Housing in Saltaire

A view up William Henry Street from Albert Terrace

I took a few hundred photographs in the 4 hours that I spent exploring Saltaire but this doesn’t do justice to the work of the architects, Lockwood and Mawson, who paid great attention to the detailing of the housing that can be seen here. 

The back lane between William Henry Street and George Street

Leaving Saltaire railway station on its south side, I headed west along Albert Terrace and, stopping at the bottom of William Henry Street, I soon became aware of the variety in the housing that distinguish it from the slum housing that was typically thrown up in the northern industrial towns at the same time. 

A view along Salt Street

Throughout Saltaire, an Italianate style of architecture is used and all the properties are of hammer-dressed sandstone from quarries in the Rough Rock with Welsh slate roofs, with houses varying from two-up two-down terraces in the centre of the development – which face directly on to the street – to terraces with gardens, with three storey houses breaking the visual monotony. Larger houses are placed on the ends of the street and on the periphery of the estate, with larger gardens, and these were reserved for the managers. 

A house on the corner of Albert Road and Shirley Street

Although I only had time to quickly walk around the housing estate, the refined and expensive detailing – round arched ground floor windows, stringcourses and dentilled cornices for example – was apparent on all grades of housing. 

The old Saltaire tram shed on Bingley Road

Continuing on to the top of Albert Street, where I saw the old Saltaire tram shed, I then walked down the A650 Bingley Road – briefly stopping to look at the purpose built shops that had similar details to those seen in the houses.

The shopping parade on Bingley Road

Before I wandered back down to the centre of Saltaire via Victoria Road, I had a quick look at the house on the corner with Bingley Road, where the rock faced masonry contrasted with the squared stonework that I had seen elsewhere and there were some finely carved floral details and Corinthian capitals.

Architectural details at 51 Bingley Road