An excited crowd of over 2,000 people were here at The Piece Hall on Friday 16 February to welcome His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall to Halifax.
The Royal couple arrived through the south gate just before 11am and were greeted by local well-wishers, including those from nearby primary schools. They spent time meeting the public before entering The Piece Hall Story to find out more about the building’s heritage, architecture and restoration from Claire Slattery, Calderdale Council’s Arts and Heritage Manager.
The Royal pair were then taken on separate journeys through The Piece Hall. His Royal Highness was accompanied by the Chair of The Piece Hall Trust Roger Marsh OBE and the Chief Executive of The Piece Hall Trust Nicky Chance-Thompson to gentlemen’s finery shop Joseph Chance, Harvey’s of Halifax and Yorkshire Soap Company. Meanwhile, Her Royal Highness was accompanied by The Piece Hall Trust’s Vice Chairman Roger Harvey and Development Director Wendy Carter to Elder, Gin Lane and Bookworms, where she met with children from Holy Trinity Primary School were partaking in a special workshop.
The Royal couple joined together again in The Piece Hall’s Map Room where they rang the trading bell before stepping out on to the balcony over the west gate to wave at the crowd below. Next, they made their way down to the north-west corner, where the Black Dyke Brass Band had been entertaining the crowd earlier in the morning. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall unveiled a plaque to commemorate the Royal Visit, and were presented with a honorary membership card for The Piece Hall Trust by Chair Roger Marsh and a hamper containing gifts from all the shops in The Piece Hall before making their way out of the west gate to visit Borough Market and later Dean Clough.
Nicky Chance Thompson, Chief Executive of The Piece Hall Trust says: “I was so proud to be able to show off our magnificent building and some of the wonderful businesses based here to The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. They seemed really impressed by The Piece Hall and the work of the Trust. It was a proud day for Halifax.”