Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
Our destination for today was Saltaire, the huge mill and model village built by Sir Titus Salt. Just 50 minutes away if we were in a hurry. We weren't. It really is a spectacular World Heritage site. Workers houses you would want to live in, lots of cultural and recreational facilities, and these days lots of independent shops and cafes. On exiting the car park we chatted to a local who pointed out to us a peregrine falcon atop of the mill chimney. Houses... The Art Centre.... And the Mill At its peak there were 300 workers and 1200 looms turning out up to 18 miles of worsted a day..........the only difficulty we had, however, was finding a way in, which with such an enormous building is a bit of a surprise, but it wasn't just us - other people asked us the way. The railway line was the problem. You had to cross over it on a bridge leading to a dead-end road, and make your way in at the side. No helpful signage. Unbelievable! The first Hockney painting to greet us was this impressive view of the mill itself. We bought a large framed print of this later on. The mill contains not only the largest collection of Hockney paintings anywhere, but also fantastic shops, cafes and restaurants. It was a real pleasure to just be there. At one time due for demolition and in a totally derelict state, it was rescued by the Bradford entrepeneur Jonathan Silver who knew Hockney from his Bradford connections. And what a job he has done.....just as much a hero in my opinion as Sir Titus himself. Hockney painted him just before he died tragically young of cancer. In one of the main halls was this Hockney chair which stems from his period as an operatic set designer. He was experimenting here with trying to involve the audience more closely by playing with scale and perspective and putting larger objects at the back of the set. His brilliant mind has never ceased turning over new ideas ever since. The friends series of portraits were intriguing..... This one fooled me if not Frances. It purports to show a painting of sunflowers side by side with the Photo from which they weretaken. In fact bth halves are painted. Here, a Hoockney postbox..... Everything was on an enormous scale. Here the bookshop. Morning tea and crumpets was nice.... The homeware section was full of design excellence....some items at horrendous prices, some not. Here is another Hockney experiment........nine i-pad videos showing side by side. We bought the poster. You can't resist! 'The Arrival of Spring' all done on i-pad was captivating.... On floor 3 there is a docu-history of the mill and many exhibits, here the boardroom. And Saltaire is never just about Hockney. There was an exhibition of another Yorkshire artist - Simon Palmer which we wished we had more time to see. And, in the background always Sir Titus Salt. Since we were in the area, we visited the National Trust's East Riddlesdon Hall. Yet another terrific building saved from demolition (in 1934). You encounter the lake immediately after entering from the busy main road and are thrown into another world. The tithe barn was as impressive as tithe barns are...... ....and the Hall itself full of interest. It was built by wealthy Halifax clothier James Murgatroyd in 1642 of all times at the start of the CIvil War. And engaging with the room guides proved very rewarding. We admired a lot and learned a lot. This part of the building was initially a temporary structure thrown up over the yard, and with the first floor never completed as can be seen from the upper fireplace. The panelling varied and some was obviously fitted in (just) from other locations, as so often in these houses. The chest had a secret key hole (not at the front) and was designed with blades to slice the fingers of unsuspecting thieves. The plasterwork was what Londoners might call 'provincial', craftsmen from Wakefield, but I thought it was rather good and very lively. We looked at our map and went home via back ways and the views were stunning. All in all a day worth repeating.
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August 2023
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