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Ripley Ville (later also Ripleyville) was an "estate" of "model houses" for members of the working classes. It was located in the district of Broomfields within the East Bowling ward of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1866 it was built for the industrialist, politician and philanthropist Henry William Ripley. Initially Ripley Ville was intended as a commercial development of "model houses" but when completed in 1881 it had many of the aspects of an "industrial model village" - though residents were not limited to H.W. Ripley’s employees. It was the only "model village" built in the Borough of Bradford.〔Saltaire was not incorporated into the City of Bradford until the 1970s〕 It can be compared with the nearly contemporary Akroydon (Halifax, built by H.W Ripley's friend and schoolmate Edward Akroyd), with Saltaire and model housing schemes in a number of other West Riding textile towns.〔 includes descriptions of Saltaire, Copley, Ackroyden, West Hill Park, Wilshaw and Meltham Mills.〕 Ripley Ville contained 196 "workmen's cottages", a school with a teacher's house, a church, allotment gardens and (on a separate site about a half mile distant) a vicarage and 10 alms houses. The alms houses still remain. All other buildings had been demolished by 1970. == H W Ripley, Bradford building by-laws and the "Model Dwellings Movement" == By the 1860s H.W Ripley was managing partner of the Bowling Dye works, founded by his grandfather in 1808. In 1822 the dye works had relocated from West Bowling to a site in Spring Wood next to the Spring Wood Colliery pumping shaft - which supplied the works with steam and water. At that stage the works employed only 18 men and boys. From 1835 as the junior partner Henry was already "regarded as the boss of the dyehouse". He built up the business from a very small concern to the biggest dye works in Yorkshire. He purchased from the Bowling Iron Works the freehold of the dye works and about 100 acres surrounding it and subsequently built up the landholding to about 130 acres. The landholding added to the available water supply - "The whole of the water required for the supply of the works is an available source of 1,250,000 gallons per day". To the dye works income he had added income from a series of mills〔: "the enterprise and forsight of the late Sir Henry Ripley who erected .. many large blocks wholly devoted to the worsted industry"〕 rented out on a "room and power" basis, from a water works (with a supply of 600,000 gallons per day) and a gas works. He was recognised as one of Bradford's "big four" industrialists alongside Titus Salt, Samuel Lister and Isaac Holden. As a councillor, JP and public figure H W Ripley was deeply involved in the debates which engaged the attention of the recently (1847) incorporated borough council and the citizens. After four decades of rapid economic and population growth Bradford had some of the worst housing and sanitary conditions in the UK and about the lowest life expectancy. A sanitary commissioner reported - "Taking the general condition of Bradford, I am obliged to pronounce it to be the most filthy town I visited." 〔James Smith, Report on the Sanatory Condition of the Town of Bradford, Health of Towns Commission, 2nd Report, 1845, Vol. XVIII, Pt.2, p.315.〕 In 1850 Titus Salt responded to the problems by rebuilding his mills outside of the town and embarking on the development of his "model community" of Saltaire. The Bradford council Building and Improvement Committee reported in 1855 to the full council "Your committee again beg to draw the attention of the Council and the public to the continued practice of building houses back-to-back. Out of 1401 sanctioned, 1070 or 76.9 per cent are laid out upon that objectionable principle.".〔George Sheeren.Back-to-back houses in Bradford. Bradford Antiquary 1986 in volume 2, pp. 47-53, of the third series.〕 Bradford council responded with a series of building bylaws (1854, 1860, 1866 and 1870〔 - entries under the relevant years.〕 ) intended to ensure that new houses were of a decent standard. The bylaw of 1860 effectively banned construction of back to back houses which had been the predominant form of working class housing for the previous 30 years. The building interests mounted a campaign to have the bylaw rescinded, maintaining that it was impossible to build "through" houses at a price which working-class people could afford and as evidence pointed to the precipitate fall in new building starts. In the local elections of 1865 the chairman of the Building and Improvement Committee lost his seat and was replaced by a councillor more sympathetic to the building interests. In 1866 Bradford council issued a revised by-law which again allowed construction of "back to backs" provided they met stringent requirements for space, ventilation, water supply and sanitary provision. These "tunnel backs" became the predominant form of working class houses built in Bradford during the next 20 years. The council approved no further plans for back to back houses after the 1870 bylaw but the builders had a sufficient stock of approvals to continue building back to back houses well into the 1890s. H. E Ripley was not convinced by the arguments of the speculative builders. In November 1865 he issued a prospectus for the construction of 300 "Working-men's dwellings" on his own land. They would be four bedroom "through houses" with yards to the rear and gardens to the front and each would be equipped with an internal WC. The houses were primarily intended for sale to small landlords and owner occupiers with a provision for rental purchase and some renting. The Bradford firm Andrews and Pepper were appointed architects. The specification for the Ripley Ville houses was influenced by the proponents of "model housing", such as J.Hole and Godwin, editor of "The Builder" and the practices of contemporary "model builders" in the West Riding. By the mid 1860s the views of the "improvers" had moved on from the provision of basic accommodation to considerations of lighting, ventilation, heating, storage, privacy and open space. The design of the Ripley Ville houses incorporated these enhanced standards, and in several respects exceeded them. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ripley Ville」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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