City Guides
Halifax
Introduction
Halifax is a town in West Yorkshire, home to 82,000 people and surrounded by rich countryside and historical villages.
Despite receiving no mention in the Domesday Book, Halifax has a long and rich history and much of its original twelfth-century parish church still stands in the town today. The Piece Hall was built much later, in the eighteenth-century, but still forms an important historical monument. Other ancient sites are too numerous to name, but regularly attract a wealth of visitors to the town and are protected by various heritage groups and organisations.
Halifax forms an important cultural hub of the North, with an array of theatres, performance spaces and art galleries. Its civic theatre is an impressive structure, dating back to 1901 and showcasing the best of touring large-scale drama. Other smaller venues around the town present amateur, small-scale shows and works by new writers, giving a lot of choice for the region’s theatre-goers. Various galleries around the town demonstrate a commitment to exploring the town’s manufacturing past, displaying – and in some cases, selling – a variety of craft works and textiles.
Those visiting the town for cultural entertainment often also make use of the town’s selection of restaurants and bistros, including those recommended by Good Food Guide or the Michelin-starred restaurant based in Sowerby Bridge.
Though there are few nightclubs to be found in Halifax, there is a choice of popular venues and live music performances, and pubs and bars are plentiful. Halifax and Calderdale CAMRA is an active branch, with numerous local real ale bars noted and recommended – including two pubs that have been listed in ten consecutive editions of Good Beer Guide!
Halifax is home to only one train station but it is well connected by transport links, and the cultural and historical sites and entertainment on offer make the town worth at least the effort of getting there!
Despite receiving no mention in the Domesday Book, Halifax has a long and rich history and much of its original twelfth-century parish church still stands in the town today. The Piece Hall was built much later, in the eighteenth-century, but still forms an important historical monument. Other ancient sites are too numerous to name, but regularly attract a wealth of visitors to the town and are protected by various heritage groups and organisations.
Halifax forms an important cultural hub of the North, with an array of theatres, performance spaces and art galleries. Its civic theatre is an impressive structure, dating back to 1901 and showcasing the best of touring large-scale drama. Other smaller venues around the town present amateur, small-scale shows and works by new writers, giving a lot of choice for the region’s theatre-goers. Various galleries around the town demonstrate a commitment to exploring the town’s manufacturing past, displaying – and in some cases, selling – a variety of craft works and textiles.
Those visiting the town for cultural entertainment often also make use of the town’s selection of restaurants and bistros, including those recommended by Good Food Guide or the Michelin-starred restaurant based in Sowerby Bridge.
Though there are few nightclubs to be found in Halifax, there is a choice of popular venues and live music performances, and pubs and bars are plentiful. Halifax and Calderdale CAMRA is an active branch, with numerous local real ale bars noted and recommended – including two pubs that have been listed in ten consecutive editions of Good Beer Guide!
Halifax is home to only one train station but it is well connected by transport links, and the cultural and historical sites and entertainment on offer make the town worth at least the effort of getting there!
Entertainment