The Honresfield Library at the Ilkley Literature Festival

 Tomorrow, October 23, at the Ilkley Literature Festival

Saving Our Literary Heritage: The Honresfield Library 

Ilkley Grammar School, B Hall, Cowpasture Rd, Ilkley LS29 8TR

Sun 23 Oct 3:30pm

In 2021, the Honresfield Library, a rare collection of literary manuscripts, was acquired for the nation thanks to a £15m fundraising campaign.

At the library’s heart are a treasure trove of manuscripts written by the Brontë sisters, including seven of Charlotte’s ‘little books’ and a notebook of Emily’s poems, previously believed lost. The collection also includes artefacts belonging to Jane Austen, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.

Ann Dinsdale, principal curator at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, Professor Kathryn Sutherland, trustee of Jane Austen’s House Museum, a
nd Masud Khokhar, University Librarin and Keeper of the Brotherton Collection, who were all involved in the campaign, explain the significance of the library for our heritage.

Presented in partnership with the Brontë Parsonage Museum.