The Shay
Encyclopedia
The Shay is a multi-use sport
s stadium
in Halifax
, West Yorkshire
, England
near Shaw Hill. FC Halifax Town
(football) and Halifax
(rugby league
) both play their home games at the Shay.
The stadium is owned by Calderdale
Metropolitan Council after the football club sold it back in the 1980s in order to pay off a number of debts.
The lease however is now owned by the Shay Stadium Trust, a not-for-profit company set up to preserve the ground as a sports stadium.
The Shay lies on the south side of Halifax, about a quarter of a mile from the town centre. The four stands currently at the Shay are the North Stand, the new East Stand, (opened 27 March 2010) the South Stand and the Skircoat Stand. The North and South stands were built in the mid-1990s. The Skircoat Stand is the oldest remaining stand at the Shay.
', which means a small wood, thicket or grove.
The two words are used interchangeably in ancient references to the property upon which the Shay
Stadium was eventually constructed.
Such references to the name Shay have been traced as far back as 1462, when on 6 July of that year a wealthy local man by the name of William Brodley recorded that upon his death, property belonging to him just west of Shaghe Lane should pass to his son, John Brodley.
At the time of the third year of Henry VIII
's reign (this means either 1511 or 1512), the Subsidy Roll
(effectively the equivalent of our present income tax) had recorded William Brodley junior as being assessed on goods to the value of £20, and by 1545 the property was still in his possession.
This may seem a small sum today but it's worth noting that only five people locally were assessed at £20 (including the wealthy Vicar Haldesworth who was once robbed of £1,000), so it's fair to say that William Brodley was a man of influence and money.
Indeed, at this time, only one man was assessed at more than £20, and he was the wealthy merchant John Hardy who paid 44s tax on goods assessed at £66.
What this goes to prove is that the Shay Estate was one of the finest areas of 16th century Halifax.
Just when William Brodley died is not clear but we do know that the Shay descended to his daughter and heiress Grace Hely in 1580, and in turn to her husband John Booth in 1587. This was recorded in the Halifax Court Rolls as Booth becoming the owner of 'Shaw and Nether Shaw'.
At about this time, conservation of water and the maintenance of its purity were matters of extreme importance, and in 1588 John Booth arranged for a small dam to be constructed within the Shay Estate so as to provide enough water for his needs. This supply was later diverted away from the Shaw Syke in 1602 and within two years Booth surrendered ownership of 'Over and Nether Shaw' to the use of Simon Bynnes of Broadbottom.
As there are no records of subsequent owners after Bynnes, or of the houses they would have lived in, this gives us the opportunity to jump forward to the 18th century to introduce the name of perhaps the Shay's most noted owner - John Caygill.
John Caygil
John Caygill was a very important person amongst the people of Halifax. Certainly John Caygill contributed to Halifax's lasting heritage - as well as building the Shay mansion, he contributed to the erection of two other landmarks in the town. The first of these was the building of houses on a piece of land known as the Square, of which construction was finished around 1758. Designed by John Carr of York
, they were grand buildings and some even became offices. In 1923 the Halifax Corporation purchased the land and the buildings were demolished in 1959.
John Caygill's second big achievement was in providing the land and a sum of £840 for the construction of the Piece Hall - a monument which still stands today as a tourist attraction.
The Ibbetson Family
John Caygill junior's only child, the aforementioned 'Jenny', became sole heiress to her father's estates, including the Shay. She would marry Sir James Ibbetson, Baronet of Leeds and Denton on 8 February 1768, and thus the ownership of the Shay Estate passed into the Ibbetson family. It is clear that the Ibbetson family did not live at the Shay - they did not need to, and so in the Halifax Journal of 18 April 1807, the mansion built by John Caygill was advertised for letting. The same advertisement in the Halifax Journal also gave details of the mansion itself. On the ground floor was a dining room 29 by and 13 ft (4 m), breakfast room, and parlour, housekeeper's room, butler's pantry, servants' hall, a large kitchen and gallery 'fitted with every modern improvement for cooking on the steam principle', a spacious passage 12 inch wide and 44 ft (13.4 m), an elegant staircase with a double flight of stone steps. There was a landing 13 ft (4 m) and a spacious gallery on the second floor, while the drawing room and the five 'lodging rooms' with dressing rooms adjoining, were on the same scale as the rooms below. The doors were of solid mahogany and it was evidently well fitted for its purposes.
It is interesting to note the addresses given to all the houses on the Shay Estate in the census returns. The Shay mansion's address is down as 'The Shay, Caygill's Walk' in two reports whilst addresses for the other houses are termed variably as The Shay, Shay Stable Yard, Shay Yard, Caygill's Walk and Shay Farm, though there is no doubt that they all refer to the same appropriate buildings, and are not new or separate ones. From the 1840s until 1903, there were six owners of the Shay Estate. William Boocock was the Shay mansion's last owner, though he only lived there for a few years up to 1903. By this time the Shay Estate was in the hands of the Halifax Corporation, and with the completion of the new Skircoat Road, the future of the Shay must have looked very much in doubt.
Redevelopment of the Shay Estate
Up until 1890 any traffic heading in the direction of Huddersfield
travelled along the main route which ran from the town centre along the bottom of the Shay, up Shaw Hill to Huddersfield Road. It was the idea of John Booth to develop the pleasant Caygill's Walk, which ran along the top of the Shay, into what is now the busy Skircoat Road. At the time his scheme came under heavy criticism from local people. This dramatic period in the Shay's history continued when, two years later, on 29 August 1891, Skircoat Road was opened for traffic for the first time. In 1903, with the Shay mansion no longer being used for residential purposes, the Corporation saw fit to demolish it.
From the time of the demolition of the mansion, what was left of the Shay Estate became the object of many schemes. On 9 November 1898, it was announced that a proposal had been put forward to run goods trains to the Shay Estate and build a goods depot there. On 31 May 1902 an agreement was made by the Midland Rail Company for the purchase of the estate, the company having sought powers to construct a loop line at Low Moor railway station
and to run a part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire
line to Halifax. However, shortly after this, "owing to the present position of railways and the condition of the money market", there was no reasonable prospect of the proposed railway being constructed in the immediate future, and all plans were abandoned.
Work had actually been started on a tunnel to run under the newly constructed Skircoat Road, on the Well Head side of the road, and this tunnel is still in evidence today, though many people are unaware of its existence. The only purpose for which it was intended for use after this was as one of many air raid shelters in Halifax during the Second World War. Between 1908 and 1910 it was proposed to build a slaughterhouse
on the Shay. There was, after all, a need for such a thing in the town, though strong criticism of this idea surfaced. How could the Shay Estate - once one of the most beautiful parts of Halifax - end up being the home of a slaughterhouse?
Many felt it was an insult, and the Corporation agreed - the plans were thankfully scrapped.
At one point after this it seemed that the Shay would be developed as playing fields for the people of Halifax, though despite being a nice idea it never materialised, and the Shay, now sadly just waste land, ended up a rubbish tip.
All former glories of the Shay Estate were completely wiped out, but even then further controversy raised its head when a fire took hold of the rubbish. During the First World War the Shay was used by the local Territorial Army
to practice trench digging. This was at one end of the Shay and amazingly, right up to 1984, evidence of this could be seen behind the visitors' end of the football ground.
The 'trenches' were only flattened in order to provide easy access to the speedway pits. Trench digging, then, was the last use of the Shay until 1920 when rumours started to circulate that the Shay could be transformed into a football ground. Even then, there was some criticism of the idea, but the board of Halifax Town
made an official approach to the Shay's owners, the Corporation, and it was accepted. The Shay was to take on a welcome new lease of life.
Football ground
At a public meeting on 9 July 1920, the then Halifax Town chairman Dr A. H. Muir stated: "Speaking from inside information I know that if, in February 1921, we can produce a ground that will meet league requirements, and if we can show financial backing that is worthy of a town this size, our position as members of the English League with all that means, is absolutely secure."
In that same speech Dr. Muir announced that the Town directors were to meet members of the Corporation's Improvements Committee with a view to the leasing of the Shay, so that they could prepare it in time for the 1921-22 season. Halifax Town, formed in 1911, had earlier played at Sandhall Lane and then Exley - a totally unsuitable venue. On Wednesday 4 August 1920, a recommendation was put to the committee which was passed and the Halifax Courier set up a fund to help get the Shay ready. Timber was delivered to the Shay for work to begin on Saturday 16 October 1920.
An appeal was made in the Courier that night for people to help on the following Monday. Fans, players and directors worked together to get the ground ready, and on 7 December the first grass sods were laid on the playing pitch. It was a successful venture.
In March 1921, Halifax Town were elected to the Football League, and along with clubs such as Accrington Stanley
, Ashington
, Durham City
and Nelson
, became founder members of the newly formed Division Three North. So the people of Halifax waited eagerly for League soccer. It arrived at the Shay on 3 September 1921 when Halifax Town, in front of 10,000 spectators, rose to the occasion and defeated a Darlington
side 5-0 (avenging a 2-0 defeat by the same club the previous Saturday). And thus the Shaymen
were born.
Whilst it would be fair to say that Halifax Town have never exactly set the football world alight, the Shay has been the scene of some historic matches, not least its very first Football League game on 3 September 1921. It's history now, of course, that Town defeated Darlington 5-0 in front of a crowd of over 10,000, although as Town slipped towards the bottom of the table during the course of the season, attendances fell also.
The record attendance for the Shay was 36,885 on 14 February 1953 in the 5th round of the FA Cup
against Tottenham Hotspur. It's fair to say with confidence that the 36,885 figure that watched the Tottenham game will never be bettered. Though the Shay could once hold 40,000, safety measures dictate that it never will again. In fact, the capacity put on the Shay has reduced dramatically since the early '70s: in 1970 it was 38,000, 1972 it was 25,000, 1977 it was 23,000, 1979 it was 16,500.
The capacity stood at 16,500 until 1985 at which time the Popplewell Report into ground safety was released following the Valley Parade disaster in May of that year. All standing areas at the Shay were closed, and for a time, while it remained seating only, the new capacity was set at a pathetic 1,777. Safety work was subsequently carried out and the capacity raised to 3,600. When Halifax Town were paired up with Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup in January 1988, in an effort to keep the tie at the Shay, more work was carried out and the capacity was raised further to 4,021. An almost full house attended that Forest game - 4,012! When the council took over the Shay in 1987 it became part of Calderdale Leisure Services (CLS) and in July 1988 new plans were announced for the ground. A new stand was purchased from Scunthorpe United and other major ground improvements were being made.
Financial troubles
The financial troubles of Halifax Town, and the fate of the Shay Stadium, never became more serious than in 1986. On 27 October, then chairman John Madeley announced that the club was close to collapse.
Many people looked to Calderdale
Council to help save the club.
It did, after all, still own the lease on the ground and any plans for the Shay from private companies would have to be given the council's go-ahead. However, on 17 November it rejected two plans to save the club. One proposal was from a London property firm wanting to build shops on the Shay. The other, involving the development of a sports complex, including a ground for the club, was turned down because of difficulties over the conditions demanded by the Edinburgh
property firm behind the move. These 'difficulties' concerned the lease of the Shay. With the council unwilling to part with the lease, it came as no surprise when the Edinburgh firm pulled out of its bid to save the club. On 26 November, the Inland Revenue
gave Halifax Town just six days to come up with proposals for paying the £76,000 tax debt.
The situation became so serious that Halifax Town manager Mick Jones
resigned for a more secure position at Peterborough United. On 23 December, John Madeley announced he had signed an agreement with a property company which, he said, would safeguard soccer at the Shay until the end of the season. They were prepared to put money into the club, but wanted to move it out of the Shay so they could develop it after the season's close.
In February 1987 it came to light that this property company was a local firm, Marshall Construction of Elland
. They wanted to build a superstore for Gateway Foodmarkets on the Shay. On 4 March 1987, councillor Geoffrey Butler put forward a plan to split the Shay - one half as a soccer ground with the other to be developed. The scheme seemed exciting but like the plans of Marshall's and others, it was rejected by the council. Marshall's offered to build Halifax Town a 4,500 capacity stadium next to the nearby North Bridge Leisure Centre, though they still wanted to build a superstore on the Shay. On 18 March, the new plan was also rejected. Though many people in Halifax were not too bothered about the club's plight, soccer fans cried out to the council to make a positive move.
Council rescue
At a council meeting on Wednesday 8 April 1987, and it came completely out of the blue. It was a complete turnabout, but for some, a very welcome one. The council put forward their rescue plan - they would hand over £210,000 to the club, buy back the lease on the 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) Shay worth about £150,000, and take control of the club until the start of the following season (1987/88), sacking the current board in the process. All in all it meant that football was kept at the Shay and the club was suddenly on its soundest footing since formation in 1911.
Halifax Town were banned from training on the Shay in June 1987, it was proposed the following year that the Shay's name be changed to the 'Calderdale Sports Stadium'.
This was proposed in an effort to try to unite the people of Calderdale
and show that the ground was intended for whole of Calderdale.
Todmorden
town councillor Grahame Fish proposed this, yet the many people were not happy to see one of Halifax's most famous names disappear. Letters of protest appeared in the local newspaper, and fans of Halifax Town drew up a petition to keep the Shay's name.
this was partially successful in that the name of the ground was officially changed to 'The Shay Calderdale Sports Stadium'.
2008 and New Developments
Although Halifax Town went into liquidation in the summer of 2008, newly formed FC Halifax Town replaced them 3 levels below Halifax Town's position when they dissolved. These days the Shay has quickly changed beyond recognition. The two new blocks of terracing at the north and south ends of the pitch have brought the once run-down stadium bang up to date. The Skircoat Stand has been turned into an all-seated affair and the East Stand, once completed, will take the stadium's capacity above 10,000 for the first time since the 1970s. The Shay is no longer just a football ground and is now home to not only FC Halifax Town, but also Halifax RLFC
. They moved to the Shay in 1998 after their historic home at Thrum Hall
had, like the Shay, fallen into a state of disrepair. Redevelopment has come at a cost, the majority of which has been provided through grants, but it also has to be mentioned that it wouldn't have been possible at all without the coming together of the town's two professional sporting clubs.
Prior to the Shay, the Halifax Dukes
used a track at Thrum Hall
, and on 8 February 1949 construction began on a new speedway track at the Shay.
This meant that the football pitch had to be reduced in size and each goalpost was moved three yards into the playing area so an agreement was reached by the speedway and soccer clubs whereby the Halifax Dukes had to pay the Halifax Town AFC 10% of all speedway gate receipts.
The first speedway meeting was held on Wednesday 6 April 1949, and the opponents were Yarmouth Bloaters. The track was officially opened by Major R. E. Austin, commanding officer of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment at Halifax.
Speedway at the Shay was not popular and poor attendances saw the club struggling financially. On 10 November 1951 speedway promoter Bruce Booth brought midget car racing to the Shay to boost funds. 15,000 spectators attended this one-off venture - 3 times higher that the average speedway gate.
On 31 March 1952, Booth announced the end of speedway 'while rates and taxation remains at the present levels'.
In November 1962 Middlesbrough
speedway promoter Reg Fearman saw the Shay for the first time, and in 1963 he made a formal application to Halifax Town for use of the ground to revive the sport. At the beginning of 1965 work began on constructing the ground and speedway returned. Second time around it proved successful, and remained here for the next twenty years. By the 1970s people valued it greater than football for family entertainment, with the Dukes producing such great riders as Eric Boocock
and the late, great Kenny Carter
. Attendances became regularly higher than those of the football club and the Shay often hosted speedway internationals.
In 1986, after disputes over money with Halifax Town AFC, speedway waved goodbye to the Shay for the last time and moved out of town to neighbouring Bradford
as the Bradford Dukes
.
Club, Halifax RLFC
sold their traditional home of Thrum Hall
, for £1.5 million to the retail chain Asda
(now part of the Wal-Mart
group) and moved their base to the Shay.
The club had been based at Thrum Hall since 1886, it had been there home for 112 years until the move to ground-share with local footballing neighbours, Halifax Town AFC.
There have been many top players for Halifax
over the years, including internationals, tourists and overseas stars. The leading 36 of these are featured in a "Hall of Fame" in the Weavers Bar at the Shay
Stadium.
During 2011 as a result of pitch renovation work at the Galpharm Stadium
in Huddersfield
, Huddersfield
will play three home fixtures of Super League XVI
at The Shay. http://www.giantsrl.com/news/article/532/key-information-ahead-of-shay
The North Stand was completed first (before the South Stand), which enabled Halifax Town to return to the Football League when it won the Conference
in 1998. The South Stand was completed within the next year. The stand is usually where away fans are housed. In recent times the stand hasn't been used as FC Halifax Town's opponents don't tend to bring a large following of supporters. For rugby league the stand is usually open. It is an all-stander stand.
South Stand
The South Stand is generally where the home fans stand. It used to be the away end until someone realised that it was the only part of the ground which had room for a bar. It is also an all-stander stand.
Skircoat Stand
The stand used to be half-seating half-standing but became all-seater in 1998.
The new East Stand 2010
The East Stand is now the main stand at the Shay.
In the past it has been the main problem at the Shay as when the Family Stand was demolished in 2000, construction on the new East Stand started but stopped when Halifax Town were relegated in 2002.
The stand remained in this state until late 2008 when Calderdale Council agreed to put money into completing the stand. The stand was redesigned by Sheffield
based architects Ward McHugh Associates prior to the commencement of works.
Main structural work on the stand was completed in December 2009, it then needed to go through safety checks and to be furnished inside.
28 March 2010; the new East Stand opened taking the overall ground capacity to over 10,000, as well as providing six executive boxes overlooking the pitch, which can accommodate up to 12 people per box and also new facilities as listed below.
The brand new East Stand, conference facilities and car park at Halifax's Shay Stadium place the venue back at the heart of Calderdale's sporting and community life.
There are 11 function rooms, ranging in size to accommodate every type of event, from one-to-one interviews to larger conferences, weddings and meetings for up to 350 guests.
There is also a 5-a-side pitch next to the southern turnstiles that can be hired.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
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...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
near Shaw Hill. FC Halifax Town
F.C. Halifax Town
Football Club Halifax Town, otherwise known as FC Halifax Town are an English football team who currently play in the Conference North. The club replaced Halifax Town A.F.C. who went into administration during the 2007–08 season.-Formation:...
(football) and Halifax
Halifax RLFC
Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Known as 'Fax', the official club colours are blue and white hoops, blue shorts and blue socks . They share The Shay stadium with football club FC Halifax Town...
(rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
) both play their home games at the Shay.
The stadium is owned by Calderdale
Calderdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...
Metropolitan Council after the football club sold it back in the 1980s in order to pay off a number of debts.
The lease however is now owned by the Shay Stadium Trust, a not-for-profit company set up to preserve the ground as a sports stadium.
The Shay lies on the south side of Halifax, about a quarter of a mile from the town centre. The four stands currently at the Shay are the North Stand, the new East Stand, (opened 27 March 2010) the South Stand and the Skircoat Stand. The North and South stands were built in the mid-1990s. The Skircoat Stand is the oldest remaining stand at the Shay.
Etymology
The name 'Shay' is derived from the old English word 'shawShaw (woodland)
A shaw is a strip of woodland usually between 5 and 15 metres wide.Shaws commonly form boundaries between fields or line a road. They are usually composed of natural woodland and often have diverse woodland ground vegetation similar to other natural woodlands in the area...
', which means a small wood, thicket or grove.
The two words are used interchangeably in ancient references to the property upon which the Shay
The Shay
The Shay is a multi-use sports stadium in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England near Shaw Hill. FC Halifax Town and Halifax both play their home games at the Shay....
Stadium was eventually constructed.
History
Earliest SourcesSuch references to the name Shay have been traced as far back as 1462, when on 6 July of that year a wealthy local man by the name of William Brodley recorded that upon his death, property belonging to him just west of Shaghe Lane should pass to his son, John Brodley.
At the time of the third year of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's reign (this means either 1511 or 1512), the Subsidy Roll
Subsidy roll
Subsidy Rolls are records of taxation in England made between the 12th and 17th centuries. They are often valuable sources of historical information....
(effectively the equivalent of our present income tax) had recorded William Brodley junior as being assessed on goods to the value of £20, and by 1545 the property was still in his possession.
This may seem a small sum today but it's worth noting that only five people locally were assessed at £20 (including the wealthy Vicar Haldesworth who was once robbed of £1,000), so it's fair to say that William Brodley was a man of influence and money.
Indeed, at this time, only one man was assessed at more than £20, and he was the wealthy merchant John Hardy who paid 44s tax on goods assessed at £66.
What this goes to prove is that the Shay Estate was one of the finest areas of 16th century Halifax.
Just when William Brodley died is not clear but we do know that the Shay descended to his daughter and heiress Grace Hely in 1580, and in turn to her husband John Booth in 1587. This was recorded in the Halifax Court Rolls as Booth becoming the owner of 'Shaw and Nether Shaw'.
At about this time, conservation of water and the maintenance of its purity were matters of extreme importance, and in 1588 John Booth arranged for a small dam to be constructed within the Shay Estate so as to provide enough water for his needs. This supply was later diverted away from the Shaw Syke in 1602 and within two years Booth surrendered ownership of 'Over and Nether Shaw' to the use of Simon Bynnes of Broadbottom.
As there are no records of subsequent owners after Bynnes, or of the houses they would have lived in, this gives us the opportunity to jump forward to the 18th century to introduce the name of perhaps the Shay's most noted owner - John Caygill.
John Caygil
John Caygill was a very important person amongst the people of Halifax. Certainly John Caygill contributed to Halifax's lasting heritage - as well as building the Shay mansion, he contributed to the erection of two other landmarks in the town. The first of these was the building of houses on a piece of land known as the Square, of which construction was finished around 1758. Designed by John Carr of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, they were grand buildings and some even became offices. In 1923 the Halifax Corporation purchased the land and the buildings were demolished in 1959.
John Caygill's second big achievement was in providing the land and a sum of £840 for the construction of the Piece Hall - a monument which still stands today as a tourist attraction.
The Ibbetson Family
John Caygill junior's only child, the aforementioned 'Jenny', became sole heiress to her father's estates, including the Shay. She would marry Sir James Ibbetson, Baronet of Leeds and Denton on 8 February 1768, and thus the ownership of the Shay Estate passed into the Ibbetson family. It is clear that the Ibbetson family did not live at the Shay - they did not need to, and so in the Halifax Journal of 18 April 1807, the mansion built by John Caygill was advertised for letting. The same advertisement in the Halifax Journal also gave details of the mansion itself. On the ground floor was a dining room 29 by and 13 ft (4 m), breakfast room, and parlour, housekeeper's room, butler's pantry, servants' hall, a large kitchen and gallery 'fitted with every modern improvement for cooking on the steam principle', a spacious passage 12 inch wide and 44 ft (13.4 m), an elegant staircase with a double flight of stone steps. There was a landing 13 ft (4 m) and a spacious gallery on the second floor, while the drawing room and the five 'lodging rooms' with dressing rooms adjoining, were on the same scale as the rooms below. The doors were of solid mahogany and it was evidently well fitted for its purposes.
It is interesting to note the addresses given to all the houses on the Shay Estate in the census returns. The Shay mansion's address is down as 'The Shay, Caygill's Walk' in two reports whilst addresses for the other houses are termed variably as The Shay, Shay Stable Yard, Shay Yard, Caygill's Walk and Shay Farm, though there is no doubt that they all refer to the same appropriate buildings, and are not new or separate ones. From the 1840s until 1903, there were six owners of the Shay Estate. William Boocock was the Shay mansion's last owner, though he only lived there for a few years up to 1903. By this time the Shay Estate was in the hands of the Halifax Corporation, and with the completion of the new Skircoat Road, the future of the Shay must have looked very much in doubt.
Redevelopment of the Shay Estate
Up until 1890 any traffic heading in the direction of Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
travelled along the main route which ran from the town centre along the bottom of the Shay, up Shaw Hill to Huddersfield Road. It was the idea of John Booth to develop the pleasant Caygill's Walk, which ran along the top of the Shay, into what is now the busy Skircoat Road. At the time his scheme came under heavy criticism from local people. This dramatic period in the Shay's history continued when, two years later, on 29 August 1891, Skircoat Road was opened for traffic for the first time. In 1903, with the Shay mansion no longer being used for residential purposes, the Corporation saw fit to demolish it.
From the time of the demolition of the mansion, what was left of the Shay Estate became the object of many schemes. On 9 November 1898, it was announced that a proposal had been put forward to run goods trains to the Shay Estate and build a goods depot there. On 31 May 1902 an agreement was made by the Midland Rail Company for the purchase of the estate, the company having sought powers to construct a loop line at Low Moor railway station
Low Moor railway station
Low Moor railway station was a station situated between Bradford Interchange and Halifax on the Caldervale Line, located close to Low Moor, an area to the south of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It also served the Spen Valley Line to Cleckheaton....
and to run a part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
line to Halifax. However, shortly after this, "owing to the present position of railways and the condition of the money market", there was no reasonable prospect of the proposed railway being constructed in the immediate future, and all plans were abandoned.
Work had actually been started on a tunnel to run under the newly constructed Skircoat Road, on the Well Head side of the road, and this tunnel is still in evidence today, though many people are unaware of its existence. The only purpose for which it was intended for use after this was as one of many air raid shelters in Halifax during the Second World War. Between 1908 and 1910 it was proposed to build a slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
on the Shay. There was, after all, a need for such a thing in the town, though strong criticism of this idea surfaced. How could the Shay Estate - once one of the most beautiful parts of Halifax - end up being the home of a slaughterhouse?
Many felt it was an insult, and the Corporation agreed - the plans were thankfully scrapped.
At one point after this it seemed that the Shay would be developed as playing fields for the people of Halifax, though despite being a nice idea it never materialised, and the Shay, now sadly just waste land, ended up a rubbish tip.
All former glories of the Shay Estate were completely wiped out, but even then further controversy raised its head when a fire took hold of the rubbish. During the First World War the Shay was used by the local Territorial Army
Territorial Army
The Territorial Army is the part time volunteer force of the British Army. With around 35,500 members, the TA forms about a quarter of the overall manpower strength of the British Army. TA members regularly volunteer to serve overseas on operations, either with TA units, or as individuals...
to practice trench digging. This was at one end of the Shay and amazingly, right up to 1984, evidence of this could be seen behind the visitors' end of the football ground.
The 'trenches' were only flattened in order to provide easy access to the speedway pits. Trench digging, then, was the last use of the Shay until 1920 when rumours started to circulate that the Shay could be transformed into a football ground. Even then, there was some criticism of the idea, but the board of Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
made an official approach to the Shay's owners, the Corporation, and it was accepted. The Shay was to take on a welcome new lease of life.
Football ground
At a public meeting on 9 July 1920, the then Halifax Town chairman Dr A. H. Muir stated: "Speaking from inside information I know that if, in February 1921, we can produce a ground that will meet league requirements, and if we can show financial backing that is worthy of a town this size, our position as members of the English League with all that means, is absolutely secure."
In that same speech Dr. Muir announced that the Town directors were to meet members of the Corporation's Improvements Committee with a view to the leasing of the Shay, so that they could prepare it in time for the 1921-22 season. Halifax Town, formed in 1911, had earlier played at Sandhall Lane and then Exley - a totally unsuitable venue. On Wednesday 4 August 1920, a recommendation was put to the committee which was passed and the Halifax Courier set up a fund to help get the Shay ready. Timber was delivered to the Shay for work to begin on Saturday 16 October 1920.
An appeal was made in the Courier that night for people to help on the following Monday. Fans, players and directors worked together to get the ground ready, and on 7 December the first grass sods were laid on the playing pitch. It was a successful venture.
In March 1921, Halifax Town were elected to the Football League, and along with clubs such as Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891)
Accrington Stanley was an English football club based in Accrington, Lancashire. Established in 1891, the club played in the Football League between 1921 and 1962, when the club became only the second ever to resign from the League mid-season. The club went into liquidation in 1966...
, Ashington
Ashington A.F.C.
Ashington A.F.C. is an English non-league football club from Ashington, Northumberland, currently playing in the Northern League Division One. The team, nicknamed "The Colliers", play their home matches at Woodhorn Lane....
, Durham City
Durham City A.F.C.
Durham City A.F.C. are an English football club that currently plays in the Northern Premier League Division One North. They are based in the city of Durham in North East England.-History:...
and Nelson
Nelson F.C.
Nelson F.C. are an English football club, based in Nelson, Lancashire. They are currently members of the North West Counties Football League Division One, who played their home matches at Victoria Park, Lomeshaye Way. They are full members of the Lancashire County Football Association.-Early years:...
, became founder members of the newly formed Division Three North. So the people of Halifax waited eagerly for League soccer. It arrived at the Shay on 3 September 1921 when Halifax Town, in front of 10,000 spectators, rose to the occasion and defeated a Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
side 5-0 (avenging a 2-0 defeat by the same club the previous Saturday). And thus the Shaymen
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
were born.
Whilst it would be fair to say that Halifax Town have never exactly set the football world alight, the Shay has been the scene of some historic matches, not least its very first Football League game on 3 September 1921. It's history now, of course, that Town defeated Darlington 5-0 in front of a crowd of over 10,000, although as Town slipped towards the bottom of the table during the course of the season, attendances fell also.
The record attendance for the Shay was 36,885 on 14 February 1953 in the 5th round of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
against Tottenham Hotspur. It's fair to say with confidence that the 36,885 figure that watched the Tottenham game will never be bettered. Though the Shay could once hold 40,000, safety measures dictate that it never will again. In fact, the capacity put on the Shay has reduced dramatically since the early '70s: in 1970 it was 38,000, 1972 it was 25,000, 1977 it was 23,000, 1979 it was 16,500.
The capacity stood at 16,500 until 1985 at which time the Popplewell Report into ground safety was released following the Valley Parade disaster in May of that year. All standing areas at the Shay were closed, and for a time, while it remained seating only, the new capacity was set at a pathetic 1,777. Safety work was subsequently carried out and the capacity raised to 3,600. When Halifax Town were paired up with Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup in January 1988, in an effort to keep the tie at the Shay, more work was carried out and the capacity was raised further to 4,021. An almost full house attended that Forest game - 4,012! When the council took over the Shay in 1987 it became part of Calderdale Leisure Services (CLS) and in July 1988 new plans were announced for the ground. A new stand was purchased from Scunthorpe United and other major ground improvements were being made.
Financial troubles
The financial troubles of Halifax Town, and the fate of the Shay Stadium, never became more serious than in 1986. On 27 October, then chairman John Madeley announced that the club was close to collapse.
Many people looked to Calderdale
Calderdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...
Council to help save the club.
It did, after all, still own the lease on the ground and any plans for the Shay from private companies would have to be given the council's go-ahead. However, on 17 November it rejected two plans to save the club. One proposal was from a London property firm wanting to build shops on the Shay. The other, involving the development of a sports complex, including a ground for the club, was turned down because of difficulties over the conditions demanded by the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
property firm behind the move. These 'difficulties' concerned the lease of the Shay. With the council unwilling to part with the lease, it came as no surprise when the Edinburgh firm pulled out of its bid to save the club. On 26 November, the Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
gave Halifax Town just six days to come up with proposals for paying the £76,000 tax debt.
The situation became so serious that Halifax Town manager Mick Jones
Mick Jones (footballer born 1947)
Michael "Mick" Jones is a former footballer and is a coach who is employed by Queens Park Rangers as assistant manager to Neil Warnock.-Playing career:...
resigned for a more secure position at Peterborough United. On 23 December, John Madeley announced he had signed an agreement with a property company which, he said, would safeguard soccer at the Shay until the end of the season. They were prepared to put money into the club, but wanted to move it out of the Shay so they could develop it after the season's close.
In February 1987 it came to light that this property company was a local firm, Marshall Construction of Elland
Elland
Elland is a market town in Calderdale, in the county of West Yorkshire, England, south of Halifax, by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The area of Elland was called Elant in the Domesday Book...
. They wanted to build a superstore for Gateway Foodmarkets on the Shay. On 4 March 1987, councillor Geoffrey Butler put forward a plan to split the Shay - one half as a soccer ground with the other to be developed. The scheme seemed exciting but like the plans of Marshall's and others, it was rejected by the council. Marshall's offered to build Halifax Town a 4,500 capacity stadium next to the nearby North Bridge Leisure Centre, though they still wanted to build a superstore on the Shay. On 18 March, the new plan was also rejected. Though many people in Halifax were not too bothered about the club's plight, soccer fans cried out to the council to make a positive move.
Council rescue
At a council meeting on Wednesday 8 April 1987, and it came completely out of the blue. It was a complete turnabout, but for some, a very welcome one. The council put forward their rescue plan - they would hand over £210,000 to the club, buy back the lease on the 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) Shay worth about £150,000, and take control of the club until the start of the following season (1987/88), sacking the current board in the process. All in all it meant that football was kept at the Shay and the club was suddenly on its soundest footing since formation in 1911.
Halifax Town were banned from training on the Shay in June 1987, it was proposed the following year that the Shay's name be changed to the 'Calderdale Sports Stadium'.
This was proposed in an effort to try to unite the people of Calderdale
Calderdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...
and show that the ground was intended for whole of Calderdale.
Todmorden
Todmorden
Todmorden is a market town and civil parish, located 17 miles from Manchester, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and has a total population of 14,941....
town councillor Grahame Fish proposed this, yet the many people were not happy to see one of Halifax's most famous names disappear. Letters of protest appeared in the local newspaper, and fans of Halifax Town drew up a petition to keep the Shay's name.
this was partially successful in that the name of the ground was officially changed to 'The Shay Calderdale Sports Stadium'.
2008 and New Developments
Although Halifax Town went into liquidation in the summer of 2008, newly formed FC Halifax Town replaced them 3 levels below Halifax Town's position when they dissolved. These days the Shay has quickly changed beyond recognition. The two new blocks of terracing at the north and south ends of the pitch have brought the once run-down stadium bang up to date. The Skircoat Stand has been turned into an all-seated affair and the East Stand, once completed, will take the stadium's capacity above 10,000 for the first time since the 1970s. The Shay is no longer just a football ground and is now home to not only FC Halifax Town, but also Halifax RLFC
Halifax RLFC
Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Known as 'Fax', the official club colours are blue and white hoops, blue shorts and blue socks . They share The Shay stadium with football club FC Halifax Town...
. They moved to the Shay in 1998 after their historic home at Thrum Hall
Thrum Hall
Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax RLFC.-Stadium:The site, measuring 55,000 square yards and included a cricket pitch, greyhound track and bowling greens...
had, like the Shay, fallen into a state of disrepair. Redevelopment has come at a cost, the majority of which has been provided through grants, but it also has to be mentioned that it wouldn't have been possible at all without the coming together of the town's two professional sporting clubs.
Speedway at the Shay Stadium
Halifax DukesPrior to the Shay, the Halifax Dukes
Halifax Dukes
The Halifax Dukes were a Speedway team which operated from 1949-1951 and again from 1965 until their closure in 1985 at The Shay Stadium in Halifax...
used a track at Thrum Hall
Thrum Hall
Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax RLFC.-Stadium:The site, measuring 55,000 square yards and included a cricket pitch, greyhound track and bowling greens...
, and on 8 February 1949 construction began on a new speedway track at the Shay.
This meant that the football pitch had to be reduced in size and each goalpost was moved three yards into the playing area so an agreement was reached by the speedway and soccer clubs whereby the Halifax Dukes had to pay the Halifax Town AFC 10% of all speedway gate receipts.
The first speedway meeting was held on Wednesday 6 April 1949, and the opponents were Yarmouth Bloaters. The track was officially opened by Major R. E. Austin, commanding officer of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment at Halifax.
Speedway at the Shay was not popular and poor attendances saw the club struggling financially. On 10 November 1951 speedway promoter Bruce Booth brought midget car racing to the Shay to boost funds. 15,000 spectators attended this one-off venture - 3 times higher that the average speedway gate.
On 31 March 1952, Booth announced the end of speedway 'while rates and taxation remains at the present levels'.
In November 1962 Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
speedway promoter Reg Fearman saw the Shay for the first time, and in 1963 he made a formal application to Halifax Town for use of the ground to revive the sport. At the beginning of 1965 work began on constructing the ground and speedway returned. Second time around it proved successful, and remained here for the next twenty years. By the 1970s people valued it greater than football for family entertainment, with the Dukes producing such great riders as Eric Boocock
Eric Boocock
Eric Boocock is a former Speedway rider who appeared in three Speedway World Championship finals.-Career:...
and the late, great Kenny Carter
Kenny Carter
Kenneth 'Kenny' Malcolm Carter , was a world class speedway rider. He rode for Newcastle Diamonds , Halifax Dukes and Bradford Dukes ....
. Attendances became regularly higher than those of the football club and the Shay often hosted speedway internationals.
In 1986, after disputes over money with Halifax Town AFC, speedway waved goodbye to the Shay for the last time and moved out of town to neighbouring Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
as the Bradford Dukes
Bradford Dukes
The Bradford Dukes were a British motorcycle speedway team which operated from the Odsal Stadium in Bradford from 1986 until their closure in 1997.-History:...
.
Rugby League at the Shay Stadium
In 1998, The town's famous Rugby LeagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
Club, Halifax RLFC
Halifax RLFC
Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Known as 'Fax', the official club colours are blue and white hoops, blue shorts and blue socks . They share The Shay stadium with football club FC Halifax Town...
sold their traditional home of Thrum Hall
Thrum Hall
Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax RLFC.-Stadium:The site, measuring 55,000 square yards and included a cricket pitch, greyhound track and bowling greens...
, for £1.5 million to the retail chain Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
(now part of the Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
group) and moved their base to the Shay.
The club had been based at Thrum Hall since 1886, it had been there home for 112 years until the move to ground-share with local footballing neighbours, Halifax Town AFC.
There have been many top players for Halifax
Halifax RLFC
Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Known as 'Fax', the official club colours are blue and white hoops, blue shorts and blue socks . They share The Shay stadium with football club FC Halifax Town...
over the years, including internationals, tourists and overseas stars. The leading 36 of these are featured in a "Hall of Fame" in the Weavers Bar at the Shay
The Shay
The Shay is a multi-use sports stadium in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England near Shaw Hill. FC Halifax Town and Halifax both play their home games at the Shay....
Stadium.
During 2011 as a result of pitch renovation work at the Galpharm Stadium
Galpharm Stadium
The Galpharm Stadium, formerly the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, is a multi-use sports in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town and Super League side, Huddersfield Giants.-The Stadium:...
in Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, Huddersfield
Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire who play in the European Super League competition. They play their home games at the Galpharm Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C....
will play three home fixtures of Super League XVI
Super League XVI
The 2011 Super League season was the sixteenth season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996...
at The Shay. http://www.giantsrl.com/news/article/532/key-information-ahead-of-shay
Structure
North StandThe North Stand was completed first (before the South Stand), which enabled Halifax Town to return to the Football League when it won the Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
in 1998. The South Stand was completed within the next year. The stand is usually where away fans are housed. In recent times the stand hasn't been used as FC Halifax Town's opponents don't tend to bring a large following of supporters. For rugby league the stand is usually open. It is an all-stander stand.
South Stand
The South Stand is generally where the home fans stand. It used to be the away end until someone realised that it was the only part of the ground which had room for a bar. It is also an all-stander stand.
Skircoat Stand
The new East Stand 2010
The East Stand is now the main stand at the Shay.
In the past it has been the main problem at the Shay as when the Family Stand was demolished in 2000, construction on the new East Stand started but stopped when Halifax Town were relegated in 2002.
The stand remained in this state until late 2008 when Calderdale Council agreed to put money into completing the stand. The stand was redesigned by Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
based architects Ward McHugh Associates prior to the commencement of works.
Main structural work on the stand was completed in December 2009, it then needed to go through safety checks and to be furnished inside.
28 March 2010; the new East Stand opened taking the overall ground capacity to over 10,000, as well as providing six executive boxes overlooking the pitch, which can accommodate up to 12 people per box and also new facilities as listed below.
Facilities
The East Stand will house new shops for the local football and rugby teams, as well as new home and away changing rooms, a physio room and new food and beverage kiosks for fans.The brand new East Stand, conference facilities and car park at Halifax's Shay Stadium place the venue back at the heart of Calderdale's sporting and community life.
There are 11 function rooms, ranging in size to accommodate every type of event, from one-to-one interviews to larger conferences, weddings and meetings for up to 350 guests.
There is also a 5-a-side pitch next to the southern turnstiles that can be hired.