Batley, Birstall and Dewsbury are renowned for their history and textile heritage with the valley’s woollen industry still in evidence today. Red House Museum in Gomersal and the splendid Elizabethan manor at Oakwell Hall in Birstall pay homage to the valley's strong Brontë links and Charlotte Brontë’s novel Shirley was set in the area.
Batley remained a small village until the late 19th century when it rapidly expanded with the development of the textile trade. Now it is home to many architecturally wonderful buildings, many from the Victorian era. Find time to visit Bagshaw Museum, and travel the world with exhibitions from Ancient Egypt, to Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Shop to your heart’s content along The Yorkshire Mill Mile between Batley and Dewsbury. Beautifully restored mills and buildings are home to a huge range of quality home furnishings and discounted designer goods.
At the turn of the 19th century Dewsbury was associated with the Luddites and their campaign against increasing mechanisation in the mills. Now it is home to stunning architecture, Yorkshire’s largest open market and Dewsbury Museum. Re-visit your childhood and experience the magic of a child’s eye view of history at the museum.
Joseph Priestley, who is credited with the discovery of oxygen in 1774, was born at Fieldhead in Birstall, Batley, and is commemorated with a statue on the cobbled square in Birstall.