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| The South Lodge |
The later managing directors of Salts Mill, Saltaire,
married ladies whose families were more minor members of the peerage.
Eva Siggs had many siblings and she was one of the youngest
members of her family, living at 98 Acre Lane, Lambeth, Greater London. She was born in 1874. In 1900, she married Ernest Henry Gates. Their son, Ernest Everard Gates was born in
1903.
In later life, Eva Gates suffered ill health; her sister,
Laura, also mentioned in the peerage along with her father George, died
somewhat prematurely in 1921. Eva died
around October 1923, presumably at the Milner Field home in Bingley.
Ernest Gates met with an accident, injuring his foot and
after going in to a private nursing home in Eldon Place, Bradford, he died on
April 1, 1925. His Will was proved later
that year, when his son and successor, Ernest Everard Gates had moved back to
Norfolk.
Ernest Gates’ family had an ancestral coat of arms and his
family home was Old Buckenham Hall, Attleborough, Norfolk. The residence later became a school which was
destroyed by fire in 1952.
There is a rather crude ‘spoof’ Facebook page in existence suggesting that Eva Gates haunts Milner Field as she used to sit in the conservatory and would often request the gardeners to place bets on horse races for her, or so some say.
A book written some time ago about Hollins and Viyella, the
latter a mixed fabric and later a brand-name also associated with a company
called Courtaulds, mentions the family bearing the name formerly referred to.
Why would Eva Gates or indeed Annie Hollins haunt the ruins of Milner Field? Well, it is difficult to say. Perhaps they hoped for more from their physical life than it would ultimately offer either, or perhaps their illnesses made more of a dent in the ether.
The most obvious culprit for the destruction of anyone who
later lived at Milner Field would be Titus Salt Junior. He overspent and ruined himself, entertained
royalty and funding his mining activities in America with the Dayton Coal and
Iron Company.
Yet he put on a splendid Jubilee Exhibition which lost him a
lot of money and it is very sad because you can see the human side of him and
his efforts in this marvellous attempt to create an amazing exhibition. The problem was that, perhaps from a
marketing perspective, Saltaire was too small, the exhibition should have been
held in Shipley or Bradford. Shortly
after the exhibition closed, in November 1887, Titus Junior was found dead in
the billiard room at Milner Field aged only 44.
James Roberts is the dark horse; later Sir James Roberts, he
was created a baronet by the same person who had been entertained by Titus
Junior, the former Prince of Wales, King Edward VII. Mr Roberts was a man from supposedly humble
beginnings in Haworth, working his way up and looking for opportunities to take
over both Salts Mill and as many of the directors’ residences as he could. After wrestling The Knoll, in Baildon, from
fallen Salts director Charles Stead, he then set his sights on Milner Field.
Sir James did suffer family tragedies whilst living at
Milner Field, but he and his wife came through personally unscathed, owning
both Strathallan Castle in Scotland and Fairlight Hall. Both lived to reach a decent age. He also bought the Bronte parsonage in
Haworth and presented it to the local council, to be used as a museum.
James Roberts was the man that the Salt brothers, Titus and
Edward, should have kept the closest eye on.
Anyone who looks in to the situation closely can see that James Roberts
waited on the misfortune of others, namely Titus and Edward Salt and even
Charles Stead, in order to take what they had and keep it for himself. Like Julius Caesar or Octavian, the Roman
Emperors of classical times, he humiliated the Salts and Stead, building his
own empire at Salts Mill. Some would call him the perfect businessman.
As far as hauntings go, we have a lot of disgruntled persons
both incarnate and discarnate, roaming around.
Then perhaps we forget to mention that Catherine Salt as a member of the
Halifax-based Crossley carpet family, even in late Victorian and Edwardian
times, would have expected a be shown a good deal of respect. As a woman and lone parent, upon the death of
her husband, she apparently had to mortgage Milner Field to her brother. Upon vacating the property, James Roberts
assumed residence.
Mrs Catherine Salt would have experienced an acute loss of
status following the death of her husband and she would still have been young
enough to marry again, but would not have been seen as a wealthy enough
prospect by suitors within her social circle.
She may therefore have become both justifiably bitter and disillusioned
to see others in her husband’s place at Salts Mill. It must have hurt her.
Who goes (there), you decide!
