Haworth: Visit Bronte Country
Home of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte
History of Haworth Parsonage
Haworth Parsonage was built in 1778-9, and became home to the Bronte family in 1820 when Patrick Bronte was appointed curate of the village church – the Parsonage was provided rent free as long as Patrick was alive. In the end, he outlived the rest of his family, and so the house remained the home of the Brontes until his death in 1861.
In the years between 1820 and the arrival of the new occupant in 1861, Haworth Parsonage saw the production of some of the greatest works in English literature by one of its most talented families. All four of the Bronte children who survived past childhood – Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell – were writers, although the latter’s problems with drink, drugs and unsuccessful relationships meant that he never really lived up to his potential and was eclipsed by the success of his sisters.
Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights
The first Bronte publication came in 1846, when the three sisters financed the publication of a selection of their poetry with part their Aunt Branwell’s inheritance. A print run of 1000 copies was produced, but despite favourable reviews, only two copies were sold. Undeterred, the sisters turned their hand to novel-writing, a move that soon paid off with the publication of Jane Eyre, by Charlotte, and a double volume containing Emily’s Wuthering Heights and Anne’s Agnes Grey, all in 1847. More success followed, with Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall appearing in 1848.
Early Deaths of Anne and Emily
However, the Parsonage was soon to see great unhappiness, as three of the four siblings died from tuberculosis within 9 months of each other, beginning with Branwell in September 1848. He and Emily are both buried in the churchyard which adjoins the Parsonage, and in the house itself you can still see the sofa upon which Emily is thought to have died. Anne, the last of the three to die, is buried in Scarborough, where she died during a trip that she hoped would improve her health.
Charlotte's Later Life
Charlotte continued to write and live in the Parsonage with her father, and when she married, her husband, Arthur Bell Nichols, moved in as well. Charlotte’s room can be viewed at the Parsonage, along with four dresses which are thought to have been hers and which reveal her tiny stature – the size of the dresses suggests she was below five feet in height. Charlotte eventually died here in 1855, in the early stages of pregnancy.
Haworth & The Bronte Society
The Parsonage was purchased by The Bronte Society in 1928, and has remained as a museum to the Bronte’s memory ever since. Many of the rooms have been painstakingly restored, and seem little altered from the days of their famous occupants: the dining room, the bedrooms, Mr Bronte’s study – all can be seen much as the Brontes themselves would have seen them.
Haworth itself is a charming village, with a steep cobbled street lined with bookshops and the inevitable Bronte-themed tearooms. Nestled into the atmospheric Yorkshire Moors, this is an unmissable day out for any Bronte enthusiast. Full details at The Bronte Society website.
