During the 1880s there was an increased demand for school places in Saltaire. A new School of Art and Science was built on the edge of Saltaire, behind Victoria Hall on what is now Exhibition Road.
To help pay for the costs, Titus Salt Junior proposed a major exhibition that would also be a memorial to his late father Sir Titus Salt. The exhibition was held in 1887, and named the Royal Yorkshire Jubilee Exhibition to also celebrate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. The exhibition was opened by one of Victoria's children, Princess Beatrice of Battenburg.
Unfortunately, the exhibition failed to meet its costs and that of the new school.