Here’s to next 241 years of history for wondrous Halifax Piece Hall - Yorkshire Post Letters

WHEN something amazing is on our doorstep, we have a tendency to take it for granted. That is how it is with the Piece Hall in Halifax.

If we were travelling to Florence, Madrid or Prague it would be on our lists as a “must see”, yet some people still just see the negatives and not what it brings to Halifax, Calderdale and Yorkshire.

In the first two years after reopening in 2017, it added £26m to the area’s economy. For every £1 that is spent running what’s inside, it brings £5.30 to the economy beyond its gates. It’s also part of a tourism boom here, with nearly 7,000 jobs reliant on the visitors who come to Calderdale.

It is 241 years since the building opened, when my great-great-great-great-great-great grandad Naylor witnessed the Piece Hall being built.

I can only imagine his reaction when this special place was finished. I’m sure there will have been a certain wonder – a reaction which continues to those who see it for the first time today.

It means so many different things to so many different people. To my children, it’s the place to run around in the courtyard, have an ice cream from Blondins and look at the books at the Book Corner.

To others, it’s a place of culture – where you can listen to live music, watch performances or immerse yourself in art and sculpture; it’s a part of our heritage story – where you can discover what it was, who we were and what we became; or it’s a centre for trade – where you can buy from independent shops, eat with family and friends and drink until the sun goes down.

We need all three of those pillars to be strong to ensure the Piece Hall remains standing for the next 241 years. It won’t be easy, but it’s why I’m proud to have been named an ambassador for this iconic and unique place for the simple reason that it is a part of all of our histories, and it deserves to be a part of all our futures.

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