13-27, WOOLSHOPS

Shops of early 18th-century date in Halifax, forming a group of stone buildings with two or three storeys and slate or stone slate roofs.

Number 13 is a three-storey building. The ground floor has a modern shop front. The first floor has three tall one-over-one sash windows and the second floor has three casement windows, all with plain stone facings and a band running across the second floor. A pilaster with a large kneeler rises on the left side; on the right side the pilaster has been removed though the kneeler survives. The right-hand gable is slightly raised and there is a stone ridge stack at the right end. The rear elevation has a door and small window at ground floor. The first floor rear has three sets of mullioned and transomed windows with six lights to right and left and four to the centre. A five-light mullioned window is positioned towards the left of the second floor rear. Quoins are present on the rear left side. A late 20th-century building adjoins to the west. The interior is not of special interest.

Numbers 15 and 17 form a single two-storey building adjoining Number 13 to the west. The ground floor has two modern shop fronts, the narrower left-hand one (Number 15) occupying the position of a former carriage entrance. Five first-floor one-over-one sash windows are present, one above the former carriage entrance and the others above the right-hand shop. Above is a stone parapet with a base level matching the band on Number 13. An inscribed stone set into the parapet bears the letters N.I.M. and the date 1729. Raised quoins are present to the right side. The rear of Number 15 has a first-floor window with modern glazing and an external staircase to a left-side entrance. Two doorways are at ground floor, though much is a modern rebuild. The rear of Number 17 extends as a long two-storey wing with modern openings, pitched roof and end stack. Modern rebuilds and interiors are not of special interest.

Numbers 19 to 27 (odd numbers) form a range set back slightly from Number 17 and slightly lower in height. There are five shop units: three to the left (west) and two to the right (east) separated by an arched carriage entrance with ashlar dressings and keystone. Raised quoins are present to the left end and a pilaster to the right end carries a raised gable end. Pilasters flank either side of the carriage entrance, above which is scrolled decoration flanking ashlar blocks. Above the modern shop fronts to the left are seven one-over-one sash windows evenly spaced in plain surrounds, with a further similar window above the carriage entrance. To the right the building has three storeys though matching overall height. The ground floor has two modern shop fronts with two large one-over-one sashes above. Two two-light stone mullioned windows, possibly formerly four-light, sit above a second floor band immediately below the eaves line. The rear of Numbers 19 to 21 has similar arrangements of entrance and windows, all modern rebuilds. Number 25 rear has a modern two-storey extension. Number 27 rear has modern ground floor entrances, a ten-light stone mullioned and transomed window at first-floor and a five-light stone mullioned window at second-floor level, all with plain stone dressings. The rebuilt rear elevations and modern interiors are not of special interest.

This group of buildings dates to the early to mid-18th century, with the central block bearing a date stone of 1729. Woolshops lay on a major route into Halifax in the medieval period. In the 16th and 17th centuries, when Halifax was at the height of its prosperity, this part of town was inhabited by wool merchants with living accommodation, workshops and warehousing. The establishment of the Piece Hall in 1779 concentrated the woollen cloth trade within its walls, and the Woolshops area became less important. The later 19th and 20th centuries saw decline. In 1931 the western end of the south side of the street was redeveloped and buildings were demolished. A redevelopment scheme proposed in the 1970s led to large-scale demolition and further building loss, but the eventual scheme completed in 1983 retained Numbers 13 to 27 whilst establishing small shop units along much of the rest of the street.

These buildings are designated for their architectural importance as a group of early 18th-century urban buildings with surviving features such as mullioned windows. They hold historic interest as survivals from a period of growth and prosperity in the town, reflecting Halifax's importance in the woollen trade, particularly as evidenced by surviving weavers' windows. Despite some losses and alterations, significant features survive including mullioned windows, the date stone, decorative stonework and roof structures.