More on Halifax
More about Halifax
Halifax is a lovely, unique town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire.
Halifax is perhaps most famous for the Building Society that was established in February 1853 in The Old Cock Inn offering loans for home purchase 
(read a detailed history here). In 1997 the Building Society bacame a plc then in 2001 it merged with the Bank of Scotland to become a Bank and is now called HBOS. HBOS still has a range of offices and its headquarters are located in the town centre.
But Halifax is more than a Bank (though we often say Halifax is the capital of Britain - walk down any high street and you will see Halifax mentioned but in hardly any towns do you see London!!!!) it is a unique and historic town that is worthy of a visit!
Perhaps the most unique building is the Piece Hall which opened in 1779 as a market for selling pieces of cloth. It was the venue for the Whit Sing in the 1800's where thousands gathered on Pentecost Monday in celebration. Today the Piece Hall has a range of interesting and diverse shops, as well as a market on Thursday and Saturday. Over the summer months there is a range of entertainment - details of which are on the Piece Hall web site. The Piece Hall is also home to the Tourist Information Centre and an Art Gallery, and was visited by The Queen and Prince Phillip in 2004.
The Piece Hall leads onto the Woolshops, a popular area with a range of High Street stores. See the Woolshops web site for a full list.
The Borough Market is Halifax's indoor market with stalls ranging from fruit and veg to clothing, fresh beef to eggs and computers to frozen chips! The town centre expands upwards to Bull Green hosting a range of shops (including Harveys and Good Life Books Christian store), cafes, banks, pubs, nightclubs, and much more. There is also the Halifax Gibbet, which may have existed from as early as 1066. "From Hull, Hell and Halifax, good Lord deliver us" the reputation goes - see this site for more history). The Town Hall is overlooking Southgate (at the top of the market) and was designed and built by Sir Charles Barry who also designed the Houses of Parliament.
The top of the town is also home to the Victoria Theatre, the town's main theatre which hosts a wide variety of shows and performances. The Playhouse on King Cross Street is home to the Thespians and more localised productions. Along with Square Chapel, below the Piece Hall, and Viaduct Theatre at Dean Clough, the town has a wide range of theatres for every taste. Dean Clough is also home to an art gallery, cafe, restaurant, office space and much more. The nearest cinemas are The Rex in Elland and the Hebden Bridge Picturehouse.
Eureka! is another reason why many people visit Halifax - this is the first and foremost hands-on children's museum in the UK! Eureka! is situated next to Halifax train station - see the Eureka! web site for more details.
Halifax also has a range of parks and open spaces, including Shibden Park with a boating lake, pitch 'n' putt, miniature train and the 15th Century Shibden Hall, now a fascinating museum. People's Park, a gift by Sir Francis Crossley (carpet manufacturer) to the people of Halifax, has recently undergone a restoration. The park hosts a lake and variety of statues and fountains. Just up the A58 from People's Park at King Cross is Wainhouse Tower, a striking landmark at 280 feet tall - it is open for people to climb to the top on most Bank Holiday's. There is also Manor Heath Park with a Jungle Experience and home to the yearly Charity Gala (on the second Saturday in June) and Savile Park Moor which hosts the yearly Agricultural Show. Ogden Water on the A629 Keighley Road is a reservoir and nature area with countryside walks. Bankfield Museum at Boothtown has costume, textiles, military, history and decorative art exhibits as well as the Duke of Wellington's Museum.
The church buildings of Halifax are varied - from the magnificent Halifax Parish Church built in the mid-15th century (open daily for visits and also Tristam's Trail of The Ways of Halifax) to the more modern buildings of Halifax Elim, Salvation Army and Salem Methodist built as part of the re-development to make way for the flyover. The King's Centre next to People's Park is Halifax's newest church building which was converted from the old swimming baths. The church congregations of Halifax seek to work together towards presenting the good news of Jesus, hope and joy to the people who live, work and visit Halifax. Also nearby in Bradford is one of the country's largest church congregations (in West Yorkshire's largest indoor centre) - Abundant Life Church.
With Beacon Hill overlooking the town (with some fantastic views!), Halifax really is a unique town riddled with history and character. For more information on the history Malcolm Bull's web site is worth a visit. The Town Centre Management site has a wide range of pictures and information. The Calderdale Council web site has links and information as well.
Want to visit Halifax? By car leave the M62 at Junction 24 and follow the A629 to the town centre (see Multimap for directions). By public transport there are regular train links from Leeds, Selby, Bradford, Manchester and Blackpool and buses from across West Yorkshire. National Express also visit from across the UK (see Metro web site - the journey planner is a useful tool!) The nearest airports are Leeds / Bradford and Manchester.
Halifax is a great base for seeing the Calder Valley (including Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and Brighouse) and travelling further afield to Howarth (of the Bronte's fame), Skipton (25 miles), Leeds (12 miles), Yorkshire Dales (30 miles), Hollingworth Lake in Littleborough (15 miles), Manchester (30 miles), Lake District (80 miles) or the east (Scarborough, Whitby, Filey) / west (Blackpool, Southport, Morecambe) coasts (around 70 miles). The modern shopping malls, Trafford Centre and Meadowhall, are also around an hour from Halifax, with White Rose around 30 minutes.
We hope you have found this overview of Halifax useful - and we pray as Churches Together in Halifax that God will bless this town and the people who live, work or visit here....