Halifax is not mentioned in the Domesday
Book, and evidence of the early settlement of the town is sketchy.
However, by the 12th century the township had become the religious centre of
the vast parish of Halifax, which extended from Brighouse in the east to
Heptonstall in the west. Halifax Minster, parts of which go back to the 12th
century, has always been dedicated to St John the Baptist. The Minster's first
organist, in 1766, was William Herschel, who went on to discover the planet
Uranus. The coat of arms of Halifax includes the chequers from the original
coat of
