Halifax Piece Hall

The Halifax Piece Hall is a building in the town centre of Halifax, England, originally built as a sales centre for woollen handloom weavers. It opened on January 1, 1779, with over 300 separate rooms arranged around a central courtyard. The term "piece" refers to pieces of wool that were sold. As factories started up in the early nineteenth century the trade in handwoven wool declined and around 1815 the rules were changed to allow the sale of cotton goods.

The piece hall was erected by the manufacturers and is a large quadrangular building of freestone occupying an area of ten thousand square yards with a rustic basement story and two upper stories fronted with two interior colonnades which are spacious walks leading to arched rooms where goods in an unfinished state were deposited and exhibited for sale to the merchants every Saturday from ten to twelve o clock. This structure which was completed at an expense of 12,000 UKP and opened on the 1st of January 1779 unites elegance convenience and security. It contains three hundred and fifteen separate rooms and is proof against fire.

The Hall is in a central part of Halifax, next door to the outdoor Woolshops shopping complex, outside the bustling Market Street, and is close by to the Bus and Train Stations.

On the exterior on the Market Street side are a pair of handprints, which, according to folklore, are cursed, as many attempts over the years have failed to eradicate them.

The Piece Hall is now home to specialist shops, an art gallery, the Tourist Information Centre and other organisations.

The 1996 movie, Brassed Off featured a scene set and filmed on location at The Piece Hall. In the movie it is the location of the National Brass Band Championships - Yorkshire Area Qualifying Contest.

External links

* [http://www.piecehall.info Piece Hall web site]

Also Maestro music, a successful music shop in The Piece Hall, a comedy sketch for BBC3 has recently been filmed.