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The Piece Hall

Woolshops · 3.1 miles

The former cloth hall stands in Halifax, West Yorkshire, close to the settlement of Woolshops, and is protected as a Grade I listed building. Erected in the late eighteenth century to bring together handloom weavers and merchants, the structure surrounds a central open courtyard with three hundred and fifteen individual rooms that once displayed woollen pieces for sale. Its quadrangular form of freestone, two upper storeys and a rusticated basement is punctuated by interior colonnades that lead to the arched chambers, a layout intended to provide both security and privacy for transactions. Although the architect has never been definitively identified, the building’s scale and craftsmanship reflect the prosperity of Halifax at the time of its opening on 1 January 1779. After a period of decline, the hall was taken over by Halifax Corporation in 1868 and adapted for wholesale market use, with some rooms combined and new entrances created for vehicle access. The twentieth-century saw the removal of nineteenth-century sheds, the addition of a museum and art gallery, and a re-opening to the public in July 1976. Following the closure of the museum in 1998, a major restoration funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Calderdale Council began in 2014, culminating in a reopening in August 2017. Today the Piece Hall operates under the stewardship of the Piece Hall Trust, hosts cultural events, and offers limited wheelchair access for visitors.

Calderdale Industrial Museum

Woolshops · 3.1 miles

Calderdale Industrial Museum is a museum in the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, dedicated to the industrial heritage of the area. The museum contains a number of working machines built between 1850 – 1930 all of which were either built or used in Halifax.

People's Park

Bell Hall · 3.1 miles

A gift to the citizens of Halifax in 1857, People’s Park provides a historic green space in the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, close to the settlement of Bell Hall. The land was presented by local carpet manufacturer Sir Francis Crossley, who intended the area to give working men a convenient place for a stroll after a hard day’s labour. The original layout is attributed to the celebrated garden designer Joseph Paxton, and the park today holds a Grade II* entry on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England. Following a period of neglect in the late twentieth century, a major restoration programme began in 1995, reviving both the landscape and the built structures within the park. Central to the restoration is the Crossley Pavilion, itself recorded as a Grade II* listed building, which reflects the Victorian ambition to combine art and nature for public enjoyment. The park’s design and its listed status make it a point of interest for visitors who appreciate historic urban green spaces. Access is via the surrounding streets of Halifax, and as a public park it remains freely open to all, with the open-air setting offering opportunities for walking and informal recreation.

Bankfield Museum

Akroydon · 3.7 miles

The former townhouse that now houses Bankfield Museum stands on the edge of the Akroydon area of Boothtown, Halifax, and presents an Italianate façade of fair-faced stone, wide eaves and a hipped slate roof. Its irregular plan reflects a series of extensions, most notably the 1867 wing with two arcaded storeys above a rusticated basement and a former porte-cochère that once sheltered arriving carriages. Inside, the grand interior includes a saloon, drawing rooms, library and billiard room, while the museum’s current layout accommodates a regimental display and a textiles gallery within the historic setting. Opening times are published on the museum’s listing. Originally built around 1800, the house was purchased in 1838 by Colonel Edward Akroyd, MP, who enlarged it with stone encasement, loggias, an Anglican chapel and additional service areas. Following Akroyd’s sale of the property to Halifax Corporation in 1887, the building was immediately converted into a museum and branch library; it received grade-II listing in 1954 and has since been restored under the auspices of Calderdale Council. The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment Museum, reopened after refurbishments in 2005 and 2008, offers interactive displays tracing the regiment’s history from its 1702 origins to its 2009 amalgamation into the Yorkshire Regiment. Significant textile collections were listed in 1999, while earlier natural-history and archaeological items have been transferred to regional museums. Visitors can consult the published opening hours for access details.

Shroggs Park

Lee Mount · 3.7 miles

Spanning 9.7 hectares on the outskirts of Halifax in West Yorkshire, the green space known as Shroggs Park lies close to the town of Lee Mount. Its designation as a Grade II listed site recognises historic interest, while the name reflects the original “bushy scrub” that covered the area before formal development. The park’s origin dates to a promise made on 22 November 1872 by Colonel Edward Akroyd, a local businessman, who pledged to create a public amenity after intervening to keep the land from railway use. At a committee meeting in the House of Commons he outlined the effort, and on 25 June 1879 he transferred the partially completed ground to the public on the condition that the municipal corporation finish the work and maintain the area solely as a park. Completion followed, and the venue opened for public use in 1881. Today visitors encounter a pond surrounded by mature evergreen trees and assorted bushes, alongside informal footpaths and woodland trails that wind through the site. A gothic drinking fountain adds a decorative touch. Regular activity includes the Halifax parkrun, which gathers participants each Saturday. The layout encourages leisurely walks and casual recreation within a historically protected landscape.

Robin Hood's Grave

Bradley · 3.7 miles

The monument traditionally associated with the burial of the folk hero Robin Hood stands within the privately owned woodland of Kirklees Park Estate, West Yorkshire, close to the ruined remains of Kirklees Priory and about 650 metres from the surviving gatehouse where the outlaw is thought to have lodged at the time of his death. The stone lies near the village of Bradley and is listed as a historic memorial by Historic England. The low stone wall and fence that surround the gravestone date from the nineteenth century, when local labourers were reputed to remove fragments as a cure for toothache. The inscription, rendered in a form of Middle English that scholars such as Maurice Keen describe as clearly spurious, claims the interment of “Robert, Earl of Huntingdon” on 24 December 1247 – a date that does not exist in the medieval calendar. References to a grave marker at this site appear in documents from the sixteenth century, including John Leland’s Collectanea and Richard Grafton’s 1569 chronicle, while later observers such as Ralph Thoresby and Richard Gough recorded the stone as heavily weathered and partially illegible. A 2015 investigation by the television programme *Expedition Unknown* employed ground-penetrating radar but found no evidence of a burial disturbance. Visitors should note that the monument is set in private woodland with no visitor facilities, admission charges or official opening hours provided. Access is therefore at the visitor’s own risk, and there are no amenities such as car parks, toilets or information displays on site.