Hope for the Brontë Birthplace

The Telegraph & Argus reports how John Jessop of the Thornton Brontë Society is trying to prevent the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton being auctioned this month as we have reported:

There is tremendous widespread interest in the Brontes. Tourists flock to Haworth from all over the world to soak up the atmosphere of the place and steep themselves in the history of the literary family in the village where the sisters wrote their books.
Unfortunately far fewer are persuaded to make the journey of a few miles to Thornton, where four of the Bronte children were born - arguably making the village of even greater significance than Haworth.
The big hope that this situation might be remedied has rested on the house in Market Street known as The Bronte Birthplace. If that building was allowed to claim its rightful place on a Bronte "heritage trail" it could help to transform Thornton's fortunes.
That is the belief of local man John Jessop of the Thornton Bronte Society who is appealing to Bradford Council to step in and prevent the Bronte Birthplace being sold at auction later this month to someone who might see it as simply another property.
Mr Jessop rightly acknowledges the sterling work done by the current owner, Mrs Barbara Whitehead, who has now decided to dispose of the house. He is hoping that Bradford Council, a local business consortium or an altruistic Bronte enthusiast will step in and secure the future of the Birthplace as a tourist attraction and the catalyst for a general Thornton revival.
There is much potential in that idea, which could see the Birthplace and the Parsonage linked as twin attractions. Let's hope that Mr Jessop's appeal is heeded before it is too late.

More posts on the Brontë Parsonage Blog concerning the recent AGM Meeting:

Brontë Society members are such a varied lot, coming from such a range of ages, nationalities, occupations and backgrounds. Some grew up in the area, others run overseas branches of the Society at the other side of the world, in America or Australia. Some were brought to the Parsonage by creative projects requiring research (I met a choreographer who has created a ballet about the Brontës and a playwright who's written a play about them). Each member has his or her specific interest or story to tell. (Helen MacEwan) (Read more)

Selina Busch, another member of the Brussels Brontë Group like Helen MacEwan, has also posted some nice pictures of the meeting here.

In other news, PennLive posts about passion over time. Wuthering Heights is one of the chosen examples:

I think of Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights" and his "smoldering passion", but then realize that only Kathy [sic] realized that passion. Upon re-reading, I am not too certain how intelligent Heathcliff was although he was certainly passionate. I also equate passion with Hawkeye in "Last of the Mohicans". Now I wonder why I see passion in these two men? Obviously, I should feel the part of the women. Cora and Kathy [sic] certainly appreciated and understood passion. Either way, I am a sucker for these guys. (Madison Casey)

We certainly like the caption of the attached picture: a minimalistic The Moors. Somehow it remind us of Monty Python's The Larch. Ok, we probably need psychological attention.

Categories: Brontëana, Brontë Society, Wuthering Heights