Elland Town Hall

PH/25. The sketch and description are from The Calderdale Sketch Book by JL Berbiers, published in 1973 by The Halifax Courier Ltd. Though a personification of Victorian solidity and respectability worthy of accommodating the most image-conscious local council, Elland Town Hall is not what its name implies. For it has never been a town hall in the local government sense. Built by a private company to the design of Halifax architect Mr C L Horsfall, the hall was opened on September 19th 1888 by Sir John Savile and Elland celebrated by holding a public holiday. In 1964 Elland Urban Council bought the premises from the Elland Town Hall Company for £7,750. At one time it housed one of Elland’s two cinemas but today, almost inevitably, it is devoted to bingo. With rows of shops on two sides, it forms a formidable sheet anchor at the southern end of the town.