Founded in 1853 by Sir Titus Salt, there are a range of monuments which are still in perfect condition. The words 'Model Village' usually refers to a social or industrial development created in the UK during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
They were created by a Philanthropist (a person who dedicates his own time to a certain cause) developer such as Sir Titus, to house his workers as well as provide social amneties for their families.New Lanark, Bourneville and Port sunlight were all typical model villages in the nineteenth century, in my essay I will agree with the statement that Saltaire is indeed a typical model village by comparison. When Salt decided to build saltaire he focused on his company and what would be best for sustaining it. He realised, looking at other model villages, tha
...t if the living conditions in Saltaire were better than average, his workers would become more eager to work and that would mean better produce.
In both Bourneville and New Lanark, the conditions for workers were above average meaning that Salt was on the right path and shows Saltaire was on its way to becoming a model village. Salt built houses for all of his workers. Lever, the founder of Port Sunlight, also provided outstanding housing for each worker showing us that he must have had the same views as Salt and dedicated his time to give workers as much as he could to create a happy atmosphere. Cadbury also provided better living conditions as well which implies that this is also another way in which Saltaire is similar to Port Sunlight, Bourneville and New Lanark.Salt gave them extra facilities suc
as a recreation centre, which encorouged workers to do things in their spare time. The recreation centre had a range of sports equipment included to keep workers fit and happy.
Cadbury, the founder of Bournville, created a recreational centre similar to Salt's. Again, showing us that Salt had taken note of the typical model villages and used some ideas in his work. Cadbury built a swimming pool persuading workers to play sport and occupy themselves instead of going to the public houses all the time.Salt didn't build public houses as he knew that these would become overrused and workers wouldn't work as well under those circumstances. His mill was situated below the housing making it easy access for each worker.
As I said, Salt believed that if the working conditions were good, his workers would put more effort into their work and also attract more skilled workers to Saltaire as they would be informed of the advantages of working there. Cadbury also did something similar to this and would try and exceed other villages to persuade the skilled workers to come and work there, he suceeded in doing this, giving a good example for Salt.Owen, founder of New Lanark, did almost exactly the same thing and improved his working conditions to there satisfaction showing a dedication to putting his workers in front of his needs first. This evidence shows us that Saltaire has got similar factors to model villages in the nineteenth century. Salt built a church opposite the mill showing his love for his God and to remind his workers of their religion.
Religion was also a big deal in Bourneville as well, Cadbury's
family were members of the "Society of friends and quakers".In the mid nineteenth century, Bourneville did a routine of Bible passage reading and prayers in the morning and evenings. Quakers were pacifists (against war or violence in general) and this was what Owen's family were, Quakers. Cadbury and Owen being Quakers were one of the many reasons for improving the worker's surroundings.
A church was also built in Port Sunlight by Lever. This tells us that religion was incredibly important in a model village in the nineteenth century. Salt also began thinking about workers lives and built a hospital to show his caring for his worker's health.Cadbury didn't just build a hospital but also made a dentist available to the public to show importance of his employees' health. In 1907, Lever, founder of Port Sunlight, built a hospital there which carried on until the NHS (National Health Service) was formed in 1948. This also tells us that each model village including Saltaire had a way of caring for each of their worker's health.
Salt built a school in Saltaire, just as Owen did, Salt made this school especially for his workers so they could study georgraphy and arithmatic at school.In New Lanark, child labour was replaced with education so that children were smart enough to become skilled workers and earn a proper living. In Port Sunlight, education was offered to the workers whereas in Saltaire it was compulsary. In Bourneville, people were encorouged to attend night school to study classes such as georgraphy and arithmatic, each lesson educated the workers more and more and finally it became clear that they were putting more effort in
their work.
When they attended school, they wore full uniform.This information shows education was significant for each Philanthropest as it was in Saltaire. In Saltaire, both the Leeds-Liverpool canal and a train line leading to the major city of Bradford ran through it, indicating that this was a very good spot to be situated in. Transport was a big issue for workers and by having canals and trains passing through each day it would make it extremely easier to attend work.
In Bourneville, the Worcester and Birmingham canal joined the factory, just like the canal joined the factory in Saltaire. The Birmingham West Suburban Railway was very close to the factory.To add to these was Oak Lane, now called Bournville Lane, which was quite easily improved for transport. The transport very similar to Saltaire's with a canal and rail line. To conclude, Saltaire had such a minute difference with other model villages in the nineteenth century that really only a few points could argue against it not being one.
Like public houses; Salt did not allow public houses to be built across his land. Saltaire seemed to get on fine without pubs and therefore i agree that Saltaire was a typical nineteenth century model village.
