Square Independent Chapel and Congregational Church Spire, Halifax

Square Independent Chapel opened on the 24th May 1772 taking it's name from the area of Halifax it was built in. The chapel is constructed of red brick and is 60ft square and when opened was the largest independent place of worship in the country. The chapel cost a fortune for the time £2000 to build and the red brick is said to contain bulls blood to highlight the red. 

The chapel held it's last service on the 12th June 1857, when it became the Sunday School for the newly constructed Square Congregational Church, which had recently opened next door. In 1939 the Army took control of the building for the war effort and the Chapel was given Grade II listed status on the 3rd November 1954. The local Council purchased the building in 1969 with a plan to demolish it, the Victorian society getting the building on the listed for preservation register in 1970. In 1985 Calderdale Council once again had a plan to demolish the building, again this never came to fruition before the Square Chapel Building Trust bought the building for £25 in 1989 spending over £3million in the refurbishment of the building which was to become the Square Chapel Arts Centre in 1992.

Square Congregational Church opened on the 15th July 1857 as the replacement for Square Independent Chapel. When built the church had the second tallest spire in Yorkshire at 235ft until Edward Akroyd had the nearby All Souls Church built with a spire that was just 1ft taller. Local legend suggest this was deliberate as Akroyd had a rivalry with the Crossley Family who had contributed to the construction of Square Church. The church held services until 1970, a year after it had merged with the United Congregational Church. 

Square Congregational Church was granted Grade II listed status on the 2nd March 1950. The church became a target for vandals after closure and the main body of the church was devastated by a large fire on the 3rd January 1971, and a further fire and gale before 1973. In 1976 the church was demolished saving the spire and foundations and becoming a rest-garden area until it was closed off in 2005 after the spire had become unsafe. Around this time workmen who had checking the spire structurally became convinced there was a ghost inhabiting an inaccessible area near the top of the spire, this was after photo's they had taken showed a shape that they claimed could not be explained.

The spire remained closed off for a number of years with some members of Calderdale Council requesting its demolition, before the town decided a new library was needed and this was constructed including the spire as a and rose window as a central part of the new building which opened in 2017. The spire with the new library now forms a welcoming part of the new eastern entrance to the Piece Hall.

The Rose Window seen to the left of the spire is based on the east window at Selby Abbey.

The new Halifax Library Building can be seen built around the spire.

These pictures were taken on the 27th October 2019 with a Nikon d3300 SLR camera. They can be seen on Clickasnap full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

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All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.