Free learning resources from arts, cultural and heritage organisations.

Teachers' Notes

Resource created by Kirklees Museums and Galleries

This resource explores the history of Oakwell Hall and its surrounding area, showing how the site and the people connected to it changed from the Norman Conquest to the present day. It traces the development of Oakwell from a medieval farming settlement to an Elizabethan manor, shaped by the rise of the Batt family, national events such as the English Civil Wars, and later colonial expansion. The story follows Oakwell’s transformation into a Victorian school, its links to Charlotte Brontë, and its later use in film and television, before becoming a museum. Together, these changes show how local life at Oakwell Hall reflected wider developments in English society, including social mobility, education, industrial change, and heritage preservation.

Curriculum links: KS2 History: “a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066”, “a local history study”. KS3 History: “the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509–1745”. 

Context: 

Oakwell Hall is a historic house in Kirklees with a long history that connects local life to national events. Over centuries, Oakwell and the families who lived there were shaped by major changes in Britain, including shifts in religion, war, industry, and education. 

The Batts were the owners and residents of Oakwell Hall from the 1500s to the early 1700s. Like other wealthy families of the period, their status was connected to land ownership, local power, and national politics. Some of the family’s wealth was linked to colonial expansion and Britain’s involvement in slavery. 

In the English Civil Wars, communities across England were divided between Royalists and Parliamentarians, and local families could be drawn into national conflict. Later, during the Industrial Revolution, the landscape and economy of West Yorkshire changed rapidly, and Oakwell became part of a region shaped by textile production and protest. 

In the 1800s, Oakwell became a school, linking to Victorian reforms in education. Charlotte Brontë later immortalised Oakwell Hall in Shirley against the backdrop of the Luddite uprisings. Today, preserved as a museum, Oakwell Hall continues to connect local heritage to national history. 

Learning objectives: 

  • Identify key facts about the history of Oakwell Hall 
  • Describe how life at Oakwell Hall changed over time 
  • Explain how the story of Oakwell Hall both reflected and contributed to broader national events and trends, including the Norman Conquest, Elizabethan exploration, the English Civil Wars, colonial expansion, Victorian education, and the Industrial Revolution 

Discussion and Activity Ideas: 

  • Literacy: Write a creative piece set in or inspired by Oakwell Hall. Use Charlotte Brontë’s style and descriptions in Shirley to help you capture the atmosphere, characters, or events of the Hall.
  • Reading: As a class, read Treason by Berlie Doherty.
  • Disciplinary Skills: Examine OS maps of the land around Oakwell Hall. Describe how land use has changed over time, focusing on rural, residential, and leisure areas.
  • Art: Create a stitched artwork inspired by Oakwell Hall. Look closely at shapes, patterns, and details such as stone windows, wooden beams, gardens, and the plants and animals found in the grounds, then design a simple image or pattern based on what you see.

Heritage is…

  • British Values: Should we celebrate local families like the Batts if we are aware of their links to slavery? How can learning about this history help us think about fairness, respect, and justice today?
  • EDI: What challenges might women like Henrietta Batt have faced in running an estate in the 1700s? How might her experience be different today?
  • Careers: Oakwell Hall is now a museum. What skills do people working in heritage and museums need to care for historic buildings and share stories with the public?

Glossary: 

  • Archaeologist – A person who studies the past by examining old buildings, objects, and remains.
  • Batt family – The owners and residents of Oakwell Hall from the 1500s to the early 1700s.
  • Caryatid – A carved female figure used like a column to support part of a building.
  • Endowment – Money set aside to support something such as a school or charity.
  • Estate – All the land and property owned by one person or family.
  • Gentry – Wealthy families who owned land but were not nobles or lords.
  • Inquisition – An official investigation into someone’s actions or property, often to settle legal disputes.
  • Inventory – A detailed list of everything owned in a house or estate.
  • Manor – A large house and the land around it, often owned by one important family.
  • Medieval – Describes the period in history from about the year 500 to 1500.
  • Parliamentarian – Someone who fought for Parliament against the King in the English Civil Wars.
  • Rector – A parish priest, or sometimes the home of a parish priest.
  • Royalist – Someone who supported the King in the English Civil Wars.