The Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth

Back in June I spent just under a week in Haworth in West Yorkshire because visiting the Brontë Parsonage Museum has been on my bucket list for a great many years. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is one of my favourite novels and I wanted to follow in the footsteps of her and her siblings.

The Brontë Society bought the parsonage in 1928 to be used as a museum but Brontëmania had long held a grip on the nation and the world. Even before the last of the Brontë siblings had died (Charlotte in 1855) people were clamouring to visit Haworth – some even bribed residents to have Charlotte pointed out to them while she attended church. After Patrick Brontë, their father, died in 1861 the contents of the house was sold off, moved or gifted to friends. The Parsonage now houses the world’s largest collection of Brontë memorabilia.

The museum is a real treasure trove if you’re a Brontë fan. I first read Jane Eyre when I was 9 (I was, and still am, an avid reader) so Charlotte has been my favourite for a long time though of course I have read all her sisters’ novels. (Controversial opinion, I don’t actually like Wuthering Heights all that much). Some of my favourite items included this cabinet piano which was played by Emily and Anne:

This table might not look all that impressive but it has a place in what I consider one of the saddest tales in English literature. Emily, Anne and Charlotte would walk around this table discussing the novels and poems they were working on and read extracts aloud. Once Emily and Anne had died in rapid succession Charlotte would continue the tradition, walking alone around this table and reading her work aloud to herself. Heartbreaking.

A slightly cheerier piece on display is this outfit which Charlotte wore to meet her favourite author, William Makepeace Thackeray.

They also have Charlotte’s writing desk on display which includes a note from the Mayor and Mayoress of Oxford requesting her attendance at an evening reception in 1854.

Lest you think I’m ignoring the others, this is Emily’s artist box. The whole family were quite good artists and in fact I bought copies of some of Charlotte’s paintings of flowers from the Parsonage shop.

And these are pebbles that Anne collected from Scarborough, her favourite place. In fact she is the only Brontë sibling not buried in Haworth but in Scarborough where she died not long after Emily, having gone there to try and improve in the sea air. Charlotte made the decision that their father couldn’t cope with burying yet another child so soon and arranged and attended the funeral herself.

I thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the museum and I think there’s a lot to be got out of it even if you aren’t particularly a Brontë fan.

The Practicalities:

Opening times (as of writing) are Wednesday-Monday 10am-5pm. You can enter at any time with your ticket (bought in advance online or at the museum shop next to the Parsonage entrance) and the ticket gives you unlimited entry for 12 months. It was £13 for an adult ticket.

The museum is self-guided but the rooms are numbered so it makes sense to go around in order. Note the museum is quite small in places so the staff do ask you to wait outside at busy periods in the gardens to let the crowds in front of you die down a little.

The museum is at the top of Main Street and to the left, clearly signposted. I was staying on Main Street but if you’re just visiting for the day there are regular buses from Keighley (how I got to Haworth) and Hebden Bridge and there are several pay and display car parks nearby, one just next to the Parsonage but run by the Council, not the museum.