The Old School Room's work has begun.

The Telegraph & Argus:

Work has begun on a near £100,000 project to restore one of Haworth’s most important historic buildings following a major fundraising effort. The renovation of the 184-year-old Old School Room, in Church Street, started on Monday.  The work is expected to last for about two and a half months.  The total cost of renovation of the historic building, which is used for community events and functions, and recently featured on Celebrity Masterchef, is £96,000.  The work comes after eight years of fundraising by Brontë Spirit, the charity dedicated to repairing and refurbishing the property.  Around £70,000 came from grant money and nearly £30,000 from community fundraising.
A spokesman for the scheme said: “On Monday Averil Kenyon, chairman of Brontë Spirit, was on hand to greet the contractors Hopleys as they arrived on site to start the project that is expected to take in the region of ten weeks to complete. “The work has been made possible by a grant of £44,973 from landfill community fund WREN, £10,000 from The Garfield Weston Foundation and £15,000 from The Pilgrim Trust.”
The grade II listed Old School Room was built by Patrick Brontë in 1832 and was extended in 1850 and 1871. (...)  Reverend Peter Mayo-Smith, the rector of Haworth Parish Church, said he was delighted that the main part of the renovation is now under way.  “I congratulate the trustees of Brontë Spirit for the extremely hard work they’ve put in to making this possible,” he added.  “This is excellent news.
“The Old School Room is a very valuable building not just for Haworth but also for the nation.  “It is one of two properties Patrick Brontë was responsible for building, the other being St Gabriel’s Church in Stanbury.  “He was a great believer in education being a way out of poverty – something still very relevant today – and he wanted the children of local mill workers to have an education so they could escape the deprivation of the surrounding area.” (Miran Rahman)