Description and History of Site:-
Formerly a four storey warehouse, coffee house and restaurant, the building featured fine ashlar stonework. Adjacent to the (Imperial) Crown Hotel and to Square Road, it featured carved arched window heads, two of which incorporated representations of Mr William Aspinall and his wife, Nancy, in their keystones. The building is now demolished and forms a garden for the adjoining hotel. Designed by G. Buckley & Son. Architect, the clients, William Aspinall & Son required an unusual mixed development, comprising a building of four storeys and a basement. The ground floor was occupied by a vault, commercial room and kitchen in one half, and three offices and a stable in the other. The first floor above the vault was a billiard room and snug, and the remainder, along with the two upper floors was occupied with warehouse accommodation. Although Aspinall was a quarry owner and a brewer, the premises seem to have been intended as a temperance establishment from the outset, located opposite the railway station, and with offices and warehouse space to ensure the viability of the development. The premises were recorded as the Railway Coffee Tavern and Dining Rooms (Thomas Spencer, manager) both in 1887 and 1905, at which latter date William Ferguson & Co., wool merchants utilised the warehouse. The occupants in 1936 were F. Reddaway & Co. Ltd., distributor of belting, rubber goods and canvas hose. The bulding was demolished for the widening of Square Road c1980.

Further Reading and References:-
Halifax Courier 13 November 1982, p. 6.

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Key Words :- coffee tavern textiles wool warehouse offices

Viewing the Site :- The site can be seen from the footpath in Church Street. There are no visible remains.

Address :- Church Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 1RE
Grid Ref :- SE 09642 25015
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.721455 , Long -1.855362
Local Authority :- Calderdale Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site demolished or no longer extant
Site Condition :- Site redeveloped to industrial / commercial use
Site Dates :- 1876 - c1980
Record Date :- 15 April 2017

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Peter Robinson