Top of Woolshops Halifax
View of Woolshops, Halifax, West Yorkshire from a pencil drawing by C. Crossley.
Author: C. Crossley
Date: not dated
Location: Halifax
Format: Postcard - Mono
Document ID: 100364
Library ID: 34560751
Taken from a series of Halifax town centre drawings by Cuthbert Crossley (1883-1960), who worked in oils, water-colours and etchings, producing landscapes and architectural views. He was born in Halifax, presumably part of the local Crossley family, studied at Halifax School of Art (though largely self-taught) and worked for a while as a designer for Crossley's Carpets. He later taught part-time at Halifax School of Art and exhibited at the Royal Academy and Paris Salon, amongst other academic societies.
Woolshops is believed to be the only street in the world to be named so. The name is said to derive from the traders, or staplers, who sold wool by the stone (weight) as opposed to by the bale. A staple is a measure of wool, which refers to the fibres. The reason staplers sold wool in these measures was because of the small amounts of cloth produced in homes. The area dates back to medieval times and is mentioned in the 1555 Act of Parliament.
In 1931, the south side of Woolshops was renovated in magnificent 1930s style, with imposing towers and a shopping arcade. The towers were later incorporated into the present-day structure. The road was widened and several buildings pulled down, including fourteen shops and three old pubs. The Prince's Arcade was officially opened on June 2nd 1931.
The modern-day Woolshops was refurbished in the early 1980s, at a cost of £6.5 million. Many of the buildings were deemed to be in an irreparable state but it was requested that they be preserved. The north parade of shops was rebuilt as close to the original structures as possible, but the crowning glory of the complex is the 1670 Tudor-style building standing at the top of Woolshops.
Prince's Arcade, on the opposite side of the road, was demolished, along with the abattoir. A new complex was built in its place echoing the 1930s structure. The road between the shops was closed and made into a pedestrian precinct with a large car park constructed at the bottom of the street. Opened in 1983, and shops were added in 2000.
