The town's name was recorded in about 1091 as Halyfax, most likely from the Old English halh-gefeaxe, meaning "area of coarse grass in the nook of land".

One concerned a maiden killed by a lustful priest whose advances she spurned; another held that the head of Saint John the Baptist was buried here after his execution.

[5] By the 12th century the township had become the religious centre of the vast parish of Halifax, which extended from Brighouse in the east to Heptonstall in the west.

In November 1938, in an incident of mass hysteria, many residents believed a serial killer, the Halifax Slasher, was on the loose.

Halifax is home to a large South Asian community mainly of British Pakistanis from the Kashmir region, which originally moved to the area for employment in the textile industry.

The Illingworth and Mixenden areas, in contrast to west central Halifax, consists mostly of white, Protestant residents.

From New Year's Day 1779, manufacturers and mercers dealt internationally in such articles through its grandiose square, the Piece Hall.

Dean Clough, north of the town centre, was once one of the largest textile factories in the world at more than 1⁄2 mile (800 m) long; today the building has been converted for office and retail use including a gym, theatre, Travelodge and radio station.

John died in 1920, and his son Harold not only continued the business but took it to the present size and range of confectionery it has today.

[14] Halifax was a busy industrial town, dealing in and producing wool, carpets, machine tools and beer.

The Crossley family began carpet manufacture in modest premises at Dean Clough, on the banks of Hebble Brook.

The family was philanthropic and Joseph and Sir Francis Crossley built and endowed almshouses for their workers, which exist to this day and are run by volunteer trustees.

It was announced in January 2009 that Halifax was to have a direct rail link to London after a long campaign backed by many, including the local paper the Courier; the service began to run on 23 May 2010.

[18] The railway leading from Halifax due north towards Keighley (towards Skipton, Morecambe and Carlisle) with a further branch to Bradford via Queensbury saw its last through services in May 1955, although parts of the route, which was extremely heavily engineered with long tunnels and high, spectacular viaducts, have now been repaired and revived by Sustrans as a walking and cycle route.

In 2018 a campaign was launched to save and restore the 2,501 yards (2,287 m) Queensbury Tunnel and add it to the walking and cycling network.

[citation needed] Sunrise Radio (Yorkshire) has been given permission by media regulator Ofcom to expand its FM coverage to Halifax.

[23] In 2019, Trinity Sixth Form opened in Halifax town centre, which provides 'outstanding' further education for pupils aged between 16 and 18.

The troops were then inspected by the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Dame Ingrid Roscoe DCVO DStJ FSA and the Mayor of Halifax Cllr Colin Stout making a total of eight stands of colours within the Regimental Chapel.

The National Children's Museum was inspired and opened by King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall in the summer of 1992 and is in part of the railway station.

[citation needed] The nightclub auctioned off its infamous 20-odd-year old grubby carpet, in square pieces, and surprisingly raised thousands of pounds.

The corona chimney dominates over the mill complex and area, at a height of 297-foot (91 m), it is made from triangular cast iron plates and built in 1857.

The Artworks is a collection of artists studios, gallery space and an art school housed in an old mill complex just to the south of the town centre.

Amateur clubs Boothtown Terriers, Greetland All Rounders, Illingworth, King Cross Park, Ovenden, Siddal and Stainland Stags are based in or near the town.

The Dukes re-emerged in 1965 as founder members of the British League and operated there for many years before the team moved en bloc to Odsal Stadium, Bradford.

[citation needed] Halifax Swimming Pool[34] was opened in 1966 and designed by the borough architects FH Hoyles and JL Berbiers.

[39] Its lofty 236-foot (72 m) spire and white magnesian limestone exterior stand as a very personal statement in 13th-century French style of the mill owner Lieutenant Colonel Edward Akroyd, who paid solely for its construction as the centre-piece of a purpose-built model village "Akroydon".

All Souls' boasts an unusually complete sequence of windows by the leading artists of the 1850s, including William Wailes, John Hardman and Clayton and Bell.

The large organ by Forster and Andrews, inserted in 1868, ten years after the building was completed, is currently unplayable and many of its surviving parts are in storage awaiting restoration.

St. Paul's is notable not only for its fine acoustics and massive west tower but also for an unusual and highly colourful west window, specified by Nicholson, showing the apocalyptic vision of the Holy City descending upon the smoky mills and railway viaducts of Halifax as it was before World War I.

[41] The Church of St Jude in Savile Park, designed by local architect William Swinden Barber in 1888, is easily identified by the four large pinnacles on its tower.