The Piece Hall was built in an age when cloth was produced by hand loom weavers in their own homes, and served as a building where buyers and sellers could meet to exchange goods and merchandise.

The name refers to the length’s of cloth that were sold,`pieces` being 30 yards long. It is the last remaining cloth hall , all others having been demolished a long time ago. Indeed, the Piece Hall itself was almost demolished in 1972 and was saved by just one council vote.

Today it has been restored and is a natural arena for outdoor entertainments of all kinds and hosts a colourful market on Thursdays Fridays and Saturdays.

Its Galleries are lined with over 50 art and craft shops. It also has a Tourist Information Centre, plus the highly acclaimed Piece Hall Art Gallery.

HISTORY

Textile manufacture in Calderdale has been in existence since medieval times and probably developed to provide additional income for impoverished farmers. It was relatively easy to set up a loom in ones own home, and as demand for cloth was increased towards the end of the 16th century, whole families were drawn into the industry. The finished pieces of cloth were then taken to the local cloth markets to sell.

Markets for the sale of cloth pieces were found in all of the major towns of West Yorkshire. The first record of a cloth market in Halifax was in 1572 and was apparently very successful, but by the mid 18th century was inundated with trade and was unable to cope with the demand.        Then, local manufacturers considered a prestigious cloth hall to be built for Halifax.

A public meeting was held at the Talbot Hotel on the 9th April 1774 to discuss the venture. Two sites were chosen, namely Cross Close and Talbot Close. The latter was offered as a gift by a local land owner called John Caygill, with an additional donation of £840 if the offer was accepted. After much deliberation, true Yorkshire thrift prevailed and Talbot Close became the chosen site.

DESIGN

The Liverpool architect John Hope designed the Piece Hall. It is a rectangular building surrounding a spacious courtyard of 10,000 square yards. It is three storeys high on the east side, with two storeys on the west. This maintained a constant roof height due to the sloping nature of the site. Hope adopted ideas from Roman-classical architecture: massive rustic piers supporting      semi-curcular arches on the ground floor known as Arcade level; square jointed columns on the Rustic level and a continuous gallery or round Doric columns on the top floor known as the Colonnade.

There are three entrances, on the north, south and west sides and five internal staircases, one at each corner and another adjacent to the Westgate entrance. Surrounding the courtyard were 315 rooms, each measuring 12’ x 8’ with a door and a window, some original blown glass can still be seen. The Piece Hall was ceremoniously opened on January 1st 1779 and the following morning was ready for business.

CHANGE

The hall flourished for the first 35 years, but once mills opened the increasing mechanisation of the textile industry gradually undermined the handloom weaver. By the mid 19th century, merchants no longer bought from the handloom weavers and the Piece Hall went into decline.

In 1868 it was signed over to Halifax Corporation and three years later the Piece Hall was converted into a wholesale fish, fruit and vegetable market.

RESTORATION

It was not until the early 1970’s that a decision was made to improve the Piece Hall, as it was the last of its kind still standing, as well as being a Grade 1 listed building of historical and architectural interest. The stonework was cleaned and restored, and then individual units were internally enlarged to form shops. The Piece Hall was officially re-opened on 3rd July 1976

Today it thrives as a centre for entertainments, from brass bands and bus rallies, to performances of Shakespeare and live concerts. It is a wonderful place to shop for gifts, music and crafts of many kinds, and makes a grand day out for the whole family.

written by Allen & Jenny Lewis ©copyright 2003