The Brontë sisters go to Kirklees

As we had been anticipating, the Brontë sisters have been to Kirklees today as Leeds Today reports:

Actors in period costume helped launch a new campaign to grab a slice of the millions of pounds generated each year by Brontë fans who visit Yorkshire.
Shirley Country is a concerted effort by tourism bosses in Kirklees to wrestle the Brontë crown away from Haworth.They have come up with a map, listing more than a dozen houses and other locations, all of which are steeped in Brontë history.Yesterday actress Tania Gillmartin (playing Charlotte Brontë), Brigid Harbour (as childhood friend Ellen Nussey) and Julie O'Connell (as friend Mary Taylor) arrived by horse-drawn carriage at Oakwell Hall, Birstall, which was the inspiration for Fieldhead in Charlotte Brontë's novel Shirley. Helen Rowe, tourism officer in Kirklees, said: "By using the map and the information in the guide, visitors can create their own literary trail."Some 20,000 copies of the guide have been produced for distribution across Yorkshire. Locations featured include Red House, Gomersal; Gomersal Park Hotel; St Peter's Church, Birstall; and Dewsbury Minster.

Richard Wilcocks, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette and the Brontë Parsonage Blog, was there and has posted several pictures of this event as well as a lengthy description of it all.

Picture courtesy of Richard Wilcocks himself.

Categories: Shirley, Brontëana