Old Town Hall, Old Town

The sketch and description were originally published in The Halifax Courier in 1912-1913. Old Town is the ancient village on Wadsworth hillside above Hebden Bridge. The hall is at the south west corner of the village green and at the extreme end of several clusters of very old buildings. The entrance is along a small courtyard, now a garden, through stout stone gateposts closed with an iron gate on which is the name ‘Old Town Hall’. To the left a wing has been pulled down, remnants of an upper chamber being left in the walls. Over the doorway the dated stone is crumbling, but 1600 and some years can be deciphered. A striking feature is the number and quaintness of the chimneys. There are 12, and their design is entirely out of the ordinary. Of one wing which stretches to the west an unusual feature is a row of some 20 windows set in thick mullions. The cluster now comprises nine houses, including a farmhouse. Mr John Cousin Mitchell, Boston Hill, a descendant of the Cousins (once occupants of the hall) is the owner. PH/28.