Brontë Society Gazette

The Brontë Society Gazette is now out. Though the news belongs in May 2005, the Gazette reports in detail the discovery of Rose Ann's Heslip's grave. Discovered by Imelda Marsden in the cemetery at Whitechapel Church, Cleckheaton. Rose Ann was cousin to the famous Brontës, having been born to Sarah Brontë - Patrick Brontë's only sister to get married. She moved to England from Ireland to look after her ill daughter Emily. After Emily died Rose Ann remained in England looking after her grandchildren and keeping house for her son-in-law and living to the remarkable age of 93.

Imelda Marsden tells the story of how

A Dr William Wright wrote an article entitled The Brontës in Ireland in McClures Magazine, extracts from which were published in the Bradford Daily Telegraph. Rose Ann read them and was very displeased, thinking that certain parts were deeply insulting to her family, so she sent her son-in-law down to London to seek out the author. This led to a newspaper interview with Rose Ann who until then was quite unknown. Dr Wright visited her at home, where she told him what she thought of his writings about her family in no uncertain terms. He then changed what he had written in the second edition of his book.

Unfortunately there's no record of Rose Ann or her mother Sarah Brontë ever meeting their cousins. Imelda Marsden says that

Rose Ann visited Haworth for the first time on 4th November 1893 through the kindness of Dr Wright. Haworth church was open for the party to look around. The church warden commented to the family on the likeness of Rose Ann to Charlotte Brontë, her cousin. She was taken to the Black Bull where like so many visitors she sat in the chair in which her cousin Branwell Brontë used to sit. There was no evidence that she visited the Parsonage.

Indeed there are few accounts of Patrick and a couple of his brothers having seen each other after Patrick settled in England. Whether he kept in touch with his Irish family by post is not known. Some biographers have suggested that he returned to Ireland once but there's no reliable record of that.

The Gazette also includes reports from the commemorative services for Charlotte in the 150th anniversary of her death that took place both in Haworth church and Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey in London. It also features a very interesting reply by the Parsonage curator to a letter from a member disappointed by the actual decoration of the Parsonage Dining Room. We always appreciate to get insight on the whys and wherefores of the displayed items.

For more info - go and join the Brontë Society! You'll be supporting a worthy cause.

Categories: Journals, Brontëana