Halifax
Halifax is a Minster Town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire.
It has been the centre of the Woollen manufacture since 15th century, having one of the largest textile factories (Dean Clough) in the world, at more than half a mile in length, this was situated in the North of the Town. This has now been converted into offices, a theatre, a gym and a hotel. The textiles were traded in the Piece Hall, which still stands today, but now has shops in what would have been the traders offices.
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Also to the North of the town is Shibden Hall, we had never heard of Shibden Hall until we watched a TV historical drama called Gentleman Jack, about the life of Anne Lister, who owned Shibden Hall. Anne Lister was an avid diarist, having written many diaries about her life, the diaries contain over 4 million words, a lot of which were in code.
The carved text is the Lister family motto
"Justus Propositi Tenax" meaning "Just and True of Purpose"
Shibden Hall dates back to 1420, there is a varied mix of different styles of architecture to the Hall, as it developed over the years.
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William Otes originally owned the hall, it then changed hands a couple of times, until the Lister family took it over in around 1615, it was in the Lister family for over 300 years. In 1926 the estate became a public park, and then in 1933 the Lister family donated the hall to Halifax Corporation, and a year later the hall became a museum. In 2000, the hall became a Grade 2 listed building.
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The Lister family acquired their wealth from being mill owners, manufacturing cloth.
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At a cost of almost £3.9 million, the park and gardens were restored between 2007 - 2008