Historical Halifax 4 - The Piece Hall Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Dalesman: Due to the anticipated timescale of the works at the Piece Hall I am archiving this cache. Please place a new one when the area is open once more.

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Hidden : 4/3/2009
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Within the public market area. Flat terrain suitable for wheelchairs. Stealth required as can be very busy.

Ok – I used to live here – and some of my family still do – but Halifax is a great place – and the Piece Hall is the Jewel in the Crown. The magnificent quadrangle was opened on 1st January 1779 as a place for handloom weavers to sell their pieces of cloth, hence the name, and was a replacement for an earlier, smaller, Cloth Hall.

Major towns in the West Riding all had Cloth Halls. Leeds Mixed Cloth Hall opened in 1758; Huddersfield was next, opening in 1766, followed by Bradford in 1773, another Cloth Hall in Leeds in 1775, and lastly Wakefield in 1778. None of these have survived. The Piece Hall might not have survived either however continually reinvented itself, first allowing cotton to be sold as well as wool, extending opening days and finally as a wholesale fish, game, fruit and vegetable market.

The Piece Hall was used for a number of special events, including a firework display by Don Pedro (1816), the first balloon ascent in Halifax (1824), the first Yorkshire Band Contest (1854) and a visit from the famous Blondin, who walked across the courtyard on a tightrope sixty feet above the ground (1861). From about 1832 the Piece Hall was also used for political nomination meetings and celebrations. In 1838 it was the scene of a celebration of Queen Victoria's Coronation, in 1856 there was a celebration to mark peace with Russia and in 1863, 16,000 people gathered in the Piece Hall to welcome the Prince of Wales. In more recent times, the movie ‘Brassed Off’ had a scene here.

The Piece Hall was officially recognised as an ancient monument but it was not until 1972 that the decision was made to restore the building. The extra buildings which had been erected for the market were all removed and the building was restored, cleaned and the ironwork was repainted. Part of the first floor was made into an Industrial Museum (now closed) and Art Gallery, for some more of the space and the rest was converted into shops. In 1979 the Piece Hall celebrated it’s Bicentennial.

Don't miss the elaborate gates near the cache.

Opening times - (visit link)

Gates - (visit link)

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Onpx oruvaq gur ova - lvcrr

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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