Heritage Trail 16 - Alexandra Square

Hope we're all refreshed after that virtual coffee.  (And the very good news is that virtual cake contains NO calories!) Now we will....
'Continue along Bingley Road and then turn left into Victoria Road.'  The top of Victoria Road contains this little green space called Alexandra Square, around which are grouped Saltaire's almshouses. (For more photos and history, please click the 'almshouses' label below).  This area was developed in 1868.  Sir Titus Salt was following the lead of other local paternalist industrialists such as Sir Francis Crossley, who in 1855 had established almshouses linked to his Dean Clough Works in Halifax.  There are 45 almshouses in Victoria Road, some now in private ownership but many still providing accommodation for the elderly or infirm, through a Housing Trust.

[No 14 on the street plan]

A shady seat

A shady seat in Alexandra Square, Saltaire.  This attractive little square is surrounded by Saltaire's 45 almshouses, built by Sir Titus Salt in 1868 to provide accommodation for the elderly and infirm.  It was originally enclosed by cast iron railings (on top of the little wall).  These were no doubt removed and melted down for munitions in WWII.  In providing these houses for the elderly poor, Salt was copying other local industrialists like Francis Crossley in Halifax, taking on a role which had previously been played by landed gentry.  He offered not only rent-free housing but also a small weekly pension to the residents, who were personally selected by him during his lifetime and then by a board of trustees.  The houses are still occupied, some in private ownership and some managed by a housing trust for Bradford Council and still providing homes for older people.

Saltaire garden

This garden in Saltaire's Alexandra Square makes a beautiful 'chocolate box' picture at the moment, with borders and pots full of colourful plants. Whoever lives there must love gardening and obviously takes great pride in how it looks. The other side of the house, overlooking Bradford Road, is equally pretty. It is one of Saltaire's Almshouses, originally built by Titus Salt in 1868 to provide homes for elderly and infirm residents of Saltaire. It's good to see one of the houses looking so attractive, as some of them look a little bit neglected these days. For more photos and information about the Almshouses see here and here.

Alexandra Square, Saltaire

I mentioned the Almshouses in Saltaire a while ago. There are 45 cottages, built in 1868 around a square at the top of Victoria Road. They were originally intended as a sanctuary for the aged and infirm, but management of them proved problematic over the years. Some are now privately owned and the rest, managed by a Housing Trust for Bradford Council, are still let mostly to elderly tenants and those with mobility needs. Local historian Roger Clarke has written a very interesting history of the Almshouses, available to read on the Saltaire Village Society website (Saltaire Journal Vol. 1 No 3).

The square has what must once have been a rather attractive formal garden. It's dominated now by the trees that have overgrown the space, and other plants have a hard time of it. I think it is at its most picturesque at this time of year. The weeping willow trees have a soft haze of green and there are a few daffodils out. It's also easier to appreciate the Venetian Gothic architecture of the buildings, most of which are one-storey cottages, interspersed with two-storey houses.