Halifax
Halifax Citadel, Nova Scotia, Canada. The present hilltop fort was built 1828–1861 and is the fourth to be built on the site; the first was begun in 1749.
Capital of Nova Scotia, Canada, on the eastern shore of the province; population (2001 est) 359,100. It is the largest and most important city of the Canadian Maritime Provinces (consisting of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick), and is the main port in eastern Canada; industries include oil refining, food processing, and aerospace. Halifax harbour is ice-free all year round, due to the warm Gulf Stream current. There are six military bases located here, and the city is a centre for oceanography.
Location and communications
Halifax is situated on a fortified height (the 18th-century Halifax Citadel, which has become Citadel Hill Museum). The harbour mouth has two entrances, formed by McNab's Island, and is connected by a narrow channel with Bedford Basin in the north. It is the Atlantic terminus of the Canadian National Railway and is served by a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Halifax is the eastern terminus of a transcontinental railway. The 19th-century Shubenacadie Canal links Halifax to the Bay of Fundy across the Nova Scotia Peninsula. The opening of a container terminal in 1970 made shipment via Halifax one of the quickest routes for freight from Europe to central Canada because of the easy transfer between ships and trains. The port of Halifax became so busy that a second container terminal was opened in 1981.
History
The community was founded in 1749 by Governor Sir Edward Cornwallis and 2,500 settlers from Britain, on the site of a First Nations village. The
Halifax Gazette of 1752 was Canada's first newspaper, and Canada's first post office was opened here three years later. In 1758 the first legislative assembly in Canada met here. Halifax was the base for British operations against the French in 1759, and during the American Revolution in the 1770s, and remained an imperial army and naval base until 1906. It is now the chief naval station in Canada. The first Cunard liner service to Europe left from Halifax in 1840. In 1917, during World War I, a munitions ship exploded in the harbour killing 1,600 people, injuring 9,000, and damaging 12,000 buildings.
| Halifax is an educational and cultural centre with several colleges, including the University of King's College (1789), St Mary's University (1802), Dalhousie University (1818), the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1887), the Technical University of Nova Scotia (1907), Mount St Vincent University (1925), and the Atlantic School of Theology (1971). The cornerstone of Government House was laid in 1800; Province House, home of the Nova Scotia legislature, was built in 1819. St Paul's Church (1750), the only building left from Cornwallis's time, is the oldest Anglican church in Canada. HMCS Sackville, a World War II corvette, is a tourist attraction. |
| Many victims from the sinking of the liner Titanic in 1912 are buried here. |
Halifax
Town in West Yorkshire, northern England, on the River Calder, 13 km/8 mi northwest of Huddersfield; population (2001) 83,600. Important in the woollen cloth trade since medieval times, the town produces textiles, carpets, and clothing; other industries include engineering and the manufacture of confectionery (Nestlé). It is the headquarters of the Halifax plc (formerly Halifax Building Society).
Features
The restored Piece Hall, built in 1779 as a cloth market; the Calderdale Industrial Museum; the Perpendicular Gothic St John's Church; All Souls' (1857–59), designed by Gilbert Scott; the town hall (1859–62), designed by Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament; part of the original Halifax gibbet (a predecessor of the guillotine), used to behead cloth stealers (1541–1650), is preserved.
History There is evidence that the cloth trade was established here in the late 13th century; local records for that period refer to ‘websters’ (weavers), ‘walkers’ (fullers), and ‘litsters’ (dyers). In the 15th century the parish of Halifax produced more cloth than any other place in Yorkshire. The street named Woolshops was once the site of the woolstaplers' (dealers) warehouses. The local weavers began making worsteds in the mid 18th century, the area expanded, and associated industries developed. The rapid increase in the town's population from 12,000 to 34,000 between 1801 and 1851 resulted in overcrowding and poor living conditions. With the arrival of the railways, Bradford became the chief textile-marketing centre for the area. |
Architectural features Piece Hall has 315 rooms and a colonnaded courtyard, and is now used for shops and a market. St John's Church is the third to have been built on the site; of the first church, built by the Cluniac monks of Lewes in about 1120, some Norman fragments survive; three of the windows of the second church (dating from about 1290) remain; the foundations of the present building were probably laid in about 1450. Borough Market is an attractive Victorian building. |
Museums and galleries Shibden Hall, in Shibden Park, is a timbered mansion dating partly from the 15th century; it houses a museum containing 17th-century furniture, a collection of manuscripts relating to the district, early printed books, and court rolls. The Bankfield Museum (opened in 1887) contains art, textiles, archaeology, and natural history collections. Eureka is a museum of technology designed for children. |
Parks Open spaces include Shroggs Park, overlooking Wheatley Valley; Saville Park (formerly Skircoat Moor), with Albert Promenade overlooking Copley Valley; the People's Park; West Vale Park (with Clare House); Shibden Hall and Park; Akroyd Park; Belle Vue Park; and Manor Heath. |
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