Oakwell Hall

This Elizabethan manor house was built in 1583; this date is carved in the wall above the porch doorway, along with the initials of owner John Batt. The hall replaced an earlier timber dwelling. Featured Charlotte Brontë’s Fieldhead as the home of the eponymous heroine in her novel Shirley. Oakwell has a central hall with cross wings at each end. The porch leads into a cross passage which runs right through the building. With a few later alterations, the hall is essentially the same as it was in the 17th century. The hall is administered by Kirklees Council and is open to the public. The notes accompanying each photograph are from a series of lectures first given to the Hebden Bridge Literary & Scientific Society by Mr. George Hepworth around 1916.