Oakwell Hall
| Oakwell Hall | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Type | Manor house |
| Architectural style | Elizabethan |
| Location | Nutter Lane, Birstall, Batley, West Yorkshire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°44′22″N 1°40′15″W / 53.73944°N 1.67083°WCoordinates: 53°44′22″N 1°40′15″W / 53.73944°N 1.67083°W (grid reference SE2127) |
| Owner | Kirklees Council |
| Grounds | 110 acres (0.45 km2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Main contractor | John Batt |
| Designations | Grade I listed |
| Website | |
| Oakwell Hall | |
Oakwell Hall is an Elizabethan manor house in the village of Birstall, West Yorkshire, England. The Grade I listed hall is set in period gardens surrounded by 110 acres (0.45 km2) of country park.
The builder was John Batt. A recarved stone dated 1583 probably indicates the date of construction. The estate had been purchased by his Halifax-born father, a receiver of rents to the Savile family, who resided at Howley Hall, in Batley.
Oakwell Hall was immortalised in literature as "Fieldhead" by Charlotte Brontë, in her novel Shirley.
John Batt built the hall after the estate had been purchased by his Halifax-born father, a receiver of rents for the Savile family, who resided at Howley Hall, in Batley. The gritstone hall was built to a post-medieval plan with a central hall flanked by crosswings. Its entrance is through a porch and screens passage at the lower end of the house. A recarved stone dated 1583 probably indicates the date of construction.
Oakwell Hall passed into municipal hands in 1928 and is owned by Kirklees Cultural Services, and managed by volunteers from the Friends of Oakwell Hall. The interiors were restored to early-17th-century condition, the time the Batt family lived here, with the aid of an inventory of 1611. During restoration the original painted panelling of the great parlour and the painted chamber was revealed from under layers of varnish and paint.
The imposing Great Hall originally had two storeys but, in the mid-17th century, John Batt's grandson removed the ceiling and inserted a gallery and a large mullioned and transomed window. It was the main thoroughfare for the house linking the wings and hub of domestic life. It was a reception room for visitors, tenants and businessmen and large gatherings. It is sparsely furnished and uncluttered. The table is placed at one end of the room as it would have been towards the end of the 17th century, rather than in its earlier position in the centre. The size of the room is intended to impress visitors.
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Wikipedia