Preserving Saltaire's Buildings
ESTATE WORKS
The College is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Saltaire - an extraordinary place where Sir Titus Salt built an Italianate style village for his workers to reside.
Salt had a dream that his village would provide vocational education to its residents. Today we take pride in preserving some of the historic buildings that were part of that vision.
The history of Shipley College in Saltaire
Shipley College began life in 1871 as the Schools of Art & Science, originally housed in Victoria Hall. In 1886 the “Schools” were transferred to the Exhibition Building; their own purpose-built accommodation and this building has been the “home” of the College for 125 years. In the early 1990s the Exhibition Building was refurbished and a mezzanine floor added.
In the mid-1960s the College expanded into one of the village’s most important listed buildings - the Salt Building (Grade 2*) - which had originally housed Sir Titus Salt’s school. In 1990 the Salt Building was refurbished with a new extension added to house the College’s Business & Technology Centre.
To accommodate further growth of the College by the early 1980s, Bradford Council (LEA) purchased the freehold of the Salts Mill Canteen (now our Mill Building) from the then owners of Salts Mill. This was the only estate asset inherited by our Corporation in 1993. The Mill Building was partially refurbished in the 1990s.
Restoration through the years
The College is committed to staying in Saltaire, maintaining its community role at the heart of the World Heritage Site and the integrity and utilisation of its historic buildings.