A new latch

Keighley News shares a lovely story concerning Haworth's Old School Room.

A small piece of an historic Haworth building's heritage has been recreated, thanks to the expertise and generosity of a Keighley-based firm.
Trustees of the Brontë Spirit Charity, who are responsible for the Old School Room in Church Street, have paid tribute to Aire Valley Forge Ltd, which made a replica original door latch to replace the one damaged during an attempted burglary.
A spokesman for the charity said the trustees were "dismayed" to discover someone had tried to force their way into the Old School just before Christmas last year.
The raider was unable to get into the property, but severely damaged an original lock fitted to the building’s west door.
The door and its fittings were originally supplied for the 1871 extension to the Old School Room that was constructed in 1852 for the church when the Rev Patrick Brontë – father of the famous literary sisters Charlotte, Anne and Emily – was priest at Haworth Parish Church.
Averil Kenyon, chairman of The Brontë Spirit group, which is dedicated to restoring the building to its former glory, said: “It was really dispiriting to see something that had been part of the Victorian building smashed into pieces by vandals.”
But Aire Valley Forge came to the charity’s rescue by constructing a replica free-of-charge.
Mrs Kenyon added: “Their wonderful gesture has restored our faith in our community, and we'd like to thank them publicly.
"The recreation is a superb piece of work.”
The craftsmen at the firm were able to fashion the new latch by copying the design from the broken pieces of the original fitting.
Workers had to re-sculpt a rose, which had probably been made by a local blacksmith in 1871.
The new latch was fitted by one of the charity’s own trustees and volunteers – David Mahon, of Haworth.
David Atkins, the foreman at Aire Valley Forge, who oversaw the project, said: “After the break-in, we were approached by The Brontë Spirit to make replacement door fittings.
“We employed traditional methods and a bit of know-how to replace the damaged latch with one that had been given a suitably ‘aged’ appearance.
“As a goodwill gesture to Haworth and its heritage, we were happy to donate the latch to The Brontë Spirit and the Old School Room.
“The Haworth community often uses our specialist blacksmithing and metalwork skills to enhance properties in the area, so they can retain their recognised features in a time-honoured way.” (Miran Rahman)

E-teatr (Poland) reviews a performance of the Shanghai Ballet of China's take on Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre
Ostatni wieczór festiwalowy (8 V 2016) należał do goszczącego po raz pierwszy w Polsce The Shanghai Ballet z Chin. Tancerze prezentowali adaptację jednej z najsłynniejszych XIX-wiecznych powieści "Dziwne losy Jane Eyre" Charlotte Brontë w choreografii Patricka de Bana. Zestawiane miniatury (m.in. Johna Dowlanda, Claude'a Debussy'ego, Edwarda Elgara, Benjamina Brittena, Samuela Barbera, Vladimira Martynova) stanowiły postmodernistyczne tło dla grupy tancerzy ukazujących rozterki tytułowej Jane Eyre (Qi Bmgxue) oraz atmosferę domu jej pracodawców, Edwarda Rochestera (Wu Husheng) i chorej psychicznie małżonki - Berthy (Fan Xiaofeng). To, co podziwialiśmy na scenie, zapowiedział passus zamieszczony w folderze Festiwalu: "Miłość może pokonać wszystko, ale godność jest nienaruszalna. Balet może odstąpić od tradycji, ale musi utrzymać estetyczną jakość". Ową jakość, wyrażającą się w plastyczności i precyzji kroków oraz gestów obrazujących różnorodne emocje, gwarantowała swoim nazwiskiem dyrektor baletu Xin Liii, Choć miejscami ilość ruchów wykonywanych przez tancerzy niejako przeładowana była względem warstwy muzycznej, to połączenie elementów tańca klasycznego i współczesnego, piękna scenografia i kostiumy (Jerome Kapłan), stworzyły niezwykle spójną adaptację powieści, dobrze przyjętą przez bydgoską publiczność. (Barbara Mielcarek-Krzyżanowska) (Translation)

Bergamo News (Italy) announces that this year's Festivaletteratura (7-11 September) will include a discussion on Jane Eyre by Lyndall Gordon and Stefania Bertola. We are as enthusiastic about Barbara Pym as the writer of this article in The Guardian so let us link the article here on the basis that it includes a quote from Barbara Pym's Excellent Women that mentions Jane Eyre. GuptaSaab Reviews posts about Villette. A Day in Bookland reviews Catherine Lowell's The Madwoman Upstairs. Laura's Reviews posts about Reader, I Married Him.