Calverley Old Hall: A Minecraft Mission
In the summer of 2024, in collaboration with Computer Xplorers, we welcomed 40 local children aged 7-12 to Calverley Old Hall to explore the building, then try their hand at building Calverley Old Hall in the popular computer game ‘Minecraft’. The children learned about the traditional materials, skills and techniques used to build a medieval manor house in real life, then discovered the difficulties of re-producing this complex building in the digital world.
Minecraft is a game which encourages creativity, with players having the ability to build almost anything they would like within an online ‘world’ using simple square blocks of material like sandstone, brick or even lava! The game facilitates learning through experimentation, teaching children about simple building techniques, and the types of materials that might have been used to build a historic building like Calverley Old Hall.
Creating the roof of the building in Minecraft
The aim of our workshops was to teach children more about how Calverley Old Hall was built, and to allow them to expand their computer skills at the same time. Each day started with a short tour of part of the building, where the children could explore different rooms and learn more about how each section was built. The children then worked as a team to create their own version of Calverley Old Hall, using what they had learned on the tour and having fun imagining the interiors in parts of the building they had not explored.
Children learning more about the Painted Chamber
By the end of the week we had created four fantastic models of Calverley Old Hall, each a unique and creative representation of the building.
Take a look at some of the creations below, and explore the models yourself by watching a walkthrough tour.
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The Solar Block
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The Painted Chamber
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The Great Hall
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The Chapel
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The Community Space
