We report (very belatedly) the
death of Mrs Jocelyn Kellett (1914-2012), who was President of the Brontë Society (1985-1987) (after being a member of the Brontë Society's Council since the 1940s and serving as Chairman from 1977 until 1980).
Charles Lemon in
A Centenary History of the Brontë Society 1893-1993 says about her contribution to the Brontë Society:
The completion of Mrs Kellett's three-year term as President came in 1987, bringing to an end many years of valuable service to the Society. She had joined the council in 1947 and had worked with enthusiasm and determination in various capacities; she brought more success to the Society's efforts in the saleroom and strove always that the Parsonage should be carefully preserved furnished and decorated as it was in the days of the Brontës.
She was also the author of
Haworth Parsonage: The home of the Brontës (1977). Charles Lemon described its relevance:
In 1977, the Society published Haworth Parsonage: The Home of the Brontës by Jocelyn Kellett. This was an ably researched and well illustrated volume, one of the Society's most important publications to date. (ibidem)
Can anyone help? In her book 'Haworth Parsonage', Jocelyn Kellett refers to Patrick Bronte paying dog tax for Grasper in 1831. I wonder if those dog tax records are still available?
ReplyDeleteThey must still exist (don't know whether available online) as a 1955 article on Brontë Transactions (The Rev. Patrick Brontë’s Tax Returns
DeleteGeorge Crowther, Brontë Society Transactions. Volume 12, 1955 - Issue 5) states that,
'Some new light has been thrown on the social position of the Rev. Patrick Brontë by the discovery in Keighley of the tax returns of the township of Haworth for the years 1829 and 1831. Haworth was then in the East Morley district and returns were made to the Commissioners in Bradford.'
There's information on what he paid and why. Tthe tax is also mentioned in an article in the latest issue of Brontë Studies (Recent Acquisitions at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, 2010–2019) in connection to the donation of Grasper's collar.
Hope that helps.