Monochrome Weekend: Piece Hall Dome

This is the dome on the roof of the magnificent Piece Hall in Halifax (see previous two posts), opened in 1779. The dome was installed in 1782 when another entrance was added to the west side of the Georgian building to cope with the crowds. It has a weather vane featuring a captive sheep - the Golden Fleece - and a cupola containing the Piece Hall bell. The bell was rung at the start of trading at 10 am and again at the end at 11.55 am (a bit like the Stock Exchange!). Anyone selling a piece of cloth before 10 am or after noon got fined 1 shilling.

Halifax is some 10 miles from Saltaire, but its history is deeply interwoven ('scuse the pun!) with that of Saltaire because of the woollen trade. Halifax is also home to Dean Clough Mills, which gives another strong link to Saltaire. Jonathan Silver, Salts Mill's entrepreneurial 'rescuer' was one of the partners in the regeneration of Dean Clough in the early 1980s. That experience provided a springboard in many ways for his vision for Salts Mill, which he bought in 1987.

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