Is Saltaire like New Lanark model village or Bowes Museum?
A – Nothing like them at all! The Mill is now a commercial enterprise selling quality products to visitors, but also displaying David Hockney paintings and Burmantofts pottery in a dramatic setting. The rest of Saltaire is a working village, with businesses not concerned with tourism in amongst cafes and gift shops. It is the home of Shipley College and Titus Salt Upper School, and students of both use the village facilities. The houses are all inhabited and their owners use the village facilities too. Life goes on in Saltaire! There is no Visitor Centre with interactive displays. There isn’t even an on-site Tourist Information Centre. There are no cottages furnished in Victorian manner for you to visit. No “museum exhibits” at all. You will find stunning Italianate architecture, largely unchanged from Victorian times. To make the most of your visit you have to do some walking to appreciate the scale of the place and why it is the largest and best preserved Victorian industrial model v
