More on Brontës Inc.

The Brontë Society initiative of demanding some kind of retribution from so many brands and business using Brontë's name is generating some press agitation:

The Independent says:

But now the cash-strapped Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, has decided that it too should be entitled to some of the money being made from the business of trading in the family's name.

To that end, Richard Wilcocks, the chairman of the Brontë Society, has written to three dozen companies trading under the title to seek support for the running of the house where the family lived.

In the letter, which will be landing on desks from Dublin to Bristol this week, he explains the origins of the surname which is now known worldwide through the novels of Emily, Charlotte and Anne.

The Rev Patrick Brontë adopted the more impressive surname, complete with the diaeresis ­ two dots on the final "e" ­ to replace Brunty, the version he had grown up with, when he was at Cambridge. And although ­ without the dots ­ it is also the name of a town in Sicily and the Italian word for thunder, Mr Wilcocks suggests that most companies use it "because it confers a certain prestige upon you, associating you in the public's imagination with the Brontë family". He is " inviting" them to make a donation towards maintaining the built memorial to their namesake.

He said yesterday: "This is not a name and shame exercise, neither is it an 'I accuse' type of letter. But it could be to our mutual benefit. The Parsonage Museum is expensive to run. It's quite large, we've got priceless artefacts and we don't receive any direct government funding." (...)

It costs £562,000 to run the museum, but it suffered an operating shortfall of £100,000 last year, solved only by eating into its reserves. Alan Bentley, its director, said he did not believe that any one factor was to blame for the decline, although the value of sterling, the price of parking in the village and the weather may all have played a part. The museum needed to increase income to be able to carry on running the institution with its programme of educational and cultural events designed to introduce new readers to the works of the Brontë sisters, he said. (Louise Jury)

Richard Wilcocks in The Telegraph & Argus gives more details:

Last year about 70,000 people visited the museum, a fall of about 10,000 on the year before. It resulted in a loss on the year of about £100,000, about £26,000 of which was rescued from the financial reserves.
"We are all right for the next few years but it is debatable how long we can go on dipping into the reserves," said Mr Wilcocks.
"People are worried and we don't want the reserves to become dangerously depleted. We are not there at the moment but there is a steady drip, drip."
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He believes the companies that use the name Bronte, and gain prestige from it, should be prepared to help. "I'm not naming and shaming. I do not wish to reveal publicly the people I have written to. Very few companies have been in touch and even less have given us anything by way of sponsorship or financial help. (...)
He tells the company bosses: "I am inviting you to make a donation, which would be gratefully received and publicly acknowledged. Your company could sponsor an appropriate artefact, a special event, an exhibition or a children's workshop."

Several companies that use Brontë's name seem interested in the idea:

There are at least 27 companies in the Bradford area which use the name Bronte, ranging from one-person outfits to larger employers. Ian Cowling, boss of Old Bear Brewery in Keighley, whose latest brew is Duke of Bronte ale, was one of the first to pledge to help. He said: "We actively used the name because of what it represents and we feel that both products complement each other. If we get sales revenue by using the name, it's only fair that we should try to help and we will."
Ken Jackson, who runs Bronte Care Services in Cullingworth, said he had chosen the name because his company worked in Bronte country. "If we can support the Bronte Society in any way we will in relation to the size of our company," he said.
Steven Warrington, who lives in Oxenhope and runs Bronte Carpet & Upholstery Cleaners, said he would consider making a donation. He said: "Yes, I'm interested. It depends on how much - we are only a small company - but we would look at it if we were approached."
Bronte Water, which bottles its spring water in Haworth, already supports the Parsonage, said a spokesman. She said: "We advertise in its magazine and supply the Parsonage with a water cooler. We are in the heart of Bronte country and don't feel we are exploiting the name."

The cartoon appears today in The Telegraph & Argus.

Charles Nevin, also in The Independent, gives his opinion. Judge for yourself:

Much glowering of brows in Brontë Country as deep, possibly smouldering, passions are aroused by commercial appropriations of the famous name. Some recognition is suggested by Mr Wilcocks, chairman of the Brontë Society. And it being, well, that part of the world, he's after some hard brass.

Certainly, the burden could be easily spread, as the sisters seem to have touched a surprisingly large number of flinty mercantile hearts. (...)

And I would be sad if this cultural promotion in unlikely settings was to be threatened by the prospect of parting with some readies in return, which some enterprises, particularly in, well, that part of the world, might find unattractive.

Nevertheless, it is merely the disinterested pursuit of learning which leads me to note the theory that Patrick Bronte changed his name from Brunty to honour Lord Nelson (who was made Duke of Bronte in 1799); and to suggest that many of these businesses are simply joining similar salutes to England's Hero.

Yes, that kind of opinion.

EDIT (21/03/2007)
The Brontë Parsonage Blog, through Richard Wilcocks himself posts about this initiative in this very interesting post, where you can read the original media release and the model for the letters that have been sent.

Categories: Brontë Society, In the News