It’s not often a senior member of Britain’s royal family opens a cultural centre with extensive Irish connections, but that’s exactly what Queen Camilla did yesterday – and the Brontës were the reason.
Those three sisters produced an exceptional body of work which includes Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, jewels in the English literary canon, but they have strong Irish ties through their father.
He was born Patrick Brunty and grew up in the parish of Drumballyroney in Co Down. In time, he became vicar of Haworth, the Yorkshire village where he gave his children free rein in his library and encouraged their creativity.
Patrick had ambitions to be an author himself, and although he never achieved the success of his daughters, he was published.
Sophie White: How and why to avoid advice, plus three simple rules to live by
Catherine Prasifka: What the election of Pope Leo XIV has in common with Taylor Swift’s Eras tour
Oliver Callan: I felt like Hemingway of the hydrangeas after my latest intrepid gardening scrape
A key element of the family’s story is centred on a Grade II* (grade two-star ) listed building in Thornton, near Bradford, where Queen Camilla met volunteers and Brontë enthusiasts yesterday. It has been designated the Brontë Birthplace, Thornton, but when Patrick arrived to take up residence it was a parsonage. With him was his wife Maria and their two young children: a time of hope and promise.
It was mid-May 1815 – 210 years ago, almost to the day – and although Patrick is closely bracketed with the parsonage in nearby Haworth, where they moved in 1820, he spent five productive years in Thornton. In later life, he called them his “happiest days”.
In front of a fireplace in the parlour there, the four youngest children were born – the only four out of six to reach adulthood. They were Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne, and it’s not hard to imagine their laughter ringing through the rooms.
Moves are afoot to twin Thornton with Banagher, another link with Ireland, because the Co Offaly town was an important stop on Charlotte’s month-long Irish honeymoon. It was home to Arthur Bell Nicholls, her husband and Patrick’s curate in Haworth.
Underlining that shared history and those meaningful bonds across the Irish Sea, Banagher Brontë Group representatives travelled to Thornton for the official opening.
Present were James Scully, its chairperson, and Nicola Daly, its secretary and owner of Hill House in Banagher, now Charlotte’s Way guesthouse.
Arthur retreated to Hill House after Charlotte’s death, followed by Patrick’s, and lived there for 45 years until 1906.
With him, he carried priceless Brontë artefacts, including Charlotte’s wedding dress, first editions and a painting of his sisters by Branwell, eventually left to the National Portrait Gallery in London. Many of those “relics” are now in the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.
The Thornton addition to Brontë heritage is part cultural centre, part historic site, part “immersive experience” as it describes itself.
A former butcher’s shop, it is in public ownership for the first time in more than 200 years. This birthplace is a significant site in the Brontë story and played a role in their literary evolution.
While there, Patrick was writing and had novellas and other work published, and his children saw books by him on the shelves.
He had considerably less ability – his work is uneven, heavy-handed in its religious and sometimes political allegory. However, writing was not only in the Brontë blood, through Patrick, but demonstrably an achievable goal.
In 2012, the Brontë Birthplace Trust was established to buy the property, by now in poor condition. Crowdfunding has been important, along with support from quarters including Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, and a share offer which raised cash from 770 members.
It was bought in April last year, brought into community ownership, and renovations began. Today, it is furnished to recreate the Brontës’ occupancy and visitors can stay overnight in rooms named after Charlotte, Emily and Anne.
The Banagher Brontë Group and its members made several visits and donated to the project. Coincidentally, one of the key movers in the Thornton initiative has close Banagher associations. Arthur’s Offaly home, Hill House, belonged to ancestors of Nigel West, a Thornton committee member responsible for fundraising
Nigel West’s father inherited Hill House in 1959 from his aunts, the Kerans, relatives of Mary and Arthur’s. The house was sold, but Nigel has an affection for it and is keen to foster links between Banagher and Thornton.
He promises Irish visitors a special welcome to Thornton and said of the royal visit: “It’s a huge endorsement of the community’s hard work.”
Charlotte called their love of writing “scribblemania” and Patrick had the bug too. A story by him was published while living in Thornton, promisingly called The Cottage in the Wood, or the Art of Becoming Rich and Happy; his recipe included God and education.
From humble origins, he transformed his life via education, and it’s a theme in all seven novels published by his daughters.
As for the Brontë Birthplace,Thornton – it’s an example of how a dedicated, determined team of volunteers can change outcomes. Self-made man Patrick would approve.
0 comments:
Post a Comment