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Calderdale

Halifax’s Calderdale Council inspires real and lasting positive change in the community through infrastructure investment in this film.

Factual TV 1987 9 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for Yorkshire Film Archive

Overview

Halifax is celebrated in this locally-made film full of community spirit. The troubling unemployment and public sector cuts of the 1980s are raised at the beginning of the film by Calderdale councillors in order to spur on their dream to improve local livelihoods. We see numerous new cultural spaces erected throughout the film which target improvements in all areas of the community.

Halifax enjoyed prosperity throughout the Industrial Revolution in the 19th Century thanks to its significant involvement in the textile industry. The town housed numerous factories along with the Piece Hall, a cloth hall which was redeveloped from 2014-2017 into a centre for local trade, culture and heritage. The Yorkshire town of Halifax is also famous for its early implementation of a guillotine-like machine for executions, which was known as the Halifax Gibbet. The device was used by authorities in the town for the final time in 1650.