Historical maps

I received a nice email

 

""I am sure you are familiar with most web sites such as the British Library etc, but I include below a link to a map website done by the Woodland Trust organisation in the UK.  This is a very good site for historical maps.  I think they have amalgamated various 19th century maps to form a composite coverage of the UK.  The old maps show c1843 to c1893.  If this site is not familiar to you then it can provide may interesting maps of places associated with the Bronte family.  A bit of a mystery is highlighted when Charlotte and Ellen Nussey stayed with the Hudson's at Easton.  Charlotte's letter to Ellen 24th October 1839 tells of their "pleasent walks" to Harlequin Wood.  The web site map will show you that the wood in question is most likely to be one named Hallookill Wood.""

 

maps.woodlandtrust

This indeed is a very interesting site

Thank you very much for sending me

 

Easton House

 

blackwellreference: : Farmhouse two miles inland from Bridlington. Charlotte and Ellen Nussey stayed there in September 1839, and soon after their arrival walked to the coast so that Charlotte could have her first view of the sea – “dark blue and green and foam-white” (to EN, 24 Oct 1839). According to Ellen they stayed with the Hudsons, most unwillingly, for a month, but were then allowed a week on their own in lodgings in Bridlington. Charlotte referred to this later as “one of the pleasant recollections of my life” (to EN, 4 Mar 1845?), and painted at the time a watercolor of the house and gardens, with the Hudsons in the foreground – a picture rather uncharacteristic of Charlotte’s usual productions, and now only known from a photograph. She and Ellen stayed with the Hudsons again in June 1849, after the death of Anne. The house, in the tiny hamlet of Easton, was built in 1810 and demolished around the 1970s.

Portrait of an East Yorkshire farmer's wife called Mrs Hudson painted by Charlotte Bronte

bronteblog : Mrs Hudson calls at the Parsonage.

ITV News reports:
A rare miniature portrait by Charlotte Brontë is to go on public display for the first time at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in West Yorkshire.
The portrait of an East Yorkshire farmer's wife called Mrs Hudson was painted by Charlotte on a visit to their farm near Bridlington in 1839.
The painting was feared lost until the turn of this century when it was bought by a collector. It has now been acquired by The Brontë Society which runs the museum at Haworth.The Brontë Parsonage Facebook page shares more details:

Exciting news! We have acquired a portrait miniature painted by Charlotte Bronte!
Purchased from Christie's, this portrait depicts Mrs Hudson of Easton Farm, Bridlington, whom Charlotte and Ellen Nussey had once stayed with. The portrait was given to Mrs Hudson by Charlotte and remained in the family until it went missing in 1895. It resurfaced in 2001, when it was acquired by Mrs T. S. Elliot, and it is now returning to Charlotte's home where it will be on display to the public for the first time.
In conjunction with this happy occasion, Ann Sumner will be giving a talk about about the art of miniature painting in the wider Victorian context, and the impact of early photography on portrait painting.
Wednesday 6 November, 2pm
West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth
Tickets £5 / Contact Louisa Briggs louisa.briggs@bronte.org.uk / +44(0)1535 640188 to book.

The sitter for this portrait miniature is Mrs Hudson of Easton Farm, Bridlington, referred to by Charlotte in a letter to her friend Ellen Nussey, in 1839. The two women had recently stayed with Mrs Hudson and her husband John, and it was during this visit that the miniature was probably painted, as Charlotte Brontë's second visit to the Hudsons, in 1849, was a much more sombre event, occurring just after the funeral of Charlotte's sister Anne, at Scarborough.
The portrait was given to Mrs Hudson by Charlotte and remained in the family, being passed on first to Mrs Hudson’s niece, Fanny Whipp, who, in turn, left it to her son. In 1895 the tiny painting went missing, and nothing more was heard of it for over one hundred years. It was feared lost, until it reappeared at a sale at Neales in Nottingham in 2001 where it was acquired by the late Mrs T. S. Eliot, a major collector of miniatures. It is now returning to Charlotte’s home at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where it will be on display to the public for the first time.
Sally McDonald, Chairman of the Brontë Society Council told us, ‘The Brontë Society is delighted to be bringing this little gem back to the Parsonage for members and visitors alike to enjoy. We would like to thank all those whose generosity has made the return of the miniature possible.’
Professor Ann Sumner, Executive Director of The Brontë Society said, “We are absolutely thrilled to have acquired this significant and very fine example of Charlotte Bronte’s miniature painting. It is one of her last such portrait miniatures painted during a happy month spent with her friends the Hudsons at Easton House. In this charming work she captures her friend in profile. The provenance of the miniature is also impressive. We are enormously grateful to all those who have supported our fundraising campaign to acquire this work and to Christie’s for negotiating this acquisition. The portrait will next year be on show in a new display on The Brontës and the Railways because Charlotte Bronte travelled for the first time by train in 1839 en route to visit the Hudsons. She took the train from Leeds to Selby.”
Jo Langston, Head of Department, Portrait Miniatures, Christie’s London said, “Christie’s is delighted to have been able to facilitate the acquisition of this portrait miniature by The Brontë Society. The work will now return to the Parsonage where it will join the other rare examples of portraiture by Charlotte Brontë.”
The present miniature is a rare example of portraiture in Charlotte Brontë's artistic oeuvre. Although she dedicated herself to drawing, and had hopes early on of becoming a professional artist and miniature painter, Charlotte's skills lay in copying and imitating landscapes, not portraits. Charlotte, and her sisters, like most middle-class women of the early 19th century, had originally been taught to draw via the medium of copying. Engravings, and Romantic landscapes, such as those included in the works of Lord Byron, were favourites of Charlotte. She became an accomplished amateur with an excellent eye for detail, displaying two copies of engravings at an art exhibition at Leeds in 1834, but she soon came to realize that her inability to paint from her imagination and her lack of originality in her compositions would impede her as a professional artist. She focused her efforts on writing instead.
This portrait of Mrs Hudson belongs, stylistically, to a group of works already in the Brontë Society collection, which includes miniature portraits by Charlotte of her mother, youngest sister, Anne, and close friend Ellen Nussey, with whom she visited the Hudsons.The item was part of the collection
 The sitter for this portrait miniature is Mrs Hudson of Easton Farm, Bridlington, referred to by Charlotte in a letter to her friend Ellen Nussey, in 1839. The two women had recently stayed with Mrs Hudson and her husband John, and it was during this visit that the miniature was probably painted, as Charlotte Brontë's second visit to the Hudsons, in 1849, was a much more sombre event, occurring just after the funeral of Charlotte's sister Anne, at Scarborough.
The portrait was given to Mrs Hudson by Charlotte and remained in the family, being passed on first to Mrs Hudson’s niece, Fanny Whipp, who, in turn, left it to her son. In 1895 the tiny painting went missing, and nothing more was heard of it for over one hundred years. It was feared lost, until it reappeared at a sale at Neales in Nottingham in 2001 where it was acquired by the late Mrs T. S. Eliot, a major collector of miniatures. It is now returning to Charlotte’s home at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where it will be on display to the public for the first time.
Sally McDonald, Chairman of the Brontë Society Council told us, ‘The Brontë Society is delighted to be bringing this little gem back to the Parsonage for members and visitors alike to enjoy. We would like to thank all those whose generosity has made the return of the miniature possible.’
Professor Ann Sumner, Executive Director of The Brontë Society said, “We are absolutely thrilled to have acquired this significant and very fine example of Charlotte Bronte’s miniature painting. It is one of her last such portrait miniatures painted during a happy month spent with her friends the Hudsons at Easton House. In this charming work she captures her friend in profile. The provenance of the miniature is also impressive. We are enormously grateful to all those who have supported our fundraising campaign to acquire this work and to Christie’s for negotiating this acquisition. The portrait will next year be on show in a new display on The Brontës and the Railways because Charlotte Bronte travelled for the first time by train in 1839 en route to visit the Hudsons. She took the train from Leeds to Selby.”
Jo Langston, Head of Department, Portrait Miniatures, Christie’s London said, “Christie’s is delighted to have been able to facilitate the acquisition of this portrait miniature by The Brontë Society. The work will now return to the Parsonage where it will join the other rare examples of portraiture by Charlotte Brontë.”
The present miniature is a rare example of portraiture in Charlotte Brontë's artistic oeuvre. Although she dedicated herself to drawing, and had hopes early on of becoming a professional artist and miniature painter, Charlotte's skills lay in copying and imitating landscapes, not portraits. Charlotte, and her sisters, like most middle-class women of the early 19th century, had originally been taught to draw via the medium of copying. Engravings, and Romantic landscapes, such as those included in the works of Lord Byron, were favourites of Charlotte. She became an accomplished amateur with an excellent eye for detail, displaying two copies of engravings at an art exhibition at Leeds in 1834, but she soon came to realize that her inability to paint from her imagination and her lack of originality in her compositions would impede her as a professional artist. She focused her efforts on writing instead.
This portrait of Mrs Hudson belongs, stylistically, to a group of works already in the Brontë Society collection, which includes miniature portraits by Charlotte of her mother, youngest sister, Anne, and close friend Ellen Nussey, with whom she visited the Hudsons.The item was part of the collection
bronte-society-acquires-important-portrait-miniature-by-charlotte-bronte

New memorial for Bronte grave

A new plaque has been installed at Anne Bronte’s grave in Scarborough to ensure that visitors will be able to read the inscription for years to come. The grave, which is located in St Mary’s Churchyard, has been subject to weathering and erosion over the years and had become illegible in places.

In 2010 the Bronte Society commissioned a survey of the headstone to see if the erosion could be halted. The professional opinion, supported by York diocesan buildings officers, was that the fabric of the stone was now so compromised that nothing could be done to stop the erosion.

The Bronte Society then embarked on a wide consultation of interested parties to see what might be done.

Those included in the discussions were St Mary’s Church Council, diocesan officers, Scarborough Borough Council and visitors to the grave.

Stephen Whitehead, a conservation officer with the Bronte Society, said: “The overwhelming view was that the original stone should be left where it stands but a new plaque, interpreting the fading original should be installed.

“The plaque, which has been executed by J G Gardiner Ltd of Bridlington, is of slate, a native material that will last much longer than sandstone.

“It is now in situ and the Bronte Society would like to thank the officers of St Mary Church and the York diocese for their help and cooperation.”

The Rev Martyn Dunning, of St Mary’s Church, said he was delighted with the new addition.

He said: “The headstone had become quite difficult to read, which was detracting from people’s enjoyment of their visit to the site.

“The new plaque is a really good solution, which gives people the best of both worlds.

“There is a lot of interest in the grave and I think this will keep people coming for many years to come.”

He has already had excellent feedback from a number of visitors to the site.

Anne Bronte, the youngest of the three world-famous Bronte sisters, died in Scarborough at the age of 29 in 1849.

The plaque explains that there is a mistake on the original headstone inscription, which states that Bronte died aged 28.

www.scarborougheveningnews./new_memorial_for_bronte_grave

public traffic

Daarom vroeg ze Ellen zo snel mogelijk te komen en bood haar aan de sjees uit Haworth te sturen om haar af te halen van het station in Keighley, zodat ze de laatste 6 kilometer niet hoefde te lopen. Een sjees kon je huren blz. 234



Haar vader maakte bezwaren tegen de reis per diligence omdat ze van daaruit moest lopen naar Birstall.

Sinds de opening van de spoorlijn is Sowerby Bridge een voortdurend strijdtoneel geweest van het heen en weer rijden van omnibussen blz. 257

In het Latijn betekent omnibus zoveel als ‘voor iedereen’. Uiteraard kent het gelijknamige rijtuig zijn grenzen, maar het is een rijtuig dat in verhouding erg veel mensen kan vervoeren. De omnibus kreeg bekendheid als echte bus in het Londense openbaar vervoer.



De reis naar Bridlington verliep niet vlekkeloos en rechtvaardige de zorgen van haar vader en tante omtrent twee onbegeleide jongedames. Het eerste deel van de reis, van Leeds naar York, ging per trein, maar de rest moest worden afgelegd per diligence. Helaas was die vol en hoewel Ellen en Charlotte verder werken gestuurd in een open rijtuig, werden ze niet opgemerkt door de Hudsons, die hen kwamen ophalen. Ze stuurden daarom een bericht naar het hotel waar het rijtuig zou aankomen dat de jongedames per postkoets moesten worden doorgestuurd naar hun huis.


You will probably arrive in Hathersage by car, but Charlotte arrived by stage coach and was met at the George Inn, a stage coach and post stop kept by the landlord Mr. James Morton.

Filey

Filey had a population of around five hundred in 1801, at which time it was a fishing village straddling the border between the North and East Riding of Yorkshire. With the coming of the railways in 1847 Filey began to grow into a holiday resort, attracting many of the gentry. Amongst the visitors was Charlotte Bronte who stayed at Cliff House, which is now the Bronte Café.

The Bronte sisters loved the East Coast. They stayed in Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough.
Anne, the youngest of the Brontes, set the ending of her novel Agnes Grey at Scarbor-ough, where she had enjoyed holidays while governess to the Robinson family between 1841 and 1845. The family lived near Knaresborough and Anne first holidayed in Scarborough with them.
They took furnished rooms in "the best part of town", St Nicholas Cliff. Anne was delighted with the sea and the castle towering over North and South bays. She wrote: "Refreshed, delighted, invigorated, I walked along forgetting all my cares, feeling as if I had wings on my feet, and could go at least 40 miles without fatigue, and experiencing a sense of invigoration to which I had been an entire stranger since the days of early youth ... the sea was my delight."

She then went on to stay at Cliff House, Filey. Although it is easy to trace where she stayed, it is not so easy to follow her to the neglected little church, which may have been at Muston, she attended one Sunday. She described it as: "... not more than thrice the length and breadth of our passage, floored in brick, the walls green with time and decay. At one end there is a little gallery for the singers and when these personages stood up to perform they turned their backs on pulpit and parson."
Charlotte's first visit to the region was in 1821 when she was invited to come and stay at the coast by her school friend Ellen Nussey.
Charlotte was so moved by the sea that on her return home she wrote: "... the glories of the sea, the sound of its restless waves, formed a subject for much contemplation that never wearied either the eye, the ear or mind". filey