Albert Promenade and Wainhouse Tower, Halifax

That’s Albert as in Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband.  It was built in 1861 by Henry Charles McCrea, an Irishman who moved to Halifax and became a locally well known businessman.  He gave the walk to the town together with West View Park.

It looks down a rocky cliff, known locally as The Rocks, towards the valley below. This is the valley which has the Rochdale Canal, the River Calder, the trans Pennine railway and the A58 road all funnelling through a fairly narrow gap in the hills.  It is a convenient walk when the unpaved paths are muddy and gives some lovely views, changing day to day depending on the weather and angle of the light.

Wainhouse Tower is a folly, originally built as a chimney for a dye works in the valley below.  Above is the view of it from Albert Promenade.

And this is the view of Albert Promenade from the top of the tower.  More photos by AdamKR can be found here.  It gives a good idea of the plateau on which that part of Halifax is built. Off the left of the picture is an area known as Skircoat Green, the most expensive part of Halifax for property.  There is an area of about 73 acres of open land owned by the Savile Family from the 13th Century until 1892 when it came into the ownership of the Halifax Council.  

As ‘Skircoat’ came, so I am told, from the word ‘Schircotes’ which means building on the rocks.