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Old meets new: Film equipment at Oakwell

Emily Brontė's torrid novel based on the storm-blasted moors above Haworth was re-made for television and even the big screen many times, but this production may well have had an extra touch of authenticity, filmed as it was on location across West Yorkshire - including East Riddlesden Hall in Keighley and on the bleak Yorkshire moorland. But staff at Oakwell were so committed to making sure the Hall was the true star that they closed its doors to visitors for a whole month in July 2008 so it could be transformed into the spooky interior of the legendary Wuthering Heights. That included redressing rooms and adding props and atmospheric lighting. A year later, the drama was finally about to appear on our TV screens.

Setting the scene in the Great Hall

It was a big change for staff at the Hall who were more used to hordes of tourists rather than technicians and even the occasional star. Deborah Marsland, Kirklees Museums Operations Manager, explained: "Oakwell has always been popular as a historic film location but this was by far the biggest production the site has been involved in. It was very exciting having the film crew here and it will be interesting to see how much of Oakwell Hall we can recognise. Many of the museum's historic items of furniture, ornaments, paintings and wall hangings had to be removed into safekeeping to allow the crew to prepare their sets."

Tom Hardy: 21st century Heathcliff

Joanne Catlow, Museums and Galleries Education Manager, even had to spend an evening sitting in a 'set' in Oakwell's Great Hall. The windows were blacked out and there was a coffin sitting in the middle of the room. "It was very spooky," she commented drily.

To celebrate Oakwell's starring role in this new production of Wuthering Heights, a new exhibition was launched at the Hall in September 2009, featuring items connected to the filming at the museum as well as memorabilia from other Wuthering Heights-related productions and books.