The Bronte Parsonage Museum, Haworth, West Yorkshire
The Bronte Parsonage Museum in the village of Haworth, West Yorkshire, was formerly the home of the Bronte family and is now an excellent museum dedicated to the lives and works of this world-renowned literary family. The three sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne all wrote highly acclaimed novels including Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, a truly remarkable feat at the time when a literary work by a woman would not have been considered for publication.
The Bronte Parsonage Museum is a small museum which relies entirely on funds from charity and admissions to keep going. It has been thoughtfully planned, is efficiently run and very informative. The visit begins with the opportunity to visit the rooms in the house where the family lived - the father's study, the dining room, kitchen, bedrooms, study and servant's room. Much of the original furniture and items belonging to the family have been carefully preserved and are on show for all to see, including drawings of Emily's beloved dogs, tiny handwritten books, dresses the girls wore and even the sofa on which Emily Bronte died.
The exhibition room tells the history of the Bronte family and shows the family tree. There is a great deal of interesting information about the family members such as the fact that Mr Bronte changed his name to Bronte and that he outlived all of his family living to the grand age of 84, sadly having lost his wife and all of his children. Three of the children died in childhood with Charlotte surviving the longest but tragically eventually dying due to exhaustion from pregnancy.
Downstairs there is an interesting section dealing with several myths relating to the Bronte family. The shop at the end is full of Bronte novels and other items related to the Brontes.
Whether you are a Bronte fan or just interested to know where they lived and why they are famous, then this museum will be of interest to you. The visit can be combined with a wander through the quaint village of Haworth where there is a good choice of pubs and cafes.
For information on prices and opening times see www.bronte.info.
This entry was posted on Tuesday August 12th, 2008 at 8:53 PM and is filed under Places to Visit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.
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