See
Halifax house and
Hall-and-cross-wing
See
Tenter
See
Haigh
Henry VIII issued a halfcrown in 1526.
The decimal equivalent is 12½p
See
Crown
A halfpenny coin was issued by Alfred the Great in 886.
The copper half-penny was introduced by Charles II in 1672 and
carried the portrait of Britannia – see token.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the halfpenny was known as an ob.
After decimalisation, the name was used for ½p coin.
The coin was discontinued in February 1984.
Abbreviated to ha'penny the word is pronounced
like hayp'ney; the plural is halfpennies,
pronounced hayp'nies
The value of 1½d was pronounced three-haypence.
This should not be confused with the value of 3½d which
was pronounced thruppence hayp'ney
See
Haugh
This design evolved from the 15th century – 1400 to 1580 – by adding
extensions to an existing hall.
This is probably the most common form of houses in the district.
In some cases – such as Elland New Hall and Shibden Hall – the
house was built to this design.
Around 1580, this was superseded by the cross passage design.
Amongst the many examples are
This was the eve of Samhain, the Celtic new year, when all
laws of space and time were suspended and the spirit world mixed with
the living.
It was customary to dress up and to make noise to frighten away the
spirits.
The Romans grafted their own autumn celebrations for Pomona,
the goddess of fruit and trees – apple bobbing may originate
in this.
The Irish took the Celtic belief with them when they emigrated to the
USA in the 19th century
Typically, these were originally timber buildings, and cased in stone at a later date.
There are individual entries for the more important halls and houses.
Many of these have been demolished, whilst others remain as public
buildings and others as private houses
Some had reading rooms where newspapers were read aloud for those who
were unable to read for themselves
See
Abatement
It is now used to express the height of a horse at its withers
(shoulders)
See
Right of Gallows and
Gibbet Law
Around 1800, a handloom weaver could earn around 20/- per week.
In Heptonstall [1851], most of the handloom weaving was of worsted
cloth.
See
Jack at Bog Eggs and
Weavers' windows
The head and quarters were parboiled to prevent them rotting too
quickly when they were on display.
For the sake of decency, women convicted of treason were burned at
the stake
From 1868, under the Capital Punishment within Prisons Act
[1868] public executions were abolished and hanging was carried out
within the walls of county prisons – see Miles Weatherill.
The last man to be hanged like this was Michael Barrett on 26th May
1868 at Newgate Prison, who was accused of killing 12 people with a
bomb.
The earliest form of hanging was the short drop method where
the victim stood on a platform which was then removed.
This and the later standard drop method were not always
sufficient to break the prisoner's neck but simply caused a slow
death by asphyxiation, and friends and relatives often pulled on the
victim's feet, or lifted and then dropped the body, in order to cause
death.
In 1874, William Marwood introduced the long drop – in which
the victim falls a pre-determined distance before being brought back
up with a sharp jerk by the rope, thereby breaking the prisoner's
neck – as a scientific means of inducing a humane death.
The Children's Act [1908] laid down a minimum age of 16 for
execution, but the age was raised to 18 years by the Children &
Young Persons Act [1933].
The last woman to be hanged in Britain was Ruth Ellis who was
executed at Holloway Prison, London on 13th July 1955 for shooting
her boyfriend.
The last man to hang was Gwynne Evans who was executed at
Manchester on 13th August 1964.
Hanging was abolished in 1965
See
Right of Gallows and
Last dying speech
The size varies for different materials:
Several hanks make up a bunch or a spindle
This is found in certain eastern parts of the district, including:
36 yard band coal,
Fenny Farm, Hipperholme and
Hard Bed Pit, Siddal
Some were forced to spend 1 or 2 sessions a day, each of up to 3
hours, on a treadmill.
The crank was another form of punishment
See
W. H. L.
It was introduced into Halifax by Joshua Horton in 1754
This was 3d for hats costing less than 4/- and 2/- for hats costing
more than 12/-
Pronunciation:
This may be pronounced either
like hoff, as in Haugh Shaw,
or
like haw, as in Old Haugh End.
See
Halh
The use of hay boxes was encouraged in times of austerity during
the Second World War
See
Bote
See
Pinder
See
John Cooker and
Draw-boy
The Factory Act [1833] required that children aged between 9 and 13
spend 2 hours each day in school.
A consequence of this was that some Sunday Schools were used as day
schools
As the industrialisation of the woollen industry grew, the
population of Halifax increased by people moving into the town, and
by existing families growing.
One consequence of this was poor, unhealthy housing.
In 1849, a Mr Reach wrote that:
This was a tax levied according to the number of hearths / fires
within a household, and goes back to Anglo-Saxon times, being
recorded in the 7th century.
The tax was revived in 1662/3, and applied to all houses worth more
than £1; it was then 2/- for each hearth and stove.
Families and occupiers were exempt from paying hearth tax:
The tax was collected twice a year: on Lady Day and
at Michaelmas, and it was a major part of the government's
revenue during the reigns of Charles II and James II.
The highest national yield, intended to finance Charles 11,
reached £216,000 in 1684-9
It was abolished in 1689 and replaced by the Window Tax in 1696.
Returns recording details of those who paid the tax can be found at
the Country Records Office
See
Fire screen
See
Collon bobs and
Hathershelf
It also appears in the surname Hebblethwaite.
The word has been translated as
a bridge,
a plank bridge,
a bridge with a handrail,
and
the handrail of a bridge
The name appears as Hebedene in Domesday Book.
In 1334, it is recorded as Hepden where it refers to the stream
also known as Hebden Water
See
Hebden surname
See
Hebrew names
The name gives rise to the term heckling, as at a political
meeting
It is now used in brass rubbing
See
Industry,
Jute industry,
Linen industry and
Rope industry
See
Argent,
Azure,
Coat of Arms,
Couchant,
Dexter,
Family Crest,
Gules,
Murrey,
Or,
Passant,
Purpure,
Sable,
Sanguine,
Sinister,
Tenn,
Trippant and
Vert
The animal was usually the best beast.
Contrasts with relief
H-plan house Ref 1-13 Habick Ref 1-H20 Hackney Ref 1-1321 Haigh Ref 1-678 Hairy wood ant Ref 1-530 
Half & half Ref 1-2309 Half-baptised Ref 1-H18 Halfcrown Ref 1-2985
Halfpenny Ref 1-2986
Halh Ref 1-555 Hall-and-cross-wing Ref 1-21
Hall in the Wood Wheel Ref 1-H48 Hallmoot Ref 1-1459 Hallmote Ref 1-H22 Halloween Ref 1-H17 Halls & Houses Ref 1-510 Halmote Ref 1-H28 Hamel Ref 1-886 Hamlet Ref 1-1401 Hampden Club Ref 1-1203 Hamsoken Ref 1-1570 Hand Ref 1-922 Hand-grith Ref 1-H10 Hand-habend Ref 1-1633 Handloom Ref 1-254 Handspike Ref 1-1116 
Hang, draw & quarter Ref 1-H50 Hanging Ref 1-2611 Hank Ref 1-57
Hansard Ref 1-H32 Hansen's disease Ref 1-855 Hard coal Ref 1-2013
Hard labour Ref 1-2552 Harden cloth Ref 1-2928 Lord Hardwicke's Act Ref 1-2668 Hare coursing Ref 1-2845 Harington Ref 1-2969 Harness loom Ref 1-H37 Harrying of the north Ref 1-2066 Harvest Home Ref 1-H6 Hat tax Ref 1-H36 Hats Ref 1-H7
appeared on the public highway wearing a tall structure of shining
lustre and calculated to disturb timid people
when he wore a top hat in public.
Hatters Ref 1-H3 Hattock Ref 1-H52 Hauberk Ref 1-H27 Haugh Ref 1-658 Hay box Ref 1-H11 Haybote Ref 1-1377 Hayward Ref 1-1403 Head of household Ref 1-H26 Headborough Ref 1-1590 Headland Ref 1-H47 Heald Ref 1-262 Health & Morals of Apprentices in Cotton Mills Act [1802] Ref 1-1934 Health, illness & disease Ref 1-782
Halifax was arranged somewhat in the form of a cross, its centre
being Old Market from which the four principal thoroughfares
radiated.
The streets were narrow and overhung by the houses.
The by-lanes were footpaths.
The streets were innocent of paving and consisted of the native earth
down which ran open gutters into which the good folk poured their
slops and dishwashing with impunity, and waited for the next shower
of rain to complete the process.
A man might and often did keep a dunghill in front of his door until
it began to smell so badly as to excite attention, and he was then
ordered to remove it within a given time by a Manor court.
The scavenging of the streets was done principally by a legion of
half-starved dogs and cats assisted by flocks of pigeons.
The water supply in the town was in some places open to pollution and
ran in open channels."
The corporation of Halifax have a perfect Augean stable to clean, and
the sooner they set about it the better for the health and character
of their town
Hearth Ref 1-2225 Hearth-passage Ref 1-15 Hearth Tax Ref 1-2022
Township Houses Hearths Halifax 480 1240 Sowerby 351 684 Warley 188 370 Heptonstall 102 169 Stainland 91 128 Rishworth 70 112 
This & associated entries use material contributed by Antony ShepherdHearth tin Ref 1-1982 Heather Ref 1-387 Heb Ref 1-660 Hebble Ref 1-677
Hebden Ref 1-661
Pronunciation:
The word is always pronounced with the stress on the first syllable
and with the final syllable having the neutral
schwa
vowel: heb-dən
Hebrew names Ref 1-H39 Hebrew words Ref 1-3680 Heckle Ref 1-273 Heddle Ref 1-261 Heddle loom Ref 1-H16 Heelball Ref 1-H45 Heir Ref 1-H33 Heirloom Ref 1-H31 Heling Ref 1-H13 Helm Ref 1-1211 Helm Ref 1-H38 Helpales Ref 1-1140 Hemp Ref 1-2917 Hemp industry Ref 1-348
Hep Ref 1-663 Heraldry Ref 1-769 Hereditament Ref 1-H19 Heriot Ref 1-1084 Heushire Ref 1-H12 Hey Ref 1-662 Hidage Ref 1-1650