HALIFAX. A town and county borough in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, on the Hebble, seven miles southwest of Bradford (Map: England, E 3). It has exceptional facilities for water and railway transportation, which con tribute to the importance of its woolen and cot ton industries. It also has iron, machine, and chemical works, and neighboring coal-mines and stone-quarries. The town, surrounded by hills, is built on a slope rising from the river. Its town hall, piece hall, assembly rooms, mechanics' in stitute, public parks, and recreation grounds are prominent features. It has numerous charitable institutions and public and private educational establishments, which include the Heath Gram mar School, founded in 1585, and the Blue Coat School. The standard of municipal administra tion is high. The town maintains free libraries, markets, slaughter-houses, fire-brigade station, and a cemetery; it owns its water, gas, and elec• tric works, tramways, bathing establishments, paving-stone quarry, and has a modern system of refuse and sewage disposal.. Halifax sends two
members to Parliament. Mentioned in the twelfth century, it was an obscure hamlet until the fifteenth, when the settlement of Flemish artisan refugees inaugurated its growth and prosperity. It was long under manor rule, and did not receive its charter of incorporation until 1848. In 1642 it was garrisoned by the Parlia mentary forces, and the battle of Bloody Field occurred in the neighborhood. Daniel Defoe was a temporary resident, and its celebrities include Henry the mathematician; Archbishop Tillotson; Sir Henry Savile; and John Foster. Population, in 1891, 97,700; in 1901, 105,000. Consult Watson, History of Halifax (new ed., London, 1869).