Chapel Town, Halifax

The following source list was originally available only on paper in one of the West Yorkshire Archive Service offices. It may have been compiled many years ago and could be out of date. It was designed to act as a signpost to records of interest on a particular historical subject, but may relate only to one West Yorkshire district, or be an incomplete list of sources available. Please feel free to add or update with any additional information.

Chapel Town, Halifax

This area was at the bottom of Pellon Lane, Halifax, between Dungeon Street and Hoyland's Passage, two thoroughfares which run from Pellon Lane to Gibbet Street. A "Halifax Evening Courier " article of 23 Jul 1952 describes Chapel Town as "a collection of buildings of unsavoury memory." Chapel Town contained some common lodging houses, which had to be licensed by the Watch Committee and the town's lockup, used mainly as a debtors' prison was here until it was demolished in Nov 1913 and replaced by a new gaol at Hanson Lane. Chapel Town became a slum area and was cleared in January 1939. By 1947, Chapel Town and Dungeon Street still existed as paved thoroughfares running through the ruins of the once-populated area. In 1947 these ruins were earmarked for a municipal centre. However, what was actually built was Halifax Cross Field Bus Station just below Chapel Town, the remains of which were used as a carpark for vehicles displaced by the new bus station.