Piece Hall
Information booklet about the Piece Hall, Halifax, West Yorkshire. Published 1988.
Author: Unknown
Date: 1988
Location: Halifax
Format: Historical Account
Document ID: 100966
Library ID: 29798693
Information booklet about the Piece Hall, Halifax, West Yorkshire. Published 1988 by Calderdale Leisure Services.
20 pages scanned on 16 pages in this document. Includes brief details on the building and its activities - history (pp 3-4), design (pp 5-8), rules and regulations (p 10), change of use (pp 11-13), and restoration (pp 14-15).
Images used comprise current photos from 1980s (pp 1, 6-8, 14-15) and archive images:
p2 "An Inside View of the Manufacturers Hall" from an engraving by Burgess in Jacob's 'History of Halifax'.
p3-5 Domestic cloth manufacture, handloom weaver, section of John Moore's map of Halifax 1797, and east elevation, showing three styles of architecture.
p9 "Halifax Sunday School Centenary, Whit Tuesday 1890", watercolour by H.R. Oddy.
p10 "Buying and selling cloth."
p11 Engraving of Sunday School 'Sing' of 1852.
p12 Photo of wholesale, fish, fruit and vegetable market in the 1920s.
p13 Engraving of Prince of Wales' visit to Halifax in 1863.
Built in 1779 the Piece Hall replaced the original cloth hall of 1572. This was due to the growing demand for textiles in the local area. The Piece Hall was built on land donated by John Caygill. There is debate as to who the architect was, though it is often attributed to Thomas Bradley. It contained 315 rooms where merchants were able to store cloth. The length of cloth was usually 30 yards.
From the 1820s the domestic cloth trade declined due to mechanisation. With the growth of mills, manufacturers found other ways to sell their products. The Piece Hall became used for other events including entertainment such as Blondin's tightrope walk in 1861. The Piece Hall was used as a vegetable and fish market from 1871 until the mid-1970's, when it was threatened with demolition, and saved by just one vote.
The Piece Hall is now a Grade I listed building. It is the only surviving, complete cloth hall in the UK. In 2017, a £19 million conservation and transformation programme was completed, which has greatly enhanced the Piece Hall as a visitor attraction.
The Piece Hall now houses a range of shops, bars and restaurants as well as heritage and art exhibitions and events are held regularly in the spectacular outdoor space. The award-winning Central Library lies just through the new east gate.
