Description and History of Site:-
This works was erected c 1915. It was very long, but with only a small stone-built frontage to Horton Street, which contained the main entrance and two storeys of offices. The building was constructed with a steel frame and a steel truss roof, with an overhead travelling crane which ran the whole length of the shed. During much of its life, the building appears to have served as a warehouse for machine tools, though shortly prior to its demolition it had been occupied by Rowntree Mackintosh as part of its Export Department. Demolished in the mid 1980s, the site has since been occupied by the Pennine shopping development. A long machine warehouse running south from Horton Street, probably erected in 1915, and occupied by John Stirk and Sons Ltd. It was used in conjunction with a nearby machine tool warehouse they also occupied off New Road (WYK781). The management of the Stirk business was taken out of the family control during the Second World War and their Halifax premises became shared with the Coventry Machine Tool Co. following the Coventry blitz, ultimately coming into their ownership after the conflict. Eventually, as part of the Wickman group, the Halifax business was closed in 1981, and the Horton Street premises demolished soon afterwards to make way for the Pennine shopping development.

Further Reading and References:-
E. Webster, From Rule of Thumb to CNC, Halifax, privately published, 1997, pp. 73-5.

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Key Words :- engineering warehouse

Viewing the Site :- The site is visible from Horton Street, but is now occupied by part of the Pennine shopping development.

Address :- Horton Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 1QE
Grid Ref :- SE 09487 24956
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.720928 , Long -1.857712
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 :- poss. 1915 - c1985
Record Date :- 20 April 2017

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