Central Library, Northgate, Halifax - 01422 368725 halifax@ytbtic.co.uk

Halifax - from the Old English halh-gefeaxe, meaning "area of coarse grass in the nook of land".

Halifax is a Minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece Hall. Halifax is known for its Mackintosh chocolate and toffee (now owned by Nestlé), the Halifax bank (formerly Halifax Building Society), and the nearby Shibden Hall.

Topographically, Halifax is located in the south-eastern corner of the moorland region called the South Pennines. Halifax is situated about 4 miles (6 km) from the M62 motorway close to Bradford, Huddersfield and Rochdale. The Tees-Exe line passes through the A641 road, which links nearby Brighouse with Bradford and Huddersfield, The town lies 65 miles (105 km) from Kingston upon Hull and Liverpool, and about 170 miles (270 km) from the cities of London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin and Cardiff as the crow flies. The major waterway is the Hebble Brook. The River Calder into which the Hebble joins it at Salterhebble bypasses the town and nearby Huddersfield.