The HalifaXtor

Once we got to Sowerby Bridge today we caught a bus into Halifax, a town we hadn’t visited before.
Of course well known as the home of the Halifax Building Society, where it has a new modern office building.

The town itself seems to be prosperous with smart shopping areas and new cinema and restaurant complex.  But the X factor prize must go to the splendid Piece Hall.
It was built in 1779 and is the last surviving manufacturers’ hall in the country.
 
Through the entrance archway set in one side of the building and there is a very large courtyard surrounded on all four sides by 300 rooms or colonnaded shops 2 or 3 storeys high.  Here the handloom weavers from the area would trade their products, bringing in their Pieces of cloth from their homes where they worked.
 
In the 19th century trade here declined as factories started to be built taking over the cottage industries. And so cotton goods were also brought in for trading along with the woollen cloth.  Today there are art and craft shops continuing the tradition, with a museum, art gallery, restaurant and the tourist information office.

A Panoramic View

Wednesday, Calderdale Nature Reserve - Sowerby Bridge
4 miles, 7 locks.