The Piece Hall Halifax – “The best dressed market in the land”
Book a Room at Holdsworth House Hotel & Restaurant, just 3 miles from the Halifax Piece Hall.
What is ‘The Piece Hall’ in Halifax
In 1633, when Holdsworth House was built, Halifax was already the biggest producer of cloth in West Yorkshire. It produced 4 times the amount of Leeds and 8 times that of Bradford. Cloth and textiles were traded in Halifax and sent all over the world to be made in to fine clothing and furnishings.
In 1774 the existing cloth market was deemed too small, so The Piece Hall was built. “Piece” referred to a 30 yard length of woven woollen fabric produced on a handloom.
315 Rooms for Merchant Trading
The Piece Hall was paid for by the local merchants themselves. There were 315 small rooms for each to trade their wares.
It is impossible to overstate the importance the Halifax cloth industry had in recent British history. The Roman style architecture of The Piece Hall was a deliberate statement to show off great wealth, pride and status.
Industrial Revolution.
By the mid 1800s the Industrial Revolution had gained pace. Traditional handloom cloth was now being done by ‘modern’ machinery. As the ability to make cloth spread from the cottages to bigger mills, trading in The Piece Hall began to die. So the Victorians began to use it for other ideas…
Hot air ballooning was a novelty at the time and the sight of aeronaut Charles Green being the ‘first man in space’ was a spectacle for the packed crowd.
In 1861, in a bid to entertain crowds, a tightrope cable was stretched from a corner to the one diagonally opposite. The world famous ‘Great Blondin,’ who had recently crossed Niagara Falls on a cable, carried out his daring act to the excitement of the crowd below (they knew how to live didn’t they?!)
But alas the running costs could not be sustained and The Piece Hall was handed to the local ‘council’ to operate. From 1871 it was used to trade fish, game, fruit and vegetables; trade continued for over 100 years. Take a look at the black and white photos in the Holdsworth House bar!
In the 1970s some restoration work was completed. But by the new Millennium it was clear that extensive work was going to be needed to keep The Piece Hall structurally safe.
A £7m donation from Heritage Lottery Fund and funding from various foundations and Calderdale Council, totalling £19m, has resulted in the newest restoration project. The whole place is now operated by an independent charity – The Piece Hall Trust.
Restoration of The Piece Hall in Halifax
Halifax Piece Hall is now Grade I Listed i.e. it is deemed a structure ‘of exceptional interest’.
Restoration work involved replacing some of the stone pillars, and many stone sections, plus the laying of a 66,000 square foot granite open-air piazza and steps. The restoration was more than just the saving of Yorkshire’s most important secular building: an extensive cultural quarter has been created.
Today The Piece Hall is a Fantastic Outdoor Concert Venue, Plus:
Independent shops – clothes, jewellery, homeware, arts, crafts, gifts, old fashioned sweet shops, chocolates, music and vinyl records etc.
Eat and drink – ice cream parlour, gin bar, restaurant, deli cafe
See and do – art gallery, heritage museum, water features within the piazza, nighttime lighting. Plus there’s a fantastic list of events and world-famous artists now gigging in Halifax.
Parking – nearest is The Woolshop Car Park next door. Or Eureka! on concert gig days. Or take a taxi from Holdsworth House for about £5.
Book a room online at our best available rate and look forward to your Piece Hall Short Break!
