Halifax Town Hall Clock

A look at Halifax Town Hall Clock, West Yorkshire, on Friday 27th April 2017.

The Mayor and corporation first proposed that they build a new town hall in 1847. They suggested it again in 1853 after the town had become a borough five years earlier but they still had no central offices. They proposed it again in 1856. The later proposals were prompted by the 1853 Improvement Act, which allowed the borough to borrow £15,000 to build a town hall, courthouse, and police station. The 1856 proposal was also prompted by John Crossley, who was at that time developing Princess Street and Crossley Street, using the architects Lockwood and Mawson who later designed Bradford City Hall. 358 trains brought 70,000 people, and thousands more walked to attend a two-day session of openings on 3rd and 4th August 1863.

The first clock here was built by an unknown clockmaker. It was replaced in 1922 by the present one built by William Potts and Sons of Leeds who utilised the existing dials. The cost was £600 and half the weight of the previous clock. It was set going in May 1922 and altered to automated winding and motorised strike and chimes in 1965.