HALIFAX, a municipal county and parliamentary borough in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, 194 m. N.N.W. from London and 7 m. S.W. from Bradford, on the L.N.E. and L.M.S. railways. Pop. (1931), 98,122. It lies in a bare hilly district on the Hebble, near its confluence with the Calder. The left bank of the Hebble is steep, allowing only small urban development, and the main part of the town is situated on the slopes of an eastward facing spur, on the right bank of the stream. Bridges carrying both road and rail span the valley, the most important being the North bridge, a fine iron structure.
The general appearance of the town is modern—a development of the industrial period—though a few old houses remain. Two early churches are traceable, the first may be pre-Norman, the second of the Early English period, with some very fine woodwork, the greater portion of which dates from 1621. The parish church of St. John the Baptist is Perpendicular, with a lofty western tower. All Souls' church was built in 1859, from the designs of Sir Gilbert Scott. The Square chapel, erected by the Congrega tionalists in 1857, is a striking building. Among public buildings are the Palladian town hall, with a tower completed in 1863, after the designs of Sir Charles Barry, the central library and museum, and the Akroyd museum and art gallery. The Heath Grammar school was founded in 1585 under royal charter for instruction in classical languages. It possesses close scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge universities. The Piece Hall was erected in 1799 for the lodgment and sale of piece goods; it is now used as a market. There 6.re six parks.
Halifax ranks with Bradford and Huddersfield as a seat of the woollen and worsted industries. The manufacture of carpets is important, one establishment employing some 5,00o hands. Cotton is also manufactured, and iron and steel industries, resulting in the manufacture of machinery, are very extensive. Coal and free stone are found in the neighbourhood.
History.—At the time of the Conquest, Halifax formed part of the extensive royal manor of Wakefield, but in the 13th century it was in the hands of John, Earl Warrenne (c. 1245-1305). The cloth trade began in the 15th century, when there are said to have been only 13 houses. Before the end of the i6th century this number had increased to 52o. Camden, about the end of the 17th century, wrote that "the people are very industrious, so that though the soil about it be barren and unprofitable, not fit to live on, they have so flourished . . . by the clothing trade that they are very rich and have gained a reputation for it above their neighbours." The trade is said to have been increased by the arrival of certain merchants driven from the Netherlands by the persecution of the duke of Alva. Among the curious customs of Halifax was the Gibbet law, which was probably established by a prescriptive right to protect the wool trade. It gave the inhabi tants the power of executing anyone taken within their liberty, who, when tried by a jury of 16 of the frith-burgesses, was found guilty of the theft of any goods of the value of more than 13 pence. The executions took place on market days, on a hill out side the town, the last execution taking place in 165o.
In 1607, David Waterhouse, lord of the manor of Halifax, obtained a grant of two markets there every week, on Friday and Saturday, and two fairs every year, each lasting three days, one beginning on June 24, the other on Nov. 11. Later, an extra market was added, on Thursday. The market rights were sold to the Markets company in 1810, and purchased from them by the corporation in 1853. In 1635 the king granted the inhabitants of Halifax a licence to found a workhouse, and incorporated them under the name of the master and governors. A large house was given them for the purpose by Nathaniel Waterhouse, who was appointed the first master, his successors being elected every year by the 12 governors from among themselves. During the Civil War, Halifax was garrisoned by the parliament, and a field near it is still called the Bloody Field, on account of an engagement which took place there.
Halifax was a borough by prescription, its privileges increasing with increased prosperity brought by the cloth trade, but it was not incorporated until 1848. After the Reform Act of 1832 the burgesses have returned two members to parliament; the borough now returns one. The county borough was created in 1888. HALISAH (Heb. "act of untying sc. the shoe"), act of testi mony to the refusal of a man to marry the widow of his brother who has left no son (or child according to Sadducean views, cf. Mark xii. 19 and possibly Josephus Ant. iv. 8, 23) . The word is better written Halicali. The biblical sources for this marriage (levirate, q.v.) are Deut. xxv. 5-10 and Gen. xxxviii. 8. This prim itive custom was designed to safeguard the widow and the estate. In the days of polygamy, refusal was looked upon as selfishness (cf. Ruth iii. 13: iv. 1-12) and the biblical procedure was in tended to shame one guilty of unbrotherly conduct. With the passing of polygamy—and no instance occurs in the Talmud of a Rabbi with more than one wife—the levirate marriage became impossible. Consequently, in course of time both the marriage and the repudiation were regarded as disastrous and every legal effort was made to avoid their necessity: a valid reason for remit ting Halicah was always accepted and ingenuity was displayed in finding reasons. Marriage between uncle and niece was depre cated in case the husband died and the widow's father should have to undergo the renunciation ceremony. To prevent extortion on the part of brothers-in-law, brothers were often required to sign a document at their sister's marriage, pledging themselves not to refuse Halica/i if the need arose and not to exact payment for compliance. Full details with illustrations will be found in the Jewish Encyclopedia, s.v. Halizah Levirate.