The Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire, opened in 1779 as a cloth hall, where pieces of woollen fabric woven on handlooms would be traded by the area’s clothiers.
The 19th-century industrial revolution brought automation and scale to the area’s weaving industry, and the fall in the number of small-scale producers precipitated a decline in the Piece Hall’s fortunes to such an extent that it was acquired by Halifax Corporation in 1868.
It was operated as a wholesale market until 1971 before being renovated as a tourist attraction with shops, a museum and gallery. In 2014, it underwent a £17 million restoration project, reopening in 2017 as a leisure, arts and entertainment venue with independent shops, restaurants, bars, and cafes, a gallery, and live music facilities.
The magnificent Grade I-listed building is recognised as an important example of Georgian architecture and the only surviving intact cloth hall in Britain.
