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Sunday 4 August 2013

The family Silver


I happened to call in Salts Mill on my way home from work the other day to buy a greetings card. They sell a wonderful selection. (Of course, I came out with a book too. That always happens!) Anyway, unusually, I entered by the recently improved car park entrance. I was delighted to find that immediately on entering you now go through a small gallery dedicated to the late Jonathan Silver, the entrepreneur who, in 1987, saved the mill buildings from dereliction after the textile business foundered. His contribution to Saltaire is arguably nearly as great as that of Sir Titus Salt himself, and yet he was a humble man and until now has had little in the way of memorial and barely a mention around Saltaire itself.

I've recounted the story before: how the mill closed in 1986 and appeared to be slowly sinking into decay. Along came Jonathan, a local businessman, just 37 years old at the time. He had run several businesses (antiques, furniture, art and men's clothing) and had some experience of regenerating Dean Clough Mills in Halifax. He negotiated to buy Salts Mill, with a huge vision to turn it into a vibrant mixture of gallery and retail space and new commercial ventures. 25 years on, that vision has been handsomely realised, though sadly Jonathan himself did not live to see its complete fruition. He died of cancer in 1997. The enterprise has continued to be carefully nurtured by his family. His widow Maggie, brother Robin and more recently his daughter Zoe are all involved, together with a talented team who have ensured that Jonathan's vision for a thriving cultural, retail and commercial centre continues to develop and bring life to the old mill, to Saltaire and to the local area. (See here for an article written by Zoe Silver and here for an obituary written by the artist David Hockney, Jonathan's friend, whose artworks now fill the mill's galleries.)


6 comments:

  1. Great article by Zoe, I love seeing old buildings repurposed. If I get across the pond someday I'll have to drop by Saltaire.

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  2. Thank goodness for people like Jonathan Silver. Just been watching a documentary which featured Hockney.

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  3. Bravo, Jonathan Silver. He did a good job for his community. It is a good thing that his family and the professional managers have been keeping the project going.

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  4. Isn't it wonderful that there are such families in our communities. Love your title's play on words.

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  5. I was very fortunate to meet Jonathan and his brother Robin back in the late seventies. I was a struggling artist who was fresh out of college in Harrogate and trying to find my way. Jonathan purchased a handful of my works from John Cook who had an interior design store. Jonathan then commissioned more works from me to decorate the inside of his own clothing outlets.

    Still much appreciated to this day.

    Cheers
    Malc

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  6. Great memories of visiting Jonathan Silver with my Father Trevor Constable in the late 80's. As clothiers in Leeds Jonathan had invited us over to meet at Salt Mills and we enjoyed a lovely tour with great coffee and cake. Jonathan was a lovely man who embraced the arts with great passion, he was of course very well connected within the clothing industry and while we never managed to do business, he passed on some great contacts which did. Wonderful memories and great that Jonathan's family continues to shine his light.
    All good wishes Adam Constable

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