The Old School Room, a DVD and the Red House

The latest news from Brontë and Shirley country:

The Telegraph and Argus reports the most recent movements in the Brontë Spirit initiative.

Young people are being invited to help breathe new life into a school room built by the father of three of the most famous writers in literary history.
They are being challenged to produce a poem, piece of writing or art work inspired by the Old School Room in Haworth.
It is being sponsored by Shipley-based Cellar Project, which helps people with mental health problems get back to work, and Haworth church-based Bronte Spirit, which aims to improve facilities and to make it a centre of cultural and community activities.
The school room, almost opposite the famous Bronte Parsonage museum, was built by the Reverend Patrick Bronte, father to authors Emily, Anne and Charlotte, and opened in 1832.
His three daughters and their brother Branwell taught at the school which catered especially for the poor of the parish. The competition “Patrick’s Grand Design” is to honour his contribution to local life and encourage his spirit of creativity.
Marilyn Beech, of the Cellar Project, said a letter had gone out to schools and colleges inviting them to take part.
“We are inviting young people to record with words, or in picture, the school room as it is now, or their vision of how they would like it to be when it is renovated,” she said.
Bronte Spirit chairman Averil Kenyon said the aim was to give members of the Cellar Project opportunity to get real-life work experience in a new cafe in the building.
She said: “The school room is one of the most important historical buildings in the area and must be conserved for the future.
“It’s a tribute to Patrick Bronte’s work in the village which was impressive. He built this school to educate the poor and he was involved in improving the water supply as well.”
A feasibility study funded by the Lottery has highlighted the work that needed doing including restoring the roof and the internal layout.
“Now we have to raise money. We are hoping the building’s connection with Patrick will encourage people world wide to help us,” Mrs Kenyon added.
The competition – closing date July 1 – has two categories “Recording the Past” and “Designing the Future” and three age groups.
The winning entries will be displayed in this year’s Summer Exhibition at The Old School Room alongside archive photographs and the architect’s drawings for the renovation. (Clive White)

The Telegraph and Argus also reports the recent launch of a DVD whose profits will go to the charity Haworth Cat Rescue.

Cash from a new DVD all about Haworth heritage will go towards Haworth Cat Rescue’s £2 million appeal to build an educational and eco-friendly welfare centre serving the Airedale corridor.
A Haworth History Trail is now on sale for £4.99 through the group’s eBay shop and at its Cross Roads centre.
People will also be able to buy a copy from the charity’s stall at local fetes and events this summer.
The charity’s Corinne Moore said: “We’re really excited about this DVD. It’s going to be entertaining and informative for people who already know the area and it will be a must-have for tourists.”
The DVD was filmed and produced by James Hutton who grew up in the Bronte Parsonage and now lives in Stanbury with his wife Jane and their cat Theo, adopted from Haworth Cat Rescue several years ago.

And finally and also from The Telegraph and Argus we hear of Sally Clifford's 19th-century experiences at the old Taylor family home, the Red House in Gomersal.

I’m a regular time traveller. Previously on these pages I’ve dipped into the past. I’ve made a start trawling my family tree, relished the opportunity to seek out bygone booty buried underground while metal-detecting and been all giddy at the historical finds people brought along for the experts to decipher at a local museum.
I seize any opportunity I can to turn back the clock and, in preparation for the public to be invited to do the same this summer, I decided to get a real feel for what it was like to live in Taylor times.
The Taylors were the wealthy mill-owning family who once inhabited Red House Museum in Gomersal – the destination for my latest challenge.
Astute business people, the family became well-known not through their wealth, but through their daughter Mary Taylor’s friendship with the famous Bronte sister Charlotte, whose novel, Shirley, refers to Red House as Briarmains.
Coincidentally, I donned Charlotte’s guise some years ago to glean an insight into what her life was like at the famous literary family’s home, Haworth’s Bronte parsonage.
Well most girls do like to dress up, only when you pass 30 you don’t get as much opportunity, which is why I seized the chance to get into costume to experience life in bygone times.
It is five years since staff at Red House – christened so because of its red brick facade – ran their first Period Garden Paradise Festival to showcase plants from the past and, indeed, the lifestyles of those who lived in past times.
Held in July, the festival encourages visitors to stroll around the grounds and see the blooms, including old scented roses which would have served many purposes in past times as perfumes or therapeutic aromas, and other flowers pertinent to the 19th century – the period this beautiful home represents.
Museums officer Helga Hughes explains the re-creation of the 1830s garden was made possible through the Heritage Lottery Fund and European Regional Development Fund, following a detailed research project in 1996.
“It takes a few years for the garden to mature, but when the roses were beginning to bloom and the flowers were arriving, we wanted to tell people about it because at that time the garden was like another room of the house. We wanted to show how much the garden had, how interesting it was and how the Taylor family used to use it,” says Helga.
Visitors can even meet some of the characters from the past. The Taylor family, including Mary, put in an appearance as does Henrietta, ‘the eccentric maid’!
Helga explains that the costumed attendants chat as they would have done about the topics and gossip of the day, and they also talk about 19th-century gardening techniques to make the event as authentic as possible.
Stepping into the high-waisted, heavy fabric dress – one of the range of bygone garments worn by Red House’s attendants – I’m grateful for today’s lightweight and versatile fashions. Imagine having to rely on someone to hook-and-eye you into your frock everyday!
I can’t sprint along as I normally do in a heavy frock with four net skirts underneath, and trying to reach anything in those long bustle-style sleeves feels like I’m weightlifting. “There is a yard of material in each sleeve,” smiles Pauline North, head attendant at Red House.
The former dress designer created all the dresses in Red House’s collection to replicate the styles worn by women of that period.
While it’s wonderful gliding along the corridors in a long dress – something I haven’t done since my wedding day – I can imagine this type of attire being a hindrance while doing your chores. I doubt Mary and her mother would have had to bother themselves with housework, though, as they had servants to help around the home.
Perching on the stool in my heavy duty frock on top of four net skirts, I feel I’m seated on a mountain of cushions!
Leaning across the small table collecting pinches of dried rose petals, dried lavender, dried mint and cloves from the earthen bowls in front of me, while attempting to make a herb bag, I realise how restrictive narrow, long sleeves can be!
Taking a couple of pinches of the dried ingredients in the bowls, I place them in my pestle and mortar. Grinding them releases the wonderful scents – the colours are reminiscent of Christmas!
The crushed ingredients are then placed in the centre of the cloth. Gathering the four corners into the centre. I then twist them and wrap them tight with a red ribbon – the perfect finishing touch to my past times pomander!
I discovered the bags are another use for the period flowers. Helga explains the Taylor family would have used the flowers from their garden to decorate the home. Herb bags were the perfect accessory to disguise unpleasant smells or as an uplifting aroma.
“There were a lot of nasty smells around at that time. Clothes may not have been cleaned as often, there was mud on the roads, and if you lived in a town there were often sewage smells so people liked to have something nice they could smell if they came across an unpleasant smell,” says Helga.
Herb bags were also placed in drawers to make clothes smell nice. The use of lavender and rose – mood enhancers – were possibly used as a pick-me-up too!
Creating a herb bag is one of a range of activities visitors can try as part of the Period Garden Paradise Festival.
Visitors can also try croquet – a popular garden activity in bygone times – and they can even sample period refreshments such as elderflower cordial or fruit wine.
“The garden festival events are very popular. People are just enchanted with the garden when they come. It is like a little oasis. That is why we call it ‘paradise’, because that is what it is like,” says Helga.
From my glimpse into life in the 19th century, I found it endearing that while people in those days didn’t have the technology we have today at their fingertips, they made their own entertainment, and got great satisfaction in doing so.
So, put down your PlayStation and Nintendo Wii for a moment and sample some pleasurable activities from the past.
Red House Period Garden Festival takes place daily from Sunday July 5 to Sunday July 12. For more information and opening times contact the museum in Oxford Road, Gomersal, BD19 4JP; call (01274) 335100; email: red.house@kirklees.gov.uk or visit the website at kirklees.gov.uk/museums

Categories: Brontëana, Haworth, Movies-DVD-TV