A warm welcome is key to The Piece Hall’s success

Column by The Piece Hall Trust:

With five million visitors through the doors it’s been a busy two years for the whole Piece Hall team.

But particularly those working in the Welcome Centre – which is often the first port of call for visitors.

Aptly named Lucy Tallent is visitor services manager and heads up the team of five who have a breadth of responsibility for the building, from handing out visitor maps and signposting guests to the heritage spaces, shops and restaurants to selling tickets for Piece Hall events, meeting and greeting tour and school groups and sorting through lost property.

“We like to ensure that everyone receives a warm welcome to The Piece Hall,” says Lucy. “Every day is varied when working in the Welcome Centre, and we have the privilege of meeting some incredible people from all over the world.

“Recently we have welcomed guests from as far and wide as Peru, Panama and Australia, and they have all been completely wowed by the building.”

It’s not just the international visitors that have been an integral part of The Piece Hall’s success.

The local community in and around Halifax have embraced the venture with open arms, and Lucy is inundated with stories about The Piece Hall of the past.

“It is lovely that so many local people still visit us regularly, and our team in particular get to hear guests talk about their fond memories of The Piece Hall.

“The community are such an important part of our history and our future, so it’s vital to us that they feel like this is a place that they can keep coming back to and experience something new as well as enjoying the heritage.”

The hard work continues right through the year for the Welcome Centre team.

This year they have assisted with the distribution of more than 16,000 tickets for the events programme including June’s “Big Gig Weekend”, which saw four days of live music featuring Embrace, Elbow, Levellers and Mac DeMarco grace the courtyard, and September’s “FierS à Cheval”.

October will offer the team some respite before they get back to it for a busy winter season, which will see the popular Salon Perdu (formerly known as the Spiegeltent) return to the courtyard with an array of cabaret, comedy, music and festive fun.

“It’s been a super busy year for all of us, but we’re already chomping at the bit to get set up for Christmas and welcome visitors to what will be a really unique festive experience.

“When no two days are the same and you work in such a great team, it’s a real pleasure to come into work every day.

“And it always feels like a privilege to work in this beautiful building!”

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