A pillar of Salt

This statue of Saltaire's founder, Sir Titus Salt, first stood in Bradford's Town Hall (now City Hall) Square.  Funded by public subscription and unveiled in 1874 by the Duke of Devonshire, amid lavish celebrations, the marble statue itself was sculpted by John Adams Acton.  It shows Sir Titus Salt seated, holding a scroll of the plans of Saltaire.  The canopy was designed by the architects of Saltaire, Lockwood & Mawson and features Salt's coat of arms, along with symbols representing Justice, Prudence, Temperance and Charity.   In 1896, traffic congestion in central Bradford forced its relocation to Lister Park in Bradford, where it remains today.

It's said that when Sir Titus found out about plans for the statue, he joked: "So they wish to make me into a pillar of salt."   At the unveiling, the Chairman of the committee said: "we are met to do honour to one of Bradford's worthiest citizens......whose modesty of disposition and strength of character are worthy of imitation by the rising business men of the town."