and so on, and so on… 60 Titus Salt solved the problem of how to use alpaca wool in the production of textiles. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 29 … concluding with the revelation that, currently, Lister’s eldest son had gone to Yokohama in Japan to acquire silk raw material! 61 The party returned to central Bradford and in the evening, Alderman Law, President of the Chamber of Commerce and the members of the Council entertained their Excellencies the Japanese Ambassadors. the Mayor and Corporation of Bradford and a select 62 party of gentlemen, to dinner in the Victoria Hotel. The President of the Chamber of Commerce occupied the chair, supported on the right by his Excellency the Chief Ambassador, and on the left by his Worship the Mayor of Bradford, Matthew William Thompson, Esq. Among the guests at the dinner table were Sir 63 Harry Parkes KCB, Gen Henderson, Major Aston… Amongst the “select party of gentlemen” was one of Bradford’s most 64 famous, Jacob Behrens , plus the German Consul, the President of the Halifax Chamber – and Titus Salt… but not ‘Sir Titus’ so I assume it was Titus Jr. It appears that the meal itself was very special: “The dinner was of the most recherché description” according to the local news report. 61 What follows (in italics) is a lightly-edited version of the report headed The Banquet at the Victoria Hotel in the Bradford Daily Telegraph of the 26 October 1872. 62 James Law was the President of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce according to ambassador Kido Takayoshi in his diary, referenced above. I assume that ‘Alderman Law’ indicates that he was also a Bradford Council alderman, but the ‘Council’ referred to here was the Council of the Chamber. 63 I cannot identify Gen[eral] Henderson but he could be a soldier assigned by the British Government to support/protect the Embassy. Major Aston must be William Aston mentioned earlier. 64 https://behrens.co.uk/our-story/biography-of-sir-jacob-behrens/ 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 30 DAY 3: Saturday 26 October 1872 At five to ten in the morning we boarded a train near our hotel to travel 8 miles to Halifax… Law [James Law?] took us to Halifax at 9.30… [We] returned to the 65 [Bradford] hotel at 3… The Embassy’s target was Dean Clough, the famous and huge carpet factory of John Crossley and Sons. It sits in the very centre of Halifax. 66 They returned to Bradford in the afternoon and then three of the ambassadors - Yamaguchi Masuka aka Yamaguchi Naoyoshi and Hayashi Tadasu aka Hayashi Touzaburō, together with scribe Kume Kunitake – took themselves off to Bolton Abbey, a local beauty spot. Kume says that it was Parkes who “invited us to have a short excursion” and they left at 67 4pm by train, and stayed in the Bolton Bridge Hotel , now the Devonshire Arms. That Parkes recommended Bolton Abbey is unsurprising: it is a beautiful and very interesting spot. But it is also the property of the Duke of Devonshire. Only a few days later, the Embassy would visit Chatsworth in Derbyshire, one of Britain’s most famous ‘stately homes’ - and the home of the Duke of Devonshire! A coincidence perhaps, but it is not improbable that, when Parkes was in London and planning the Embassy’s itinerary, the Duke (or one of his household) had shown an interest in the Iwakura Embassy and had offered hospitality at two of his properties. 65 The first quotation is from Kume. The second, from Kido Takayoshi op cit 66 https://www.visitcalderdale.com/attachment/david-glover-crossley-sons-1200x800/ 67 This excursion is confirmed by The Times, October 28, 1872, quoted by Lee op cit 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 31 DAY 4: Sunday 27 October 1872 From 10 am, ‘Team Bolton’ visited the (then) 700 year old Bolton Abbey 68 (where they attended a service), then walked upstream along the River Wharfe and its “fall” (probably the Strid 69). 70 Further upstream, we rounded a bend in the river where the banks rose to a considerable height above the stream, and here we came upon an old ivy-clad bridge across the river. Before us was revealed a high hill. Midway up it stood an old castle, a thread of smoke rising from it. This was also an entrancing view… [The Duke of Devonshire] had planted trees and laid out paths so that they were in harmony with nature, and had thus created by human artifice a landscape of great natural beauty. 68 Bolton Abbey takes its name from the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian monastery now known as Bolton Priory. The monastery was founded close by at Embsay in 1120. Led by a prior, Bolton Abbey was technically a priory. It was founded in 1154 by the Augustinian order. The priory was closed during the 1539 Dissolution of the Monasteries. 69 Where the River Wharfe is dramatically, and very dangerously, funnelled into a very narrow, 2m wide, set of rocks, pictured on the screenshot. 70 This screenshot is from the Iwakura Mission Society’s online exhibition celebrating the th Embassy’s 150 anniversary. https://youtu.be/sAzaqEzo7Rs?t=4373 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 32 Kume’s description is suitably lyrical for such a lovely corner of the Yorkshire Dales. Sadly, the three visitors were not told that the “old castle” was actually the (remarkably large and ancient) hunting lodge called Barden Tower. DAY 5: Monday 28 October 1872 Kume reports that th The next morning [ie on Monday the 28 ] at half past ten we left the village of Bolton Abbey by the eleven o'clock train, arriving back in Bradford at one o'clock in the afternoon. Just in time! At 1:30pm, the Embassy left Bradford, arriving in Sheffield at 4pm. From Yorkshire to London The Embassy proceeded onwards to London, but by a very lengthy and roundabout route. They took in Chatsworth in rural Derbyshire and major industrial locations in Cheshire and the English West Midlands. In London, Iwakura met Foreign Secretary Lord Granville on 22 November and again five days later, making it clear that Japan's ultimate objective was to negotiate certain modifications to the existing treaties in order to bring them into line with the political transformations that had taken place in Japan since 1868. He also asked for the British troops stationed in Yokohama to be withdrawn. For his part, Granville complained about the lack of religious toleration in Japan and the inability of foreigners to go upcountry... The delegation, which had waited long for Queen Victoria's return from Balmoral, eventually had an audience with her at Windsor 71 72 Castle on 5 December and presented a letter from the Emperor Meiji. The Embassy also met the Prince of Wales at Sandringham on 9 73 December. A week later, on 16 December, they left for France. 71 Japan Rising op cit 72 These Glanville/Iwakura meetings are also addressed in John Breen, Oliver Checkland, Andrew Cobbing and Akiko Ohta The Iwakura Mission in Britain, 1872 March 1998 http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/is/IS349.pdf 73 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwakura_Mission 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 33 The Embassy in continental Europe, and beyond Although the major purposes of this paper are to indicate the significance of the Iwakura Embassy and to document in detail its time in Bradford/Saltaire, it would be remiss not to complete the story of the Embassy’s circumnavigation of the globe. The introduction to Japan Rising offers a masterly summary of the post- Britain part of their journey. So good that I make no apology for copying 74 much of it below : The Embassy arrived in Calais from Dover on 16 December at the start of its tour of Europe. Rather than deal with its visit to continental Europe country by country, let us examine in particular the general map of their travels and try to analyse what aspects interested them. The timing of their arrival in France over the Christmas period was not ideal. The initial of their activities was on Paris; and the visitors took part in talks with officials on treaty revision and on religious freedom for Japanese Christians. This was followed by shorter visits to Belgium and Holland, which naturally had a special link with Japan because of the existence of a Dutch settlement at Deshima in Kyushu island over the previous centuries. The Embassy allocated three weeks for its initial stay in Germany but it in fact returned to tour the north and south of the country later in its schedule. The delegates' stay included influential interviews with Otto von Bismarck who gave them a memorable speech which was transcribed by one of the commissioners and reproduced in full in Kume's report… The impact of the German Chancellor certainly had a considerable effect on the thinking of politicians of the Meiji period on military, constitutional and other matters. By late spring the domestic situation in Japan was causing the government that remained there some alarm. It was sufficient for them to call for the return of the deputy leaders, first Okubo and then Kido. The latter, the intellectual of the Embassy, did not want to miss visiting Russia and delayed his departure accordingly. The main party continued its circuit to Russia, which was only allocated two weeks because it was not thought to have much relevance to the problems of the emergent Japan. After this Iwakura led his members to Sweden, while Kido's group travelled round Austria-Hungary, Italy, Switzerland and France at a leisurely pace before arriving at Marseilles to board the ship for home. Iwakura with Kume went to Italy and Austria-Hungary where they 74 Japan Rising op cit 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 34 paid several visits to the Vienna Universal Exposition. This was the first exhibition in which Japan had taken part, albeit in a modest way, and was to have a great influence on its attitudes towards exhibitions later in the century. Kume expresses pride in the Japanese artifacts on view. The full Mission received instructions to return to Japan on 9 June so it could not complete its coverage of Europe by visiting Spain and Portugal. After spending a few weeks in Switzerland and southern France, it joined its ship on 20 July at Marseilles. As representatives of a new nation born out of a civil war, the Japanese were anxious to visit countries with similar experiences. While in the United States they had seen changes brought about by the civil war of 1861-5, they were the witnesses of more dramatic changes in Europe. As Kume observed, they arrived in Paris in 'France's hour of deepest mis-fortune'…. It was its defeat by Prussia which brought about the fall of the empire of Napoleon Ill. When President Thiers received his guests, he was beset by the problem of pushing through a republican constitution which would address the concerns of the Paris Commune and the urgent issue of raising the indemnity payable to Germany in order to secure the evacuation of German troops from French soil. Meanwhile Prussia used her victory over France to declare the foundation of the German Empire in 1871. This German unification brought together the various divergent principalities which made up the German Confederation. But, if German unification had been the result of a short, sharp shock, that of Italy had been created slowly over the previous decade. It reached its culmination when the Papal territories, the last link in the chain, were brought within the fold of a new Italy and Rome became the new national capital. These radical changes were very relevant to Japan where the problems of creating a nation out of a congeries of clans and the centralization of government in a new national capital at Tokyo were very much in the minds of Iwakura's delegates. Although European countries approached these issues differently, the members of the Iwakura team took pains to study their common problems… On its return journey the party travelled through the Suez Canal. They paused at Aden and the port of Galle in Sri Lanka (then British Ceylon). After they were forced to pass by Singapore because of an outbreak of typhoid, they did manage to visit hotels in Saigon, Hong Kong and Shanghai. This afforded them the opportunity to see 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 35 colonialism and the spread of the great European empires at first hand. By 13 September 1873 when the main body reached Yokohama, most of the other delegates had already returned. They found Japan in a dangerous state and not very welcoming. They made it clear that they favoured the cause of reform but found that Japan had to establish peace and stability before they could deal with the implementation of the findings reached during their travels. Kido, the deputy leader of the group, prepared an important memorandum in October advocating constitutional government, perhaps the single most significant outcome of the Mission. But reforms took time, and the leaders were determined not to rush them. In any case, Kido, who returned home as a sick man, retired from politics in 1874 and died three years later. His colleague, Okubo, died at the hands of an assassin in 1878. Prince Iwakura, who survived an attempt on his life in 1874, died in 1883. It was, therefore, the youngest of the leaders, Itō Hirobumi, who became an imperial councillor and steered through the developments in Japanese politics and industrialization for the rest of the century. Itō had had a large hand in the preparation of the Mission and was able through his public-works connections to make significant appointments of foreign nationals to posts in Japan. After four decades of public service, his life eventually ended in assassination in 1909 by a Korean. Japan itself remained a dangerous place to be a politician… Kume's report had an impact on a Meiji Japan which was ambitious for change. The lessons he drew came not from any one country but from the cumulative impression of the countries which the Embassy had visited. These formed the database for the remarkable grassroots transformation that took place in Japan as the reign of the Emperor Meiji progressed. Apart from Kume's work, but associated with it, were the many specialized reports compiled by the junior officials who accompanied the Mission. It seems to have targeted certain countries on its itinerary as special areas for study, e.g. Britain for information on the industrial revolution, and Germany for military information. In the United States it would appear that the officials were particularly trying to understand its forms of government, local, state and national, and its educational methods. They painstakingly studied the basic laws of the American constitution with the help of Japanese scholars already at US universities and paid many visits to legislatures. These comparative studies, ranging over the northern hemisphere, were to lead in time 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 36 to far-reaching constitutional amendments and to the introduction of universal education which was vital to nation-building in Japan… Kume himself merits a final word. His report was an outstanding piece of work, containing shrewd analysis and compelling observations. This was recognized by the Japanese government; and he was appointed to various official posts connected with compiling Japan's national history. 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 37 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Kume Kunitake Tokumei Zenken Taishi Bei-O Kairan Jikki 「特命全権大使 米欧回覧実記 1878 Graham Healey and Chushichi Tsuzuki (eds) Translation by Andrew Cobbing, Martin Collcutt, Graham Healey, P. F. Kornicki, Eugene Soviak and Chushichi Tsuzuki The Iwakura Embassy 1871-73. A True Account of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary's Journey of Observation through the United States of America and Europe The Japan Documents 2002 Chushichi Tsuzuki with the assistance of R. Jules Young with an introduction by Ian Nish Japan Rising Cambridge University Press 2009 … W G Beasley Japan Encounters the Barbarian: Japanese Travellers in America and Europe New Haven: Yale University Press 1995 Serguey Braguinsky and David A. Hounshell Spinning Tales about Japanese Cotton Spinning: Saxonhouse (1974) Then and Now 1974 John Breen, Oliver Checkland, Andrew Cobbing and Akiko Ohta The Iwakura Mission in Britain, 1872 LSE STICERD Research Paper No. IS/1998/349 1998 Download free from http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/is/IS349.pdf Sidney Devere Brown and Akiko Hirota (translators) The Diary of Takayoshi Kido vol 2 1871-1874 Tokyo: Tokyo University Press 1985 Sydney Checkland The Elgins, 1766-1917 Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press 1988 Andrew Cobbing The Satsuma Students in Britain: Japan's Early Search for the essence of the West Routledge 2000 Martin Colcutt Education for a New Japan: Kume Kunitake's Observations on Education in 1872 America in Collcutt, Kato and Toby (eds) Japan and Its Worlds Tokyo: International House Press 2007 1872: WHEN SAMURAI CAME TO SALTAIRE 38 Asia for Educators, Columbia University The Meiji Restoration and Modernization http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1750_meiji.htm Gordon Daniels, Sir Harry Parkes, British Representative in Japan, 1865- 83 Folkestone: Japan Library 1996 Negley Harte, John North, and Georgina Brewis (eds) The World of UCL 2018 Takaaki Inuzuka (translated by Haruko Laurie) Alexander Williamson A Victorian chemist and the making of modern Japan 2021 Iwakura Mission Society Online exhibition celebrating the Embassy’s th 150 anniversary https://www.jacar.go.jp/english/iwakura_en/index.html Kido Takayoshi The Diary of Kido Takayoshi 1983 https://archive.org/details/diaryofkidotakay0000kido Shigekazu Kondo Kume Kunitake as a Historiographer in Ian Nish (ed) The Iwakura Mission in America and Europe: A New Assessment Folkestone: Japan Library, 1998 Charles Lanman The Japanese in America New York: University Publishing 1872 Young-Suk Lee The Iwakura Embassy and British Industrial Cities Gwangju University, South Korea Download from Brill.com Marlene Mayo The Western Education of Kume Kunitake 1871-6 in Monumenta Nipponica 28 1973 William McOmie The Opening of Japan, 1853-5 Folkestone: Global Oriental 2006 Hiroshi Mitani Escape from Impasse: The Decision to Open Japan Tokyo: International House Press 2006 Masao Miyoshi As We Saw Them: The First Japanese Embassy to the United States (1860) Berkeley: University of California Press 1979 Samuel Mossman New Japan: The Land of the Rising Sun London: John Murray 1873 Ian Nish The Iwakura Mission: The Issue of Treaty Revision Japan Society, Proceedings (London) 122 1993 th University College London UCL celebrates 150 anniversary of Japan’s Choshu five https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2013/jul/
2024.82: Crown Street Comic Band by R Wharton and A Clarke
Crown Street Comic Band by R Wharton and A Clarke
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Coat of arms
City of Bradford Metropolitan Council Libraries Division Local Studies Dept. Occassional Local Publications No.1 Illustrated with reference to Salts Gala and Salts Hospital on page 4
Loose press cuttings kept by Isabel Salt, 1905-1915. Comprises: - 'Saltaire Hospital Re-opening', The Yorkshire Post (03.11.1909)
Loose press cuttings kept by Isabel Salt, 1905-1915. Comprises: - 'The Saltaire Hospital - Re-opening After Extension', The Yorkshire Observer (03.11.1909)
Loose press cuttings kept by Isabel Salt, 1905-1915. Comprises: - 'Saltaire Hospital - Re-opening Ceremony', Times & Express (05.11.1909)
Loose press cuttings kept by Isabel Salt, 1905-1915. Comprises: - Saltaire Hospital - Re-opening Ceremonial by Mrs Salt of Denton Hall, Ilkley Free Press (Nov 1909)
Infirmary. Black and white postcard showing Saltaire hospital taken from the junction of Saltaire Road and Victoria Road. On the reverse it says published by the Saltaire Village Society and Saltaire Tourist Information Centre 1996