Well, we’re nearly at the end of Local and Community History Month, and a post we’ve been considering for a while which seemed appropriate to end the month on involves something we sometimes take for granted: architecture. The joke in New York is that you can always tell who the tourists are because they’re walking around looking up. Those of us who live in a place don’t always notice things because they’ve just always been there like that, right?
In Local Studies we have some 1870s survey maps which show the town centre in far more detail than we usually see on an OS map. Not every building is named, but each property is outlined, and some businesses such as pubs, abbattoirs, and warehouses, are marked as such. Looking at these can make you think about what used to be in those spaces, what’s there now, and how they may have changed if the buildings themselves are still there. So for this short foray into the physical history of Halifax, we’re going to pretend we’re tourists, and look up.
1. The “Apple and Pear” window, Heath Grammar School
We aren’t able to get down there to take a photo, but this particular type of glass window is relatively rare. Unlike the rose window inside Halifax Central Library, this has a unique pattern of a circle in the middle (the apple) and paisley-like swirls of glass coming off of it (the pears). Once you know what it’s called, you see it immediately! The window is part of the gable wall of the original school building which dates from 1600, making it a truly unique and (relatively) ancient relic of old Halifax.
The Heath Old Boys Association Gallery have thankfully put a more recent photograph of it on their website so you can still have a look for yourself. A customer told us in passing, while discussing this, that there are only six or seven of these in the country – surely that can’t be true? Let us know if you know more!
Elephants on parade: Burton’s Buildings/McDonalds
That’s right – elephants in the town centre. The building that now houses McDonalds started its life as a Burton’s, as you can see from the lozenge-shaped logo at the very top. What I always thought were Art Deco style torch holders are actually stylised elephants, which were a common motif on Maurice Burton’s clothing stores. The elephants are even distinctive enough to help us roughly date the building, although this website celebrating Burton and his architect, Harry Wilson, mentions Halifax as having been built in 1932. Going back to 1870, that site housed a brand new building, so new that it’s shaded on the map in red to indicate that it had been built after the initial survey but prior to the final surveying and publication.
Horsfall Lister’s and the “Clock Almanack”
Yes, we’re harking back to the Almanacks blog post here, because it’s hard to talk about Victorian Halifax and the distinct culture of Yorkshire without mentioning John Hartley again and again. Old advertisements for Hartley’s (and before that, Alfred Wilson’s) make frequent mention of “The Clock” or “The Old Clock” as an address, and this is where the old clock used to be: a Georgian period building where the jewellers is situated now.
The old clock was an important feature in the life of traders and customers in Halifax as it was visible to all on Corn Market and was a landmark everyone could navigate by. When the current Borough Market was built, the clock ceased to be as obvious, and the fancy clock inside the market lent it the appellation of “old” – hence why advertisements went from calling it simply The Clock to The Old Clock. Hartley enjoyed a career as a knowledgeable entertainer who spread Halifax dialect to a wider audience and who is still appreciated today by both academics and casual readers.
Arcade Royale
You know it as the new Tesco, but this building is another gem of Halifax’s past – did you know it’s a Grade II listed building? Opened in 1912 as a small shopping arcade to complement (or rival?) Westgate and other smaller shopping establishments, its bright façade is very striking, and it sits nicely time-wise between these older buildings and the newer Burton’s. Each era of Halifax’s architecture has something interesting to offer the casual viewer, and if you dig, you can find many more interesting features.
Hidden gems
Don’t forget about the little ginnels that lead to hidden buildings – you can see from the 1870 Halifax Survey map that the Upper George Hotel has always been nestled away in the space between Crown Street and Cheapside. Look; there was also a smithy and warehouses deep inside that somewhat hollow centre. These maps are your key to discovering all sorts of secrets about the town centre, and you can find them here to view at any time.
We hope this has encouraged you to take another look around you next time you’re out for a wander. Keep an eye out for a future deep dive into Halifax architecture and architects…
Related Posts
