30 yards in a piece

I had the pleasure of introducing a friend to one of the jewels in the crown of this part of Yorkshire, the Piece Hall in Halifax. It was a damp and chilly day but that meant not many people were crowded in there so it felt very comfortable in these Covid times - though we wore masks, of course, in the shops. 

Opened in 1779, the Piece Hall originally consisted of 315 small rooms where the local merchants sold their 'pieces' of handloom woven woollen cloth. A 'piece' measured 30 yards in length. They were sold during a period of two hours every Saturday; a bell was rung at the beginning and end of trading (and you can pay now to ring the same bell!)  The rest of the week it was locked securely (and has no windows on the outside) since the cloth was so valuable. 

With the coming of industrialisation, the Piece Hall became redundant as the large mills traded direct with their customers. By the mid 1800s it became a market and a drill parade ground for troops, later being used for fairs and concerts. It was extensively renovated during the past decade and is once again used as a venue for concerts, exhibitions, markets and fairs, with the rooms around the perimeter holding a variety of small and quirky independent shops and cafés. (The spire belongs to a redundant church that has been cleverly incorporated into the development, which also includes a library and arts centre.)

A recent addition is this bronze sculpture of Anne Lister, a prominent diarist, landowner and 'the first modern lesbian', who lived at nearby Shibden Hall. She is the subject of the TV series 'Gentleman Jack' and the statue was unveiled this summer by the actress Suranne Jones, who plays Anne Lister. See HERE.