Weymouth Street, Halifax: a new Victorian street that vanished in the name of progress

Weymouth Street was one of Halifax’s comparatively short-lived industrial streets, just off Northgate. Although much of it has disappeared, old photographs and local records preserve a picture of a busy Victorian neighbourhood filled with warehouses, workshops, shops and places of worship.

The street’s history is especially interesting because it was still being described as almost entirely new in the 1870s — yet within a century, many of its buildings had been swept away by road schemes and redevelopment.

A street built in the 1860s

Calderdale’s historical newspaper index records that work on Weymouth Street commenced on 9 August 1862. By the time an anonymous Halifax directory and itinerary described it around 1875, the street was already a lively commercial place.

The account listed a large iron warehouse belonging to Mr Pulman, two large warehouses dealing in potatoes and fruit, a wool warehouse, a joiner’s shop, a coal yard and a business dealing in old iron. It also mentioned a Roman Catholic preaching and service room.

Smaller businesses included a bacon shop, a flour and corn shop, an eating house, a toy shop and a glass shop. The directory’s description of the buildings as new gives us a useful glimpse of Halifax’s rapid expansion during the industrial era.

The Co-op and the changing street

A major landmark was the Halifax Industrial Society’s Central Stores, opened on Northgate in 1861 at a reported cost of £23,400. The co-operative grew into an important local retailer, and in November 1925 it opened new premises on Northgate. The society later became known as the Halifax Co-operative Society. Its presence linked Weymouth Street and the surrounding Northgate area to the everyday shopping lives of generations of Halifax families.

The Star, boxing and the end of old Weymouth Street

The Star Inn, at the corner of Weymouth Street and Orange Street, became one of the area’s best-known pubs. It was acquired by the local brewery Richard Whitaker & Sons in April 1868. In the 1940s, its upper floor became home to the Star Boxing Club, founded by Bob “Tiger” Ennis. The club nurtured local fighters before later moving elsewhere in Halifax.

The street’s older buildings were eventually caught up in the post-war remaking of Halifax. Salem Methodist Church was demolished in 1970 to make way for the new inner relief road, Aachen Way. The church’s congregation moved to a new building in Richmond Street. The twin cooling towers nicknamed “Salt and Pepper” were demolished in 1974, while many of the other buildings visible in old photographs also disappeared.

Today, Weymouth Street is best understood through its photographs and records. Its story is a reminder that industrial Halifax was made up not only of mills, but also of the warehouses, small shops, religious meeting places, pubs and co-operative stores that served the people who worked in and around them.

Orange Street runs across the picture, with North Parade crossing it on the left of the photo. The Star pub and Bramley's garage are on opposite corners of Weymouth Street.

Almost every building in the photo long since disappeared, including the twin cooling towers, nicknamed Salt and Pepper, which were demolished in 1974. Salem Methodist Church, with the spirelet, on the very left of the photo, was demolished in 1970 to make way for Halifax's new inner relief Road, Aachen Way, the congregation moving to a new church in Richmond Street, but the building behind, which contained the showrooms of worsted manufacturer James Akroyd and Son, remains between Akroyd Place and Northgate.

From the anonymous Halifax Itenary  of around 1875 comes the following description of the area: "In Weymouth Street is Mr Pulman's large iron warehouse, wholesale grocer, two large potato fruit, etc warehouse[s], one Roman Catholic preaching and service room, one wool warehouse, a joiner's shop, a coal yard and an old broker's shop, chiefly dealing in old iron. Every building in this street is new. 

Also, in the Itenary: In Weymouth Street [is] a bacon shop, a flour and corn shop and eating house, a toy and small artists and a glass shop.

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