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Heritage Festival

What’s on in Halifax.

We’ve got interesting new shops, a vibrant and original cultural scene, and some really unique attractions - there’s a real buzz about the place, and the national media is cottoning on.

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Welcome to Halifax.

Today, Halifax offers an irresistible mix of old and new, with a thriving culture and great personality all of its own. In fact, we reckon you won’t have experienced anywhere quite like it.

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Discover What's Here.

This is Yorkshire, so food and drink really matter. Don’t be fooled though, we’re not just talking big helpings and traditional English favourites.

Visit Halifax.

With trains from all over that stop just five minutes’ walk from the town centre, starting your Halifax adventure couldn’t be easier.

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As a place to visit, work or live, our town has never been more vibrant and welcoming...

...or surprising.

As a place to visit, work or live, our town has never been more vibrant and welcoming...

...or surprising.

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➡️ Halifax Minster ⬅️ The present Minster

➡️ Halifax Minster ⬅️

The present Minster was built in 1438, on the site of two previous churches, the earliest dating back to Norman times.
Major restoration in 1879 under the guidance of Sir Gilbert Scott, the famous church architect who designed Westminster Abbey and All Souls church.

Oldest part of church- that north wall which dates back to C10th – note the former outside of the wall is now inside.
The pre-conquest history of Christianity in Halifax remains obscure. It has been suggested that there may have been a hermitage on the banks of the Hebble dedicated to Saint John the Baptist dating from the seventh century mission of Paulinus to the North or possibly a later Saxon Church linked with the Anglian parish of Dewsbury, but both theories remain conjectural.

Even after 1066, evidence is sparse, and there is no specific reference to a church or priest at Halifax in the Domesday Survey. However, the gift between 1078 and 1081 by the second Earl of Warenne, lord of the manor of Wakefield, of the rents and dues of the sub-manor of Halifax-cum-Heptonstall to the Benedictine Priory of Lewes, founded by his father, is documented, and it appears likely that the black-robed Cluniac monks had constructed a new church at Halifax by the early twelfth century.

Fragments of an Anglo-Norman Church situated to the north of the present building are clearly discernible in the distinctive carved chevron stonework incorporated into a late-thirteenth rebuilding. A medieval grave cover in the south porch dated 1150, depicting a pair of cropper’s shears, provides the earliest evidence for the textile industry in Calderdale.
#halifaxheritagefestival #heritage #halifax #rediscoverhalifax #discoverhx #architecture #buildings #history #halifaxminster

➡️ Ring o Bells ⬅️ Where is the most haun

➡️ Ring o Bells ⬅️

Where is the most haunted public house in Halifax?

The Ring of Bells dates back to at least the 1700’s.
Featured in TV programme, Most Haunted – Man referred to as Walter seen pointing towards the fire place, accompanied by the smell of tobacco.Also a lady followed by the pungent smell of lavender. Who were they?

The history of the pub is closely linked with the Minster, the legend being of an underground passage to allow the priest to escape in times of troubles.
#halifaxheritagefestival #heritage #halifax #rediscoverhalifax #discoverhx #architecture #buildings #history

➡️ Old Town Hall, Westgate ⬅️ Where was t

➡️ Old Town Hall, Westgate ⬅️

Where was the original town hall?

In 1849, just under a year after the election of the first Town Council, members decided to take premises then known as “Kershaw Brothers’ Warehouse,” at 22 Union Street, junction with Westgate, the building today occupied by John and Randolph Bottomley, Opticians. These premises accordingly became the Town Hall, holding most of the civic departments, including the police, but not the fire brigade, which was accommodated in Westgate.

Adaptation of the premises was carried out for £200, most of which was spent in providing prison cells to a proper standard in the basement. Although the Council resolved to take these premises only temporarily, they were to remain there until 1863.
#halifaxheritagefestival #heritage #halifax #rediscoverhalifax #discoverhx #architecture #buildings #history

➡️ Piece Hall ⬅️ The whole area around th

➡️ Piece Hall ⬅️

The whole area around the Piece Hall has undergone a massive period of investment.

This monumental Grade 1 listed building is the embodiment of Halifax’s impressive Georgian heritage, and played a vital role at the centre of the world’s booming woollen trade in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

Built in 1779 to support the trading of pieces of cloth, The Piece Hall has been at the heart of the commercial, civic and cultural life of the town for almost 250 years.

The huge open-air piazza is surrounded by a mix of independent bars, restaurants, shops, cafes and creative businesses.

With a dedicated Heritage and Learning team and three specially curated exhibition spaces ‘The Piece Hall Story’ will guide visitor’s discovery of the iconic building and its historic importance at the centre of the world’s woollen trade.
#halifaxheritagefestival #heritage #halifax #rediscoverhalifax #discoverhx #architecture #buildings #history #thepiecehall

➡️ Union Cross Hotel ⬅️ Which is the olde

➡️ Union Cross Hotel ⬅️

Which is the oldest surviving public house in Halifax?

The Union Cross Hotel is the oldest surviving public house in Halifax, dating back almost 500 years, when it was called the Cross, due to its position opposite the Market Cross in Old Market. Records refer to a Richard Lister of the Cross in 1535.

The ‘Union’ part of the name was added around 1745 at the time of the Jacobite Rebellion which aroused patriotic feelings throughout the country in defence of the’ Altar and the Throne’.

John Wesley had attempted to preach at the Old Market Cross in 1758, but had to abandon his attempts when he met with violence and interruptions from a vast crowd.

In front of you as you enter the yard, is the original office of the Halifax Building Society. Unfortunately now not safe to enter.
It was a famous centre for cock fighting.When it was banned, cock fighting moved indoors and a ring still exists.

Note original stain glass windows above the archway as you leave for Cornmarket.

Branwell Bronte used to patronise this pub in the early 1840s (when John Riley was landlord), as a member of a club that met there; and his friend Joe Drake lodged on the pub’s top floor. Anyone who saw Sally Wainwrights play, ‘to walk invisible’ may remember this scene.
#halifaxheritagefestival #heritage #halifax #rediscoverhalifax #discoverhx #architecture #buildings #history

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