There is no evidence to show the so-called rules of Saltaire Village* and Mill* are authentic.

Saltaire is a World Heritage Site. It's important that Saltaire's history is represented with integrity and accuracy to the best of everyone's ability.

Some Saltaire Rules are factual and sourced. However, the "Rules for living in Saltaire Village 1853 - 1876" and "Rules to be observed by the hands employed in Salts Mill, 1853 - 1876", are fake. These rules were produced by the late Clive Woods, c. 2002, to sell to tourists. It's thought there would have been official rules to structure work and life in Saltaire, but they have not been traced and may not, now, exist in any form.

Students and academics: please do not cite fake rules in your work as fact. They were meant as a bit of fun, but unfortunately they have been repeatedly peddled as fact.

This is what the fake rules look like and they obviously have a monetary value.

 

Real press photo

 

Pooly manipulated, fake photo attempting to authenticate the "rules of the village & mill"

Tweet by @EllinSaltaire: "#SaltsMill MD presenting #Saltaires first tourist Ted Adams & daughter a suit length & #Rules of the village and Mill posters in Oct 1980"

The photo has been created by roughly cutting around the hands to insert another layer: the "rules". The press photo is black and white. The "rules" have colour around Titus Salt's cameo picture.

Example of statements attempting to authenticate the fake rules.

 

Why does this issue matter?

THE PROBLEM: Students, researchers and writers have contacted the Saltaire Village website requesting the source of the Saltaire Mill & Village rules, promoted by local woman, Maria Glot, as: "Rules for Living in Saltaire Village, 1853 - 1876", and "Rules to be observed by the hands employed in Salts Mill, 1853 - 1876".

Serious enquiries began in August 2013 following an enquiry by a student wanting to source these rules. Various local historians and researchers have been involved in this issue. No source for these so-called "official" rules has been found or offered despite them being repeatedly represented as authentic. Please take them for what they are - a bit of fun.

19 August 2015, David King, a respected and published historian, gives feedback on the unsourced rules issue.

David King writes: I am not aware that anything relating to the rules* was discovered in Clive's** archive and working papers following his death and nobody subsequently who has done research into Saltaire has come across any mention of the rules in historical sources.

[**Clive Woods, who produced the rules c2002 for sale in a shop, died on the 22 November 2007 at his home in Victoria Road, Saltaire. His papers were subsequently examined.]

21 August 2015: Email sent on behalf of The Saltaire Archive, housed in Shipley College, sydicated to interested parties. Basically, "rules" should be regarded as "promotional material intended for tourists".

Julie Woodward writes: I have said on previous occasions that as far as I am aware there are no documents in the Saltaire Archive that would substantiate the 'rules of Saltaire Village' in question. I have no reason to change that view.
I would echo what others have said, that as the source of the rules cannot be established they should be regarded as promotional material intended for tourists. If anyone has any knowledge of documents that would provide sources the Saltaire Archive would be pleased to receive that information.

There are other authentic rules of Saltaire: Almshouses, Park and the Hospital.

These are reliably sourced from historial documents >

There are other fake Saltaire stories being peddled about Saltaire. Don't buy into myths. Read more >