Salts Mill

Stamp number 31 in the 1999 Millennium Series is the 26p value SG 2089) of the "Workers Tale" set issued on 4 May 1999 and features Salts Mill, in Saltaire, Bradford. Salt's Mill is named after Titus Salt.

Titus Salt was born near Leads, the eldest of 6 children, in 1804. His father leased a 100 acre farm and was quite prosperous through hard work. In 1822 his father left the farm and started his own business as a woolstapler and Titus, then aged 18 joined him and learnt all aspects of the wool trade. He travelled to London, Liverpool, Norfolk and Lincolnshire to learn about different types of wool and how to buy and sell between farmers and wooltraders.

When he was 28, he bought some Donskoi wool from Russia, but because it was difficult to process the tangled fibres he could not sell it. This lead to Titus buying his own mill and he began to spin the wool himself. The mill prospered and he could soon afford to buy four more mill in Bradford. In 1830 he married and had 11 children. In 1834 Titus acquired some bales of Alpaca wool and found that it wove into a lustrous cloth, suitable form making expensive dresses for rich ladies. He started processing Alpaca wool and was soon one of the richest men in Yorkshire. In 1849 he became the Mayor of Bradford and the following year at the Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace in London, he exhibited both his alpaca and other fabrics.

Titus Salt was by now planning to build a new mill on the outskirts of Bradford with the aim of improving conditions for his workers and he chose a site on the River Aire adjoining the Leeds - Liverpool canal and the new railway station. Here be built a massive new mill in the Itailanite style which had space and light and which could accommodate 3,000 workers. The mill opened in 1853 on Titus Salt's 50th birthday. He then went on to create an entire village, with houses, a school, library and a park, all for his workers. he called the village "Saltaire".

In recognition of his achievements he was created a Baronet by Queen Victoria in 1869, becoming Sir Titus Salt. In 1876, the last building in Saltaire was completed. Sir Titus died in 1876 at his home and the City of Bradford gave him a civic funeral that was watched by 100,000 people. He is buried in the mausoleum at Saltaire Congregational Church. Salt's Mill continued to be used until well after the Second World War, but with the decline in the textile industry, the mill was virtually redundant by the 1980's. The mill was then purchased by Jonathan Silver who set in motion a massive restoration and redevelopment project and today the Mill provides extensive office space and now more tha 1,500 people are employed in various companies occupying the space provided.

The stamp was designed by David Hockney and was printed in photogravure by two different printers. Firstly, the version of the stamp printed in sheets was by De La Rue whilst the stamp that appeared in booklets was printed by Walsall Security Printers. It is easy to tell mint versions of these stamps apart as the sheet stamps (by De La Rue) have bluish tinted PVA gum, whilst those from the booklet have untinted gum and therefore have a white back. Used stamps are much more difficult to tell apart. The stamp is available from