Video: How they’re restoring Halifax’s Piece Hall to its Georgian glory

IN lavishing praise on Halifax the poet Sir John Betjeman once said that the Piece Hall was symbolic of the town’s “great worth” and hidden beauty.

He made these remarks in 1979, two centuries after this masterful piece of Georgian architecture was built. Walking into this historic Grade I listed building today is impressive enough, but for the residents of Halifax who first set foot inside this galleried courtyard it must have taken their breath away.

It is the West Riding equivalent of a grand Italian piazza and were it in Tuscany or Lombardy would be billed as a “must see” attraction in every tourist guidebook. As it is the Piece Hall, described by English Heritage as “perhaps Yorkshire’s most important secular building”, attracts an impressive 1.3 million visitors a year. But the maintenance costs along with the dwindling number of shops in recent times meant something needed to be done to boost, if not save, this rare survival from Britain’s textile heyday.

The question of how to breathe new life into the 18th century building has long been discussed by the Piece Hall’s countless enthusiasts, but earlier this year Calderdale Council unveiled an ambitious £19m plan and last month the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) announced it was backing the scheme with £7m. The transformation project includes proposals for workspaces, shops, restaurants, as well as education space and a visitor centre. Work is due to start next year and is being phased over two years to allow the building, and the existing shops, to remain open.

Tim Swift, leader of Calderdale Council, says the restoration scheme is hugely important not only for the hall, but the town itself. “The Piece Hall is the only surviving cloth hall of its kind, certainly in Britain, and is one of only two or three in Europe. So it’s a fantastic piece of heritage that has to be preserved and the only way we can do that is by making a use for it. But we also see it as a unique asset that can attract people into Halifax and help with the regeneration of the whole town centre,” he says.

At a time when local authorities are struggling with budget cuts Mr Swift says the lottery cash was crucial to getting the plans off the ground. “They are funding just under half the cost and without that we wouldn’t be able to do the really transformational things that will make the difference and guarantee the building’s future.”

The aim, and it’s an ambitious one, is to entice people to Halifax not just from Yorkshire but beyond. “We see this as being a major destination that people will want to come to, as well as being somewhere that local people continue to use and come back to. We want people coming here not just from Yorkshire but from across Britain and potentially from across Europe, because it is such a special space.”

He says although the aim is to make the Piece Hall a vibrant centre it won’t be at the expense of the shops already there, many of which have been based in the building for years. “The existing businesses are an important part of the hall and we want to keep them there.”

The creation of a new piazza will see the Piece Hall’s famous cobbles taken up - a move that has proved unpopular with some, even though they aren’t original. But for shop owners like Isobel Hampson, who runs Creative Crystals, the project can’t come quickly enough. She’s been based here for the past 19 years during which time she’s seen the number of shops gradually fall.

“When I first came here, the shops were full but it’s been declining for about 10 years now as fewer shoppers come in here. It has needed something doing for a few years now, it’s in need of a bit of TLC because the building has become neglected.” But she is pleased that the hall will remain open while the work is being done. “I’m definitely in favour of the plans. There’s been talk about doing something for years and now it’s finally going to happen. I think it will make a big difference and I really can’t wait.”

As well as making the Piece Hall suitable for modern businesses, the restoration scheme also plans to celebrate its rich heritage. Arts and Community Engagement Manager, Claire Slattery, says the building’s history is woven into the fabric of Halifax itself. She points out that rather than being the gift of a wealthy benefactor, the building was paid for by public subscription and that a local merchant called John Caygill provided the land.

“At the time, the West Riding of Yorkshire was the centre of the world’s cloth trade and Halifax was keen to make a proud, public statement about how important its manufacturing was,” she says.

The Piece Hall was originally built as a cloth hall for the trading of “pieces” of cloth (a 30 yard length of woven woollen fabric produced on a handloom), and was widely regarded as the most ambitious and prestigious building of its kind at the time. “Back in the 18th century Halifax was on a par with Harrogate in terms of its Georgian architecture,” says Slattery.

It’s not clear exactly who designed the Piece Hall, but most historians believe it was probably Thomas Bradley who was the brainchild behind the neighbouring red brick Square Chapel. “What came out of the desire for Halifax to be bigger and better than anything in Leeds, Huddersfield, or Dewsbury, was the Piece Hall and the very grand statement it makes about the town.”

Impressive as the building is, it was built on the eve of the industrial revoltuion and during the 19th century it was used for all kinds of public protests and events. In 1824, a huge crowd came to watch intrepid aeronaut Charles Green take off in a hot air balloon, while on August 23, 1861, Blondin did a tightrope walk blindfolded 100 feet in the air from one end of the building to the other.

Slattery says it’s important that the story of the Piece Hall and the town’s wool trade is kept alive. “What is clear to us and the Heritage Lottery Fund is that if we don’t act now people will not understand this heritage, they won’t understand where they come from and they won’t be proud of the life that exists here in Halifax.”

But the scheme’s biggest challenge is making sure the hall becomes economically viable. “As a heritage experience it can definitely work, we know that schools and tourists will be interested in coming here. But what we want to create in business terms is a thriving context for that heritage. We want retail back in here in the way it thrived as a trading centre in the 18th century and we want the buzz back in the building.”

At the moment 27 out of 58 shop spaces are in use, but Slattery points out there is already a waiting list with businesses interested in moving in once the work is finished. “Traders want to be back in the building,” she says.

The scheme also has to find a way of making the building, which closes at 6pm except when there are events taking place, somewhere people can go and spend a whole evening.

“We see the Piece Hall as the town square, it’s the largest 
public space in the centre of 
Halifax and the changes will 
make it much more accessible and the aim is to provide round-the-clock activity nearly 365 days of 
the year.”

They are planning summer events for when the weather is (hopefully) better, as well as food markets, Christmas markets and possibly ice skating during the winter months. “There are many things we can do to make this much more attractive and we will. People are going to want to have shops here and people are going to want to come here,” she says.

Slattery believes a rejuvenated Piece Hall, along with attractions like the National Children’s Museum Eureka! and Dean Clough, can put the town back on the tourist map.

“We don’t just want people to come and have a look around we want them to stay and 
spend their money here. There are lots of things to do in Halifax and it’s a great place to come for a family weekend. There really is everything here, we’ve just not been shouting loudly enough about it in the past. But we 
will do.”