Saltaire United Reformed Church
Stewardship of a Grade I listed church in the heart of a World Heritage Site
Project Information
Project: General Stewardship and Quinquennial Inspection Report
Client: St Peter’s Parish Church, Addingham
Location: Addingham
Scope: Inspecting Architect, Feasibility
Status: Ongoing
The brief
Saltaire United Reformed Church began as the Congregational Church in the 1850s. It was a small religious meeting held at a house on George Street, and having moved on a number of occasions, Sir Titus Salt built a church within the model village of Saltaire. It should be noted that Sir Titus encouraged all forms of religious worship and it was his wife, Caroline, that was the driving force behind Saltaire’s church.
The foundation stone was laid by Caroline in 1856 to the designs of local Bradford firm Lockwood & Mawson in the Italianate style. The masons were Moulton of Bradford, and the woodwork was by John Ives of Shipley. A family mausoleum was added in 1861 on the south west side of the church by Sir Titus Salt who died in 1876.
At the opening service in April 1859, the correspondent from the Bradford Observer declared that the church “may safely be said to be the most exquisite example of pure Italian architecture in the kingdom”.
Saltaire Reformed Church is a Grade I listed building located in a conservation area within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the village of Saltaire.
Our Approach
We take the approach with all our Quinquennial Inspection reports that the ‘deliverable’ is easy to read and understand, priorities are clearly seen and there are practical recommendations. In this way, the report is less likely to be left in a cabinet, and instead becomes a working document that helps building custodians to manage their property in a sensible way.
We are currently supporting the church with the next steps to respond to some of the findings of the report
