Piece Hall Big Sing

This illustration is a depiction of the centenary celebrations of the Halifax Sunday School Union, which took place in the Piece Hall on the Whit Tuesday of 1890.

The Halifax Sunday School Union oversaw the running of Sunday Schools throughout Halifax. Prior to the establishment of local Boards of Education in the 1870s, there was no education provision outside of charitable and fee paying institutions. This often meant that children whose parents were unable to pay school fees could not attend school and thus had very little chance of improving their prospects. Furthermore, many of these children also worked long hours in order to supplement their family's income. Therefore, Sundays were their only day of respite in a week dominated by arduous, low paid labour.

Some individuals, including Robert Raikes, had become increasingly concerned about how children and young people were occupying their free time outside of their jobs. He had observed that these children had very little to occupy their leisure time and were thus running wild. Sunday schools were initially conceived as a way of engaging children and young people but their remit was expanded to include religious study and tuition in basic skills, such as reading and writing. Despite the fact that Sunday School teachers were all unpaid volunteers, money still had to be found in order to meet other running costs. It was in this way that many prominent individuals, including business proprietors, showed their support by making donations and subscriptions that were then used for the benefit of Sunday School pupils. This willingness to contribute towards the movement in this way may have been partially down to the fact that many of these donors had themselves benefited from the education that they had received at their Sunday Schools.

The Piece Hall had been the venue of a few Big Sings and other Sunday School events. However, it is said that the Centenary event of 1890 was a particularly outstanding affair with people traveling from across the country to hear the children and teachers of various Halifax Sunday Schools sing. The event was so well attended that the Piece Hall was unable to hold all of those who wished to attend. Determined not to miss out on this wondrous spectacle, many of those who were turned away from the Piece Hall flocked to Beacon Hill. From here they would have enjoyed a spectacular view of the events taking place in the Piece Hall below.

Sadly, this was to be the last time that the Piece Hall was to host a Jubilee Celebration for many years. After being taken over by Halifax Borough Council, the Piece Hall was used as a fruit and vegetable wholesale market. Big Sings continued to be hosted at various venues across Halifax, including the college playing field.

On Friday 25 May 2018, The Piece Hall Trust, in partnership with Calderdale Music Trust, presented 600 local primary school children in The Big Sing. This magical performance was a recreation of the historic Whitsuntide Sings that took place in The Piece Hall between 1831 and 1890. The event was not as large as previous Big Sings owing to modern health and safety restrictions that limit the capacity of the venue.

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.

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