Saltwell Towers

Saltwell Towers, also known as Saltwell Park Mansion, is a large house built in 1871 within Saltwell Park, originally the estate associated with the house. It was commissioned for William Wailes, a stained-glass manufacturer. The architectural style is a mix of Gothic and Elizabethan with French influences, characterized by asymmetrical towers, steeply pitched roofs, plain and crenellated parapets, and tall chimney stacks.

The house is constructed of dark brick with yellow brick dressings and decorative patterns. The south front is two storeys high and features square, projecting corner turrets with crenellated parapets. A taller turret projects towards the right end, rising as a three-sided bow with three single-light windows per storey. This turret continues upwards through the main parapet to form a third-storey room in the roof, topped with a fish-scale tiled roof of very steep pitch. A decorative wrought-iron railing runs along the roof ridge, with decorative finials at each end. The main south front has a continuous parapet with sloping stone capping and a string course, dividing the storeys. Large plate-glass windows with mullions and a single transom, along with one casement window, are present. A recessed bay in the middle features a square-headed doorway with a fanlight and a 12-panel door. A two-storey bow front on the west side mirrors this design, incorporating heraldic devices into the parapet. The north side has a three-storey projecting entrance tower with a crenellated parapet and a polygonal stair-turret extending above the parapet to a circular pyramidal roof topped with a decorative weather-vane. A projecting wooden porch with a curved roof is also present. Some original panelling, commissioned from Gerrard Robinson, has been preserved in the Shipley Art Gallery.