News

New President of Halifax Civic Trust

Halifax Civic Trust are honoured to announce their new President, Jeremy Hall. Jeremy said he was very privileged and honoured to take over the President's role which was previously held by his late father, and that he was looking forward to supporting and carrying on the good work of his father and Halifax Civic Trust.

Here is the wondeful speech given by the Mayor of Calderdale, Cllr. Ann Kingstone, at our celebratory lunch at Dean Clough on 1st march 2025.

Moyor's speech 1.3.25.docx

Newsletter no. 7.pdf

Newsletter no. 6 May 2024.pdf

HCT Newsletter no.5 Sept 2023.pdf

Alice Mahon

Alice Mahon died on 25 December 2022. She was the MP for Halifax for 18 years, from 1987 to 2005. Brought up in extreme poverty, she became an effective trade unionist. She always stuck to her principles and although on the left of the Labour Party, was well respected by MP's of all persuasions. She was a doughty fighter for the people of Halifax, and was always supportive of HCT's work. Our thoughts are with her family.

Wakefield Gate Project Launch 24 March 2022

The launch of the project was well received by a substantial audience in the Minster, in the presence of the Worshipful the Mayor of Calderdale, Cllr. Chris Pillai and Chris Harris DL. Wakefield Gate now has information boards at both ends, and proper signposting along the route. We have also compiled a walkers's guide, now available from the BID Hub off Woolshops and Halifax Libraries. The programme included the premiere of the 19 minute film we made with HaloVue "Halifax's Historic Wakefield Gate" which can be seen on YouTube via this link: https://youtu.be/h2cmJRpZ32Y

Here is the presentation about the Wakefield Gate name, (and quite a lot else!), given at the launch event by our Hon. Sec., June Paxton-White.

What's in a name 14 Apr (1).docx

Coal Drops selected for the Victorian Society's Top Ten

We are delighted to report that for it's 2021 Top Ten campaign, the Victorian Society has selected the Coal Drops at Berry Lane (beside the Minster). This is the Victorian Society's annual campaign to bring public recognition to significant and endangered buildings, in the hope that increased awareness and appreciation will help to save them.

Constructed in 1874 for the Ovenden & Halifax Junction Railway Company, the Coal Drops occupy the site of the former vicarage for Halifax Parish Church (now Halifax Minster) which is just across the road. They are listed Grade II, and described by Historic England as “a rare and large scale example of railway coal drops.”

The coal drops played an important part in the transporting of coal from the mine to its final destinations. Built into the sloping hillside with the coal sidings on a higher level above them, they comprise 15 wooden bunkers, each supported between stone piers; each has two iron doors raised by an iron ratchet geared pulley system. Trains pulling wagons full of coal would arrive in the sidings on the line above the drops and discharge their coal into the bunkers for storage. Coal merchants would then back their horse-drawn carts (or latterly, lorries) into the space underneath the bunkers, a load would be dropped into the cart, and then they would head off to the nearby weighbridge before continuing on their journey.

The Coal Drops fell out of use in the mid 1960's, although coal was still being stored in the goods yard as late as 1975. The photograph below shows the Coal Drops in the centre, and the photograph was taken before the demolition of the railway line to Ovenden, which runs in front of the Coal Drops.

The next step is for a full structural survey to establish the minimum work necessary to ensure the future stability of the coal drops, which is to be funded by the Halifax Station Gateway project. Following the survey, there will need to be discussion and debate on how to give the Coal Drops a renewed focus and purpose. The new A629 scheme will create an improved footpath/cycleway between the town centre and the nearby Hebble Trail which goes onward to the canal towpath network - another beautiful asset in this area. The route will go right past the Coal Drops, so they will be seen and enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. At the very least, to follow the restoration we would like to see information boards and perhaps picnic tables so that people can take a break there, while they also admire the view of Beacon Hill and of Halifax Minster (Grade 1).

We shall need to raise funds for the restoration, so do please get in touch if you would like to help - just email to: information@halifaxcivictrust.org Donations, however small are much appreciated and you can pay online to Halifax Civic Trust, a/c no. 50442445, sort code 20-35-84, adding reference "Coal Drops" please. Alternatively cheques payable to Halifax Civic Trust can be sent to HCT Treasurer, Marsh Meadows, 31 Marsh lane, Southowram, Halifax, HX3 9UF.

13 December 2021

Here is our new Newsletter which we plan to issue quarterly. The second one focusses on the Coal Drops and the first on Wakefield Gate - enjoy!

HCT - Newsletter - Spring 2022.pdf

Green plaque inaugurations for Halifax Civic Trust Awards

We had a bright but cold day on Thursday 4th November for the inauguration by the Mayor, Cllr. Chris Pillai, of the plaque for our 2020 Award., which was for the fine memorial statue for the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding). The formalities had been delayed till this year because of Covid. Lt. Col. (Rtd.) Andrew Drake thanked the Trust on behalf of the Duke of Wellington's Regimental Association, and the regimental colours were held by Capt. (Rtd.) John Hogg.

The Halifax Civic Trust Award for 2021 was for the conversion of the former Central Library to Trinity Sixth Form Academy. The proceedings were opened by the Chair of HCT, Alan Goodrum, and after the inauguration by the Mayor, the Trust was thanked by the Principal of Trinity Sixth Form College, Michael Fitzsimmons, who was able to report the outstanding grading awarded following the recent Ofsted inspection.

4th November 2021

Theft of the plate from our plinth on Wakefield Gate

Very recently, in a piece of mindless vandalism, the engraved stainless steel plate (approx. 18" x 12") has been stolen from the plinth that we erected in 1987 at Lower Place, at the bottom of Dark Lane, to mark the Silver Jubilee of the foundation of Halifax Civic Trust in 1962.

Any information which could help us recover the plate would be gratefully received, and you can email us via: information@halifaxcivictrust.org

21st September 2021

Calderdale Heritage Walks

The new CHW walk programme is now available, and you can use either of the links below:-

http://calderdaleheritagewalks.org.uk/

https://calderdaleheritagewalks.org.uk/

Calderdale Heritage Walks is a quite separate organisation, but the walks are expertly run, and we recommend them.

Tickets are available for the October walks, as well as the Anne Lister walk on 15th Sept. For details see:-

https::/www.ticketsource.co.uk/calderdale-heritage-walks

Last minute news can be found on the CHW facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CalderHeritage/?ref=br_rs

September 2021

No. 1 Deal Street

No.1 was the oldest and most significant of the warehouses in Deal Street. It was the first of the row to be built, in 1842, to serve both the railway and the now defunct canal spur. It had been in poor condition for many years, partly because the site was blighted by road widening plans which are no longer required. We had hoped that a way could have been found to secure it and bring it back into use, but a recent structural survey found that No. 1 was in a very dangerous condition, and it has now been demolished.

July 2021.

Square Chapel Arts Centre saved!

Really good news - the Square Chapel Arts Centre is now owned by Arts at the Mill CIC (Community Interest Companies are non-profit organisations). Arts at the Mill is the umbrella organisation for Wigan organisations The Old Courts, Wigan Pier and The Royal Court Theatre. The team at Arts at the Mill have worked closely with Arts Council England and Calderdale Council, and have formed Square Chapel CIC. For full details see the link:- www.squarechapel.co.uk

Sept. 2020.

Dr Ivan Mannall

We were very sorry to hear of Dr Mannall's death on 9th September 2020. He was a well respected Consultant Paediatrician at Halifax General Hospital, serving from 1972 till his retirement in 1995. Ivan was a long-standing life member of Halifax Civic Trust, and served as our Treasurer. He was also a member of Halifax Antiquarian Society, a regular attender at HAS lectures and was the final President of the original Halifax Probus Club. His wife Jean predeceased him last year. There was a private funeral on 2nd October. Donations can be made directly to Action Bladder Cancer UK.

The murals at Halifax Swimming Pool

August 2020

The Council has indicated that the Halifax Swimming Pool is effectively at the end of its life, owing to its high running and maintenance costs. The intention is to build a new combined pool and leisure centre at the North Bridge site, but the Council's consultation with the public on the scheme was halted by the pandemic. The current Swimming Pool is however graced by a pair of murals by Kenneth Barden (1924-1988) on the theme of British Pond Life, which we feel are of exceptional quality and an important part of Halifax's heritage. They are referred to with a photograph in the recently published edition of The Buildings of England, Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South, by Harman & Pevsner. We therefore feel strongly that the murals should, if at all possible, be preserved, ideally at the new complex, but at this stage it is not clear whether it is technically feasible to move the murals without damaging them, or what the cost of removal and re-erection would be. We are also aware that the Twentieth Century Society applied for listing of the Swimming Pool building together with the murals, but that the application was rejected by Historic England.

We have confirmed to Cllr. Tim Swift, Leader of the Council, our wish to see the murals preserved as a distinguished addition to the new scheme, and he has responded positively, while indicating that planning for the new complex, in the post-crisis financial situation, is still at a very early stage and has as yet no firm timescale. The Council's considerations do include the possibility of moving the tiles to the new building, and we have given Cllr. Swift details of the Midland Hotel at Morecambe, where murals by A E Gill have been impressively restored by Urban Splash after serious dilapidation and vandalism. We shall be following developments closely, and will continue to work closely with the Council as the proposal is developed.

Halifax history - special lockdown book offer

Our Chairman, Dr John Hargreaves, has recently completed the all new fully updated and enlarged 3rd edition of A History of Halifax, from prehistoric times to the present day. The book launch, which was to be in May, has had to be postponed, but because of the continued closure of bookshops, the good news is that the publisher is offering the book at £15 for the duration of the lockdown, a 40% discount, and post free for online orders direct from them (Carnegie). This price will also apply to pre-ordered copies. Self-adhesive book plates signed by the author are included at no extra cost.

The publisher is Carnegie Publishing, Carnegie House, Chatsworth Road, Lancaster, LA1 4SL tel: 01524-840111 (office hours, Mon-Fri), web: carnegiepublishing.com

Ben Wilson

Ben Wilson was a Halifax Chartist who was commemorated by a Halifax Civic Trust blue plaque at the Standard of Freedom pub in 2018. The articl;e below, by HCT Committee member Gwyneth Crawley, summarises his background and achievements, and was recently published in the Skircoat Green Directory.

Ben Wilson's grave in All Saint's burial ground

Royal Halifax Infirmary artefacts

The Royal Halifax Infirmary closed in 2001, but there are a number of artefacts and items relating to the hospital that have been preserved under the custodianship of the Halifax Royal Infirmary Hospital Management Company. These include silverware, photogaphs, belt buckles and the ward plaques from McCrea, Simpson, Porter and Appleyard wards.

Of particular interest is the pelican sculpted by Sister Annie Ford, inspired by the nurses' badges. Sister Ford retired after 40 years of nursing, 27 of which were at RHI. The Pelicans were displayed in a corridor of RHI until its closure.

Earlier last year HRIHMC held a coffee morning for friends and family to view the artefacts. Some brought their own memorabilia and some pieces were donated.

The ward plaques are to be fixed in their appropriate ex-ward locations. We are grateful to the residents who kindly gave up their time to clean and restore the artefacts, to those who donated items and to Chris Harris, former Chair of HRIHMC and Rosie Browne, the current Chair, for their support in seeing that these important memorabilia of the Infirmary are being so carefully preserved.

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