Halifax Bank or Building Society

By Christmas that year, the Halifax Permanent Benefit Building Society was formally established.

Rules were drawn up, and a chairman, trustees and directors appointed. Office space was rented in the Old Market, and an announcement placed in the Halifax Guardian.

Amongst the founding fathers were John Fisher, a local bank manager; J.D.Taylor, a solicitor’s clerk; and Esau Hanson, a textile manufacturer. All three played a pivotal role in the Society's early history. Fisher was elected President, and Taylor named Secretary (a position he was to hold for nearly 50 years). Then, on 26th May 1853, Hanson became the very first person to be granted a mortgage by the Halifax. He borrowed £121 to buy land on St. John’s Lane. Coincidentally, this land now forms part of the Halifax’s head office site on Trinity Road.

First Halifax mortgage (detail) granted to Esau Hanson, May 1853.

The First Fifty Years

Business was brisk from the start. People queued at the Society’s office each Friday night, eager to join the new venture. By pledging themselves to its rules and paying regular subscriptions, investors and borrowers alike became members. Those unable to make regular payments could still save their cash, but as depositors rather than members; they would simply lodge ad hoc sums, as and when they could.

Within a year, the Society had 584 members, and a further 144 depositors. More than £9, 000 had been lent, with another £2, 000 agreed for homes being built.