Beautiful pictures of the grave of Anne Bronte.

What a beautiful and sweet picture of the grave of Anne Bronte

 

The pictures are taken by Sara Barrett

She writes: The weather wasn't too good but it's always nice to visit.

 

Grave of Anne Bronte by night

Haworth Brontescapes

 

 

Pebbles Anne collected.

From the Treasure Trove: Anne’s Collection of Pebbles. Anne visited Scarborough whilst working as a governess to the Robinson family at Thorp Green Hall. These pebbles were collected during summer vacations. facebook/Bronte-Parsonage-Museum

Here you can read moore:
kleurrijkbrontesisters/Anne Bronte and Scarlborough

It is a pleasure to honour her in this modest way, in the coastal town she loved so much.”

 

The Scarborough News covers the story of the recent ceremony at Anne Brontë's grave, including a video as well.

Overlooking the serene South Bay, nestled among the ageing headstones in what is now partly a car park, is the burial place of one of England’s great literary heroines.
However, the passing of time left Anne Bronte’s grave at St Mary’s Church almost undetectable, with weather scarring the headstone as crumbling chunks of lettering fell from the frontage. The decaying dedication posed a dilemma for The Bronte Society, which wanted to preserve the grave but not disturb the tribute that had been put in place by Anne’s sister Charlotte. The resolution was to place a new plaque at the site of the grave, carrying the wording of the original headstone as well as the correction of a few mistakes. To mark the installion of the interpretive plaque members of The Bronte Society travelled from far and wide for a dedication and blessing service at the Scarborough church, paying respect to the author famous for writing Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Led by the Rev Martin Dunning, the service featured prayers and readings of several of Anne’s works by members of the Society.
Speaking from the graveside following the service, Sally McDonald, chairman of The Bronte Society’s council, said: “Today is the culmination of several years of decision work about what to do to make sure that the headstone is preserved but that the grave isn’t disturbed. Read on: bronteblog/it-is-pleasure-to-honour-her-in-this

The George Hotel. Coaches for Scarborough left from here, and this would be a familiar location to Anne from her Scarborough visits with the Robinsons. It was probably the place she and Emily stayed on their two day visit in 1845, and was certainly where she stayed with Charlotte and Ellen en-route to Scarborough on that fateful, final journey.

 

The picture shows, situated on Coney Street (once known as 'Whip-ma-Whop-ma-Gate) in York wiki/Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate: just right of picture-centre is the main entrance. The photograph under shows the same location ina much modern time. Only the first floor bay-window, and the pillar located centrally beneath it (to the right-of-centre in the old picture - central in the new) remain.  

 

 mick-armitage  open plaques

The George Inn was situated at 19 Coney Street. This pub has now been demolished and replaced by a Next store.

According to a plaque on the wall: 'In Elizabethan times, Ralph Rokeby Esq (d.1575) Secretary of the Council of the North lived in a house on this site. Subsequently for about two and a half centuries there existed here a Hostelry known since 1614 as the George Inn, from which horsedrawn coaches departed to Hull, Manchester and Newcastle. The sisters Charlotte and Anne Bronte stayed here in 1849. Leak & Thorp moved to this site in 1869. 'closedpubs

 

yorkscenes

yorkdailypicture/10/whip-ma-whop-ma-gate

Whip-ma-Whop-ma-Gate

 

In February, Anne seemed somewhat better. In March, Ellen Nussey invited her to Brookroyd, to be nursed by Ellen and her sisters. Anne made a counter-proposal. Through Charlotte, she asked if Ellen would accompany her to Scarborough. Anne had always loved the sea there, and there was some slight hope that the climate might be beneficial. Charlotte chose to ignore Anne's own wishes, and argue against the plan, suggesting that it would be better to wait. Anne feared that she had little time to waste, and wrote to Ellen herself, asking her help and painstakingly refuting counter-arguments. She speaks clearly and calmly of her illness and of death.

"I have a more serious reason than this for my impatience of delay: the doctors say that change of air or removal to a better climate would hardly ever fail of success in consumptive cases if taken in time, but the reason why there are so many disappointments is, that it is generally deferred till it is too late. Now I would not commit this error; and to say the truth, thouhg I suffer much less from pain and fever than I did when you were with us, I am decidedly weaker and very much thinner my cough still troubles me a good deal, especially in the night, and, what seems worse than all, I am subject to great shortness of breath on going up stairs or any slight exertion. Under these circumstances I think there is no time to be lost... I have no horror of death: if I thought it inevitable I think I could quietly resign myself to the prospect... But I wish it would please God to spare me not only for Papa's and Charlotte's sakes, but because I long to do some good in the world before I leave it. I have many schemes in my head for future practise–humble and limited indeed–but still I should not like them all to come to nothing, and myself to have lived to so little purpose. But God's will be done. " (Barker, p 589)

Though ill, Anne's strength of will was the equal of Charlotte's. In the end Patrick intervened, removing Charlotte's last defense against the plan by stating his willingness to be left with the servants in Haworth, and requesting that Charlotte accompany Anne. On May 24, 1849, Anne said her good-byes to her father and the servants at Haworth, and set off for Scarborough with Charlotte and Ellen. They stayed overnight in York, gratifying Anne's desire to see her beloved York Minster. Anne found great joy in returning to York and Scarborough, and showing well-loved places to Charlotte and Ellen. However, it was clear that Anne had little strength left. edu/women/bronte/bronte-anne

 

cathedral-fire-at-york
.

On this day in 1849

Anne Bronte died at 2 o'clock in the afternoon aged 29 at Scarborough.

 

 

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.

Read on: scarborough evening news

Anne Bronte 192nd birthday.

"Anne, dear gentle Anne was quite different in appearance from the others, and she was her aunt's favourite. Her hair was a very pretty light brown, and fell on her neck in graceful curls. She had lovely violet-blue eyes, fine pencilled eyebrows and a clear almost transparent complexion. She still pursued her studies and especially her sewing, under the surveillance of her aunt." (Ellen Nussey)

Anne's studies at home included music, which she always enjoyed, and drawing. Later, she began more formal studies at Roe Head School.

Little is known about the next year, but by 1839 Anne was actively looking for a teaching position. She left home on April 8, 1839, and travelled alone, at her own request, to Mirfield. There she began work as a governess at Blake Hall, the home of the Ingham family.

Anne seems to have assessed her situation quickly and accurately, and determined that she would make the best of it. An early letter home was summarized by Charlotte in a letter to Ellen Nussey:

"she expresses herself very well satisfied–and says that Mrs Ingham is extremely kind... both her pupils are desperate little dunces–neither of them can read and sometimes they even profess a profound ignorance of their Alphabet–the worst of it is the little monkies are excessively indulged and she is not empowered to inflict any punishment " (Barker, p. 308)

Anne obtained a second post: this time as a governess to the children of the Reverend Edmund Robinson and his wife Lydia, at Thorp Green, a wealthy country house near York

Anne probably left home for Thorp Green on May 8, 1840. She could not know it at the time, but for the next 5 years she would spend no more than 5 or 6 weeks a year with her family, during holidays at Christmas and in June. The rest of her time would be spent with the Robinsons at their home Thorp Green, or on holiday with them in Scarborough. While living with the Robinsons, Anne first saw York Minster, which she found moving and inspirational. She also visited the seaside at Scarborough, and loved it for both its beauty and the benefits to her health. Her employers were satisfied with her work, and as Bessy and Mary Robinson grew older, Anne became close to them. Of all her sisters, Anne spent the most time away from Haworth, establishing fond associations elsewhere.

 

St. Nicholas Cliff  c. 1935 An aerial view of the Scarborough locality most familiar to Anne, though, shown here some 86 years after she died. The Grand Hotel, which replaced Wood's Lodgings; and Christ Church, where Anne's funeral was conducted, are indicated. The Grand Hotel's three story 'down-the-cliff extension' is clearly visible. An almost identical extension was added to Wood's Lodgings in 1842 - the year of Anne's third visit to the resort. The Spa bridge, where Anne took many walks, is on the  left, with the Rotunda museum just beyond it (extreme left). In the foreground are the South Sands, where Anne loved to walk beside the sea, and that inspired some of the concluding scenes of her novel, Agnes Grey.

mick-armitage/anne/scarboro

 

There is no question that she missed her home and family. "Lines Written at Thorp Green", vt. "Appeal", was written only a few months after her arrival there. It speaks of "loneliness" and "repining"; the identity of its longed for visitor has been much speculated upon. "Home" pleads for the "grey walls" of Haworth rather than the beautiful grounds of Thorp Green. Yet while Anne repeatedly writes of her depression and unhappiness, these are not her only emotions. In "Retirement" , she turns from "earthly cares" and "restless wandering thoughts" to seek comfort in God. In "In Memory of a Happy Day in February" and "Music on Christmas Morning", she rejoices in her religious belief. She exults in the beauty and wildness of nature in "Lines composed in a Wood on a Windy Day".

The sisters went instead to York, where Anne showed her sister the York Minster. Emily, however, was more interested in playing at the Gondals than in any of the sights Anne wanted to show her. Emily describes the trip in her diary paper of July 31st, 1845.

"Anne and I went our first long Journey by ourselves–leaving Home on the 30th of June–monday–sleeping at York–returning to Keighley Tuesday evening sleeping there and walking home on wedensday morning–though the weather was broken, we enjoyed ourselves very much except during a few hours at Bradford and during our excursion we were Ronald Macelgin, Henry Angora, Juliet Augusteena, Rosobelle Esraldan, Ella and Julian Egramont Catherine Navarre and Cordelia Fitzaphnold escaping from the Palaces of Instruction to join the Royalists who are hard driven at present by the victorious Republicans" (Barker, pp. 450-451)

After leaving her teaching position, she fulfilled her literary ambitions. She wrote a volume of poetry with her sisters (Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, 1846) and in short succession she wrote two novels. Agnes Grey, based upon her experiences as a governess, was published in 1847. Her second and last novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hallappeared in 1848. Anne's life was cut short with her death of pulmonary tuberculosis when she was 29 years old.

digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bronte/bronte-anne 
scribblemaniac/the-sisters-side-trip-to-beautiful-york/ 
york-minster-pictures/
oldukphotos.com/graphics/EnglandPhotos/Yorkshire,

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

SCARBOROUGH’S Royal Hotel

 

 Image of the plaques on the Grand Hotel, Scarborough. By John Stephenson, released to the Public domain.

SCARBOROUGH’S Royal Hotel has gone into administration, along with three other

 hotels, putting 159 jobs at risk.

 The famous hotel, built in the 1830s and stayed in by Prime Ministers Winston

 Churchill and Harold Wilson, along with the town’s 70-bedroom Clifton Hotel,

 appointed administrators MCR.

 The 118-bedroom Royal Hotel, which employs 77 people, is known for its famous

 staircase and atrium of the Regency style after the site used to be The Long

 Room, a social venue frequented by the upper classes in the 1700s. It was

 extended in 1863 over six or seven houses, one of which was where Anne Bronte

 died.

 Read more: Gazette Herald Fears_for_future_of_four_Scarborough_hotels/

 royalhotelscarborough

YORK and Scarborough IN THE 19th CENTURY

In 1801, at the time of the first census, York had a population of 16,846. By the standards of the time it was quite a large town but it declined in importance as the century drew on. The industrial revolution meant other Yorkshire towns boomed but York failed to industrialise. In the early 19th century it remained a market town with many craftsmen but no factories.

However the railway reached York in 1839. In 1842 a repair workshop opened. Soon afterwards York became famous for making railway carriages, largely through the efforts of known as the railway king. In the late 19th century confectionery and making cocoa also became a major industry in York. So did flour milling. Also in the late 19th century an industry of making optical instruments flourished.

In the 19th century the population of York grew rapidly and houses spread across the fields outside the walls. Part of the rise in population was due to an influx of Irish immigrants who arrived in the 1840s fleeing the potato famine. Many of the new houses were overcrowded and like all 19th century towns York was dirty and unsanitary. In 1832 and 1849 York suffered outbreaks of cholera. There was also an epidemic of typhus (a disease spread by lice) in 1847, which killed 403 people. However there were some improvements in the city during this century.

From 1824 the streets of York were lit by gas. In 1825 an Act of Parliament formed a body of men called the Improvement Commissioners who were responsible for paving, lighting and cleaning the streets. They were replaced by a Board of Health in 1850. In York some people were rich enough to afford a flushing lavatory connected to a sewer but until the end of the century the raw sewage was flushed into rivers. Most of the people in York used 'earth closets', which were really buckets that were emptied at night into carts by the 'night soil' men. The 'night soil' was sold as fertiliser. In 1890-95 the council built a proper sewage disposal system but it wasn't until the 1920s that all houses in York were connected.

Meanwhile the first modern police force in York was formed in 1836 and after 1880 horse drawn trams ran in the streets of York. York Art Gallery opened in 1892. The first public library in York opened in 1893.

SCARBOROUGH IN THE 19th CENTURY

In the 19th century Scarborough continued to be a genteel seaside resort. The fishing industry continued and Scarborough continued to be a busy port. However shipbuilding declined.

The population rose rapidly. In 1801 Scarborough had a population of about 6,000. To us it would seem tiny but by the standards of the time it was a respectably sized town. It grew rapidly during the 19th century. By 1851 the population of Scarborough was around 13,000. By the end of the 19th century the population more than doubled to over 30,000.

The 19th century saw a number of improvements to Scarborough. In 1805 an Act of Parliament formed a body of men called the Improvement Commissioners with powers to pave, clean and light the streets of Scarborough (with oil lamps).

The Rotunda Museum opened in 1829. A waterworks company was formed in Scarborough in 1844. A Market Hall was built in 1853 and the first cemetery opened in 1857. Meanwhile Cliff Bridge opened in 1827. Valley Bridge opened in 1865.

The railway reached Scarborough in 1845 which, of course, made it easier for visitors to reach the town and a hospital opened in Scarborough in 1893.

Anne Bronte and Scarlborough

 

This picture, which dates from about the turn of the century, shows the view down 'Westborough', the road that was, in Anne's time, named 'Falsgrave Walk'. On the right is the Scarborough Railway Station, and the large imposing building in the picture-centre is the Pavilion Hotel. This was built in 1870 and survived for just over a hundred years - being demolished in 1973. Just to the left of this, in the distance, can be seen the castle. The rail-line from York to Scarborough was opened in 1845; and it was here, in the early afternoon7n of Friday, 25th May 1849, that Anne, Charlotte, and Ellen Nussey arrived on the fateful visit. From here, they made their way, by horse drawn carriage, to Wood's Lodgings, situated about a quarter of a mile beyond the large buildings on the right (behind the railway tower).

 

Anne's collection of pebbles which she gathered from Scarborough's South Sands. These are currently housed in the Brontë Parsonage Museum, and are often on show to visitors.

The old sketch shows St. Nicholas Cliff around 1840. Above are Wood's Lodgings, beyond and behind which is Scarborough's South Bay. It was in these buildings where Anne stayed during her first few years at Scarborough with the Robinson family. The smaller buildings (in the centre of the block) were demolished in 1842, and a larger structure erected in their place (see 'Wood's Lodgings (2)' - link below). The photograph shows the same view today with the Grand Hotel standing on the site of Wood's Lodgings

This drawing is titled 'New Buildings, Cliff, Scarborough', and dated 1843.59 It shows Wood's Lodgings viewed from the sea, with its new 'central block' and 'down-the-cliff' extension - in the year of Anne's third visit to the resort.60n On the left is the Spa Bridge, and a number of bathing huts are in evidence along the beach.

Anne Bronte' s grave.

Having made my pilgrimage to Anne Brontë’s grave last weekend, I was very interested to read the article on the Brontë Parsonage Blog. The subject of the grave can be guaranteed to be touched upon at the Brontë Society’s annual general meeting next June - and of course Haworth itself is no stranger to controversy regarding car parking.

If the mortal remains of Anne Brontë could not be deposited in Haworth I always think that the spot Charlotte chose is idyllic- just below the dramatic ruins of the castle and overlooking the bay Anne had come to love. Much has been debated through the years about the state of the headstone and surrounding ground but last week it was my opinion that the grave has never looked better. Of course the stone itself has suffered some understandable damage through the years and this last severe winter has taken its toll on one or two letters of the inscription but compared to other stones in the surrounding area it has stood the test of time surprisingly well. The area in front of the headstone is now grassed over and level - which will make, I guess, tidying and mowing much easier. A very tasteful arrangement of flowers had been left in tribute to the youngest member of that remarkable family.

read more

Anne Bronte and Scarborough

Anne had already been suffering from what was believed to be a cold for the previous few weeks. Over Christmas, her symptoms intensified, and in early January, her father, Patrick sent for a Leeds physician 'who was an expert in consumptive cases'. On January 5th Dr. Teale examined Anne at the Parsonage. He diagnosed her condition as consumption, and intimated that it was quite advanced leaving little hope of a recovery. Unlike Emily, Anne took all the recommended medicines, and responded to all the advice she was given. Her health fluctuated as the months passed, but she progressively grew thinner and weaker. On 1 May, Charlotte wrote to Ellen Nussey, to report on Anne's condition:

""She is very much emaciated, far more so than when you were with us;
her arms are no thicker than a little child's. The least exertion brings a shortness of breath.
She goes out a little every day, but we creep rather than walk. . .'

By this time Anne had decided to make a return visit to Scarborough in the hope that the change of location and fresh sea air might initiate a recovery, and give her a chance to live: indeed, the doctors of the time had said that a

'change of air or removal to a better climate would hardly ever
fail of success in consumptive cases if the remedy were taken in time',

Dr. Teale had particularly approved of Anne's choice of Scarborough. Charlotte initially gave much opposition to the plan, fearing the journey would be too stressful for her ailing sister. However, Anne eventually convinced Charlotte that it was her last hope, and on Thursday, 24 May 1849, the two set off, accompanied by their friend Ellen Nussey, for Scarborough. En-route, the three spent a day and a night in York, where, escorting Anne around in a wheel chair, they did some shopping, and at Anne's request, visited the colossal York Minster. Anne had developed a strong affinity for the Minster from her visits there with the Robinsons when she worked at Thorp Green. Ellen later recorded that as Anne gazed up at the magnificent structure, she said:
 
"If finite power can do this, what is the . . . ?"

when emotion stayed her speech, and her companions quickly moved her to a less exciting scene.
The small party arrived at Scarborough on the Friday afternoon. Anne was now very weak and frail, but she appeared somewhat revived on being back in the place she so much loved. She gained great pleasure in pointing out the delights of the resort to Charlotte and Ellen. The party had booked rooms in Wood's Lodgings - the establishment where Anne had stayed with the Robinsons some five to nine years earlier. The morning after her arrival, she attended the nearby Indoor Sea-water Baths, and at her own insistence, was left to bathe there alone. However, on her return, she collapsed with exhaustion outside her lodgings. Not to alarm Charlotte and Ellen, Anne did not inform them of this incident until some considerable time later. In the afternoon, she drove herself in a donkey cart on the South Sands, and when Ellen arrived to meet her, she found Anne giving the donkey-boy a lecture on treating the animal well.

'She was ever fond of dumb things, and would give up her own comfort for them'

reported Ellen later.
On the Sunday afternoon, Anne enthusiastically chaperoned Charlotte and Ellen along the Spa Bridge, and the three enjoyed the spectacular open view of the bay from there. Later, overcome with exhaustion, she sat on a seat near the beach and urged her companions to walk on further. It was later this evening that she realised there was no hope left, and that she did not have long to live. She begun discussing, with Charlotte, the propriety of returning to Haworth. Not that she wanted to return for her own sake, she said, but she did not want to leave her companions with the problems, and distress of having to return her lifeless remains home. She spent the rest of the evening sat by her lodgings room window - looking out over the bay, and watching

 

'the most glorious sunset ever witnessed'

The night passed without incident, but the following morning she was so weak that Ellen had to carry her, like a baby, down the stairs for breakfast, which, for Anne, was a bowl of boiled milk that had been especially prepared for her.

The three spent the rest of the morning in their lounge; Anne sat in her easy chair by the window, looking out over the bay once more; the weather was glorious and the sea as 'calm as glass': she looked 'so serene and reliant', reported Ellen.

'Nothing occurred to incite alarm until about 11 a.m. when Anne announced that she felt a change: she believed she did not have long to live.'

A doctor was called, and Anne asked him

'how long he thought she might live - not to fear speaking the truth, for she was not afraid to die'.

The doctor admitted

'that the angel of death had already arrived and that life was ebbing fast.

She thanked him for his truthfulness . .

http://www.annebronte.scarborough.co.uk/

 

Agnes Grey

scarlborough+wild+sea

 

But the sea was my delight;

and I would often gladly pierce the town

to obtain the pleasure of a walk beside it,

whether with the pupils,

or alone with my mother during the vacations.

It was delightful to me at all times and seasons,

but especially in the wild commotion of a rough sea-breeze,

 and in the brilliant freshness of a Summer morning.

~ Agnes Grey (ch. XXIV), by Anne Brontë

Anne's Sea-view From Wood's Lodgings

Taken from the main balcony of the Grand Hotel; this is the view Anne would have had looking slightly to the left through her Wood's Lodgings room window.
Extracts from Ellen Nussey's account of Anne's last night: 'The evening closed in with the most glorious sunset ever witnessed. The castle on the cliff stood in proud glory, gilded by the rays of the declining sun . . . The view was grand beyond description. Anne was drawn in her easy chair to the window, to enjoy the scene with us. Her face became illumined almost as much as the glorious scene she gazed upon . . . '

Anne 'passed a reasonable night' but died at 2 p.m. the following afternoon.

On the skyline, extreme left, is St. Mary's Church, where Anne is buried; below it can be seen a building with a yellow and red front - this is the Futurist Theatre, and just to the right and beyond this is a white/red coloured building which is currently Corrigan's Amusement Arcade - at the foot of Bland's Cliff. From 1868 to the early 1900s this building housed the sea-front 'indoor seawater baths' (25K / 21K / 19K). Prior to 1868, and through the period when Anne visited Scarborough, these baths were located 'this side' of the Futurist Theatre (the site is indicated by a white asterisk in the photograph). In the concluding section of Anne's novel, Agnes Grey, Agnes resides at a seaside resort that Anne names only as 'A------', but is clearly identifiable as Scarborough. She gives a graphic description of Scarborough's South Bay, and mentions the 'water-cart' fetching the sea water for the baths.29n'
On the extreme right is the Spa Bridge.