Model Housing Scheme West Hill Park Halifax

The Crossley family who, from small beginnings, built up carpet weaving at Dean Clough, Halifax, into the largest carpet factory in the world, employing thousands. John Crossley purchased land to the west of the town, adjacent to the cemetery, and built a model housing scheme of 185 gothic styled units at West Hill Park, to "enable thrifty artisans, clerks, and others to obtain freehold dwellings for themselves." The houses were of various sizes intended to attract a mixture of income groups, facilitated by the newly established Halifax Permanent Building Society.  The scheme was unusual in that it separated traffic and people by fronting the houses onto gardens divided by footpaths.

Reference    James Hole. Homes of the Working Classes with Suggestions for their Improvement. 1866. Pages 75-78 and plates 15 to 18
Reference    1864-1874 Various papers, letters deeds etc West Yorkshire Archive Service Calderdale