More blossom

More cherry blossom! I can't get enough of it and I'm always sorry when it's over. Sadly it doesn't last long but we are lucky enough to have some quite large trees around here and can enjoy it. 

These pink trees are in the gardens - Alexandra Square - in front of Saltaire's almshouses. Built in 1868, the almshouses were intended for the aged and infirm, who were initially chosen by Sir Titus Salt himself (and later the Trustees), to receive housing and a small pension. Many of them are still used as social housing. 

And here's one a little closer to home:

Saltaire's almshouses

I stood for ages waiting for a little bit of light to illuminate the almshouses. This is just one side of the square, which has around 45 small cottages, originally for the elderly and infirm. Residents were initially selected by Sir Titus Salt himself and later a Board of Trustees, and could live here rent-free, with a small pension. Some are now privately owned but others are still reserved as social housing. Until fairly recently, you could barely see them for foliage but they have felled a couple of large trees on the green (Alexandra Square), which has lightened the whole scene a great deal and must have made them brighter inside too. The almshouses were constructed in 1868, towards the end of the creation of Saltaire. They are at the top end of the village, so you can appreciate the lovely backdrop of Baildon Moor and Hope Hill.

Family time

I just celebrated my birthday. (Never really welcome these days but, as my sister says, better than the alternative!) My family came over and, as it was a lovely day, we walked into Saltaire and enjoyed the simple pleasures of ice cream and a ride on the Shipley Glen Tramway. I often wonder how many people, over the years, have walked along this low wall by the almshouses. It's a comfortable height and width and so you very often see children skipping along it. I love this photo. We're all young at heart. 

Candy floss

There's an absolutely gorgeous cherry tree in full blossom by the almshouses in Saltaire village. What a joy these trees are at this time of year. I can quite understand the Japanese holding their hanami festivals. Who wouldn't like a bit of a party under this exuberant pink canopy?

Friday round up

Friday has come round again, and I still have no hint of a moving date. This is getting extremely frustrating but there is little I can do about it. 

I always start a New Year with good intentions, usually related to taking more exercise, so I've had a walk most days this week. It's one way to take my mind off things. I am still finding bits and bobs to drop off at the charity shops. I must have halved my book collection over the last few months. Gordon Terrace in Saltaire happens to have a thriving Children's Society bookshop (apparently one of the most successful charity bookshops in the county) so most of my surplus volumes have ended up there. Walking home down Victoria Road there was a lovely sky and mist wreathing around Hope Hill in the distance. 

I also had a walk one day from Burnsall, along the River Wharfe. Again, there was a good sky, though the terrain was so muddy that most of my attention was on the ground, not the sky! I did look up enough to glimpse a splash of sunshine on the distant hills; that's been a rare sight this winter! 

So much rain in recent days has swelled the River Aire afresh. It was about as full as it could be without overtopping its banks and the riverside path was very muddy indeed, despite having been relaid and resurfaced during 2023.  The water was flowing fast but silently. It made me think of a slithering snake, and there was a slight sense of menace about it.  Not that the mallard ducks seemed to mind, gliding along on the current.

I made it to the aqueduct without mishap, thankfully. My two favourite trees are skeletal though no less beautiful in their winter tracery. They had company: a small herd of cattle. Milner Field Farm is a dairy farm but these looked like calves rather than dairy cows. Not that I'm an expert! 

I returned along the canal towpath - whilst I still can. As the sign declares, they are starting remedial work on the stretch from Shipley (Otley Road) to Hirst Lock, which will be closed from mid January until mid March. More on this HERE.  Once I've moved house, it will be easy enough for me to walk down to Hirst Lock and along the canal towards the aqueduct, before following the river path to Saltaire, so I'll still be able to do a circular walk. 

Saltaire's almshouses

There was lovely light on some of the almshouses as I walked past the other day. The open area around which they cluster - Alexandra Square - has been improved by the felling of several very large trees that used to take all the light. There was a lot of fuss when the trees were removed but they weren't Victorian additions, having been planted some time after the houses were built in 1868. Some smaller trees have now been planted instead. 

A few times when I've walked down this way, there has been an artist sitting and painting roughly this view. I've been tempted to stop and take a photo but didn't want to intrude - and he was wearing headphones, either to cut out the traffic noise or to listen to conducive music as he worked. I might have startled him if I'd peeped over his shoulder. Imagine if I'd caused him to jump and paint a big streak across the canvas!

St Anne's Hospital, Appleby

A low arched doorway off Appleby's Boroughgate leads you almost back in time to a bygone age. This is St Anne's Hospital, not a hospital in our modern sense of the word but a quadrangle of cottages built as almshouses by Lady Anne Clifford for poor widows and spinsters. There are thirteen of them, one being slightly larger and set aside for 'the Mother', the 17th century equivalent of a sheltered housing scheme warden. They date back to 1653 and have seen only minor alterations since that time. Endowed by Lady Anne, who designated the proceeds of one of her farms for their upkeep, they still house elderly single women, who are expected to adhere to the spirit of the rules set over 350 years ago. They have their own garden at the rear with the cottages arranged around a communal courtyard.

The building style is the local vernacular red sandstone with slate roofs, very attractive, with some nice little details.  

In one corner is a small chapel, still with its 17th century fixtures, the walls decorated with Biblical texts. Residents are still encouraged to attend services there. 

It is all absolutely charming, though I can't imagine what it must be like living there, with a constant stream of tourists and photographers disturbing their peace. 

 

Daffodils

The daffodils seem to have been particularly amazing this year and there was a lovely display in front of the almshouses in Alexandra Square. These are a particularly attractive variety, with darker trumpets and banana yellow outer petals. Recent cold temperatures and high winds haven't done a lot to help our gardens but these seem to have survived reasonably well. I love the haze of new leaves on the willow tree too - such a vivid green. The tree has had a haircut, judging by the straightness of its lower fringe. I need one as well! My last cut was way back last September. Just over a week to wait until my appointment, all being well.  

Around the Almshouses

A few cheery crocus bulbs have come into bloom on the grass in front of Saltaire's almshouses, the small homes provided by Sir Titus Salt for the frail and elderly from the village. The flowers weren't what I was intent on finding though... I was looking for the memorial plaques that I'd read were hanging in one of the porches. Normally I'd stay on the pavement and I wouldn't walk up so close to the houses. (I wouldn't like people coming right up to my front door!) It was, however, quite early in the day and there were few people around so I walked around the drive and found the plaques. They commemorate some of the earliest residents that lived there, giving their names, the dates they were admitted to the almshouses, the dates they died and their ages. One has the inscription: 'Here (ie: in death) the wicked cease from troubling and the weary be at rest' and the other says "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord'.  Very Victorian! 

 

Gothic horror

I love most of the architecture in Saltaire - the arched windows and Italianate detailing of the mill, public buildings and the housing stock. The almshouses, at the top of the village, were among the last to be constructed, opened in 1868. As with the rest of the village, they were designed by architects Lockwood and Mawson. By this time, public taste had veered towards the Victorian Gothic style. The almshouses and hospital, whilst still having an Italianate influence, show significant movement towards the Gothic, with pointed arches and chunky rock-faced stonework. Personally, I find this all a bit much! It is amazing how much fanciness the Victorians lavished on ordinary buildings. Here we have not only the stonework, arches and detailing but also a bell tower inscribed with the date (Opened September 1868) and the carved and intertwined initials of the founders, Sir Titus Salt and his wife Caroline, set among much fussy carving - the Salt family motto: Quid Non Deo Juvante  - What not (is not possible) by the help of God - and an alpaca, above palm and oak leaves. 

Blue sky day

Taking advantage of a crisp, breezy, blue sky day, a local walk took me up past Saltaire's almhouses around Alexandra Square. Built in 1868 by Sir Titus Salt, here he provided rent-free housing and a weekly pension for carefully selected aged and infirm occupants. Some are still used as social housing. The green square provides some attractive 'breathing space' in the village, although nowadays the mature trees, though magnificent, are huge and must take a lot of the light from the small dwellings. Some large conifers have recently been felled. Before that, the garden was even more congested!