Set in the picturesque village of Haworth against the stunning landscape of the Yorkshire moors, Haworth Parsonage was the home of the Brontë family from 1820 to 1861 and the place where Charlotte, Emily and Anne wrote their great novels. Now the Brontë Parsonage Museum, it houses the world’s largest collection of Brontë furniture, clothes and personal possessions and offers an inspirational and evocative experience for people of all ages. The historic location features in 2022 feature film The Railway Children Return and Sally Wainwright’s BBC Drama about the Brontë family, To Walk Invisible.
Items on display include letters, notebooks and household artefacts. Visitors are always fascinated to see how tiny the sisters’ handwriting was, with the ‘Little Books’ being a favourite exhibit for many. The Brontë family dining table, which was sold by auction following Patrick Brontë’s death in 1861, returned to the Parsonage recently thanks to a generous award from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. It is the table where Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall were written and where the Brontë sisters shared their work with each other. A real writer’s table, it bears ink stains and candle burns and, as one of the most important literary artefacts of the 19th century, is a must see for anyone interested in the Brontës and their work.
Personal items on display include Emily’s paint box, Charlotte’s sewing box, pebbles collected by Anne, a comb used by Emily and the bonnet worn by Charlotte on her wedding day.
