Spring in Elizabeth Gaskell's garden

twitter.com/GaskellsHouse

Future of Haworth Visitor Information Centre on the agenda at public consultation session

Councillor John Huxley, chairman of Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council

 

THE first consultation session to decide the future of the district's threatened visitor information centres has taken place in Haworth. This event was held at the Old White Lion, in West Lane yesterday evening. (Feb 2) Bradford Council's budget plans for the centres – at Haworth, Ilkley, Saltaire and Bradford – include a £19,000 cut this year and a massive £172,000 reduction in 2017-18, which the authority warns could result in closures. The Haworth Visitor Information Centre is in West Lane. Councillor John Huxley, chairman of Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council, said: "Bradford Council has to make savings, and they believe new technology has a role to play – as do I. "But the Haworth Visitor Information Centre is one of the places in the village which you never see empty. "It is a very important facility and if we're going to be taken seriously as a tourist destination we must have a tourist office of some kind. "As a parish council it's the kind of place we're anxious not to lose, and as a council it's the kind of facility we'd be interested in trying to save. "But that's something we'd first have to discuss in depth at a full council meeting."

Cllr Huxley added that two members of the parish council were due to report back from the consultation in Haworth on Tuesday. Matt Stroh, chairman of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, said it was important Bradford Council retained a physical presence in Haworth to help visitors, even if it was not as extensive as the current information centre. He suggested staff explored new ways of meeting the needs of many tourists who preferred to seek information before they set out from home. He said: “I’d like there to be investment in tourism in Haworth. I appreciate the centres may have to change their focus to meet the needs of people nowadays, but I don’t think closure is the answer. “I think Haworth would suffer greatly if there wasn’t some kind of physical hub for information and activity.” Haworth Main Street trader Mike Hutchinson, who owns a bed and breakfast, said it was "ridiculous" to even consider axing the village's only tourist information centre.

He said that if such a closure were to happen, it would be the latest in a series of cuts to public services to hit the village. "What on earth is Bradford Council up to with regards to Haworth?" he asked. "Are they creeping up on everything in Haworth with a giant axe to kill everything off?                  

                                                                                             

"Don't they know Haworth is a tourist area bringing revenue to the whole area?
"As with a lot of other things, Bradford will go in years to come, 'Oops we shouldn't have done that.' A lot of these facilities are used by locals and visitors alike." keighleynews

Snow in Haworth.

 

facebook/Photographer PAUL JONES

 

The rear of the old school rooms
 

Anne Brontë was born on this day in 1820.

Anne was born in the small Yorkshire village of Thornton on 17 January 1820, the sixth and last child of the Reverend Patrick Brontë, and his  wife Maria.
You can read a beautiful story about her birthday on: annebronte./the-birth-of-anne-bronte

Brontë descendants to visit Bradford district for film about the family's life

 

DESCENDANTS of the Brontës will visit the Bradford district during the filming of a new documentary about the family’s lives. Lifelong Brontë enthusiast Imelda Marsden will portray the Brontë’s story through the eyes of a Shipley nurse whose ancestor was Patrick Brontë’s sister Sarah. The 20-year-old nurse, known only as Rebecca, will tour West Yorkshire with her grandmother visiting sites where the Brontë sisters lived, worked or stayed. During visits to Haworth, Thornton, Dewsbury and Mirfield, they will also visit houses and landscapes that inspired Brontë novels like Jane Eyre, Shirley and Agnes Grey. Interviews and travelogues will be intercut with dramatised scenes recreating events from Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell’s early life. The resulting DVD will go on sale at Brontë shrines open to the public, including the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Red House and Oakwell Hall. Proceeds will go to Hollybank School in Mirfield, for children with learning disabilities, whose pupils will play Brontë children in the DVD. The film will be one of several being made by companies including the BBC this year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth. Imelda’s film crew will be led by professional TV documentary maker John Thirwell, who is also a member of the Brontë Society Council. thetelegraphandargus

Arthur Bell Nicholls, who was born in County Antrim in Ireland on 6 January 1819

 

Today we celebrate the birthday of Charlotte Brontë's husband Arthur Bell Nicholls, who was born in County Antrim in Ireland on 6 January 1819. His birth place was Tully Farm, Killead, in the townland of Tully, Co. Antrim. lisburn/historical_society

 

Brontë Society and National Portrait Gallery combine for Brontë 200 celebrations

 

A fragment of Charlotte Brontë’s dress at Haworth© The Brontë Society

 

Precious relics of the life of Charlotte Brontë are to go on display in 2016 for Bronte200, as the National Portrait Gallery and the Brontë Parsonage in Haworth pool their resources to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of the famous author of Jane Eyre.

The free display will also feature first editions of Jane Eyre, her first published novel, which enjoyed immediate and enduring popularity as well as Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography, Life of Charlotte Brontë.

New research about the famous painting of the literary Brontë sisters, by their brother Branwell, will also be revealed, exploring the intriguing story of its discovery folded on top of a wardrobe, subsequent acquisition by the gallery and its restoration.

The display will also include the chalk drawings of Charlotte and her friend and first biographer Elizabeth Gaskell by George Richmond, alongside portraits of Charlotte Brontë’s heroes and associates such as the Duke of Wellington, poet Lord Byron and novelist William Thackeray.

 

Charlotte Brontë’s cloth ankle boots with leather toes, heels and side laces © The Brontë Society

Celebrating Charlotte Brontë 1816-1855 is curated by the National Portrait Gallery’s Associate Curator Rosie Broadley and assisted by Lucy Wood, Assistant Curator who said, “This rare chance to see the only painted portrait of Charlotte Brontë alongside illuminating personal treasures from the Brontë Parsonage Museum provides a fascinating opportunity to celebrate her life and remarkable achievements as one of the most celebrated authors of the 19th century”.

In Yorkshire, at the epicentre of the thriving international Brontë industry, the Brontë Society and the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth have invited the novelist Tracy Chevalier to be a “creative partner” for the bicentenary year, to explore creative ways of responding to the Brontë legacy.
The acclaimed writer, whose works include Girl with a Pearl Earring, has developed an exhibition called I Shall Go Off Like a Bombshell which, through objects and quotations “explores the contrast between Charlotte’s constricted life and her huge ambition”.

Many of the loans from the Parsonage Museum as well as works from the National Portrait Gallery Collection will be exhibited in the United States for the first time at the Morgan Library in New York in autumn 2016 as the Bronte Society looks to “bring the Brontës to the world and the world to Yorkshire” through events, exhibitions and partnership projects.  Read all on"culture24

More on the Brontës:

Public floggings, embezzlements and shocks: Unpublished Charlotte Brontë manuscripts bought by museum

Patti Smith makes literary pilgrimage to play benefit gig for Brontë Parsonage Museum

"Little gem" portrait of Charlotte Brontë buddy Mrs Hudson back at Parsonage Museum

Brontë Society secures Charlotte Brontë letters used by Elizabeth Gaskell

You know you're in @brontecountry when the moor direction signs are also in Japanese!

 

Mr Beamish

In Search Of Anne Bronte.

Nick Holland on the weblog Anne Bronte
My biography of the youngest Brontë is the culmination of my love for Anne and her sisters that really took hold in my first days at University back in the last century, and I hope that my labour of love will bring as much happiness to readers as it did to me when I was writing it. It’s called ‘In Search Of Anne Bronte’ and is being published by The History Press on March 7th, 2016 in the UK, and in June in the United States.

Happy New Year to all of you.

""The community was fantastic. Everybody really pulled together."

A fire chief has praised Haworth residents for their community spirit during yesterday's flooding chaos. Keighley watch commander Darren Armstrong said villagers had rallied round to help those affected and to support emergency services personnel. Firefighters spent much of the day at Mill Hey, where there was severe flooding. Part of the former Royal Oak pub, due to reopen next spring as the Mill Hey Brew House, was swept away. Around half a dozen homes were evacuated and the Spar store and other businesses were flooded. Three people had to be rescued from a car which had become stuck in the flood waters. Fire crews from Keighley, Silsden, Rawdon and Hunslet pushed out a bridge wall to divert water as levels continued to rise. And they used pumps to help clear away some of the deluge. A kitchen to feed people was set-up at the railway station on the Worth Valley line, which had been closed due to the flooding. "The community was fantastic," said Mr Armstrong.
"People were filling bags with ash for folk to use as sandbags, volunteers on the railway opened-up their facilities and Spar and others gave food. "Everybody really pulled together." keighleynews_in_Haworth

Furious response to news that plan to establish community safety hub in Haworth has been put on hold. CAMPAIGNERS claim they have been "kicked in the teeth" after a plan to convert and re-open Haworth's closed fire station was removed from a key meeting agenda. They took to the streets of Haworth to protest in pouring rain on Saturday, after learning the scheme to turn the mothballed facility into a community safety hub would not be discussed at tomorrow's fire authority meeting.
A fire service spokesman has said the project is not dead, but warned the service is having to review its financial situation. Read all: keighleynews

I received this reaction from Anonymous with an explanation.

The river is below that road. The flood waters are trapped by the walls. Walls that used to have gaps and gates. The wall in the photo next to the pub was destroyed to save the Royal Oak. This situation is yet another example of the stupidity of the local councils. The actual source of the flood was due to the rail bridge upstream of the road bridge that has not been cleared. Yorkshire Water applied to reduce the flow in the river so that they could extract more, but have failed to clear the silt that accumulated. The river is partially blocked by a large manhole constraining the flow (the sewer is under the river bed). Each obstruction adds a little bit more height to the river and the sum of all the increases overflows the walls.

Also the river used to flow down the "goit" to the mill and then down the mill race, so bypassing the constriction of the bridge. Well it did in the old days when those in charge knew how to manage the water. Instead the site of the mill has been totally altered and the flood waters do not have a chance to get to the mill race anymore. They are limited to the single bridge span of the road bridge.

They strive so much to save money, but it costs them a fortune.

See this video: facebook/Haworthvillage

 

Flood in Haworth

Mill Hey, Haworth

 

 

Royal Oak,Haworth

 

Facebook

 

 facebook

Hebden Bridge this morning.

The river at Hebden Bridge broke its bank on Saturday evening causing flooding on the roads.
halifaxcourier

Merry Christmas to all of you.

 

"Music I love - but never strain
Could kindle raptures so divine,
So grief assuage, so conquer pain,
And rouse this pensive heart of mine -
As that we hear on Christmas morn,...
Upon the wintry breezes born."

 

To tell you the truth I didn't know this poem

 

 (from Music On Christmas Morning by Anne Bronte)

 

I found it on the Facebook page of Nick Holland

Complete poem on: annebronte/music-on-christmas-morning-by-anne-bronte/

 

“A Christmas frost had come at midsummer; a white December storm had whirled over June; ice glazed the ripe apples, drifts crushed the blowing roses; on hayfield and cornfield lay a frozen shroud: lanes which last night blushed full of flowers, to-day were pathless with untrodden snow; and the woods, which twelve hours since waved leafy and flagrant as groves between the tropics, now spread, waste, wild, and white as pine-forests in wintry Norway.”
― from JANE EYRE by Charlotte Brontë

 

 

National Portrait Gallery to reveal mysteries of shadowy Bronte brother

 

Painted by Branwell, who hoped to become a professional artist, it is well-known to scholars of the Brontes, first mentioned by author Mrs Gaskell in 1853 when it showed just the three sisters separated by the pillar Photo: National Portrait Gallery

By Hannah Furness, Arts Correspondent:
For decades, he has been the shadowy figure gradually emerging in between his sisters in the only existing group portrait of the Brontes. Now the National Portrait Gallery is set to reveal the mysteries behind Branwell Bronte’s self-portrait, after using the latest scientific techniques to reveal how he began sketching himself only to change his mind immediately. Experts expect to be able to show the most accurate images yet of what his picture would have looked like, before he painted a solid pillar over his own face and took himself out of the family group. The painting, which hangs in the gallery and shows Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte together, is to be the centrepiece of a new exhibition to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Jane Eyre author’s birth.

Painted by Branwell, who hoped to become a professional artist, it is well-known to scholars of the Brontes, first mentioned by author Mrs Gaskell in 1853 when it showed just the three sisters separated by the pillar. The portrait itself disappeared, before being found folded carelessly on top of a cupboard in 1906 by the second wife of Charlotte’s husband Reverend A.B. Nicholls. Since being acquired by the NPG in 1914, fading paintwork and the steady march of time has gradually unveiled a shadowy male figure in the middle of them, widely believed to be Branwell. The painting is now undergoing scientific testing to tell the true story behind how the painting was constructed, and give fans of Charlotte Bronte a deeper insight into her home life.

A study of paintwork, which allowed experts to date different part of the portrait, has shown Branwell only made the briefest of sketches of himself, and did not begin painting his skintone at all.
The pillar is now believed to have been painted on immediately by Branwell, likely as an artistic decision, rather than seeing him covered up at a later date. By February, when the exhibition opens, curators hope to use the latest technology to show what the original image looked like in its most detail yet, and tell the full story of how it came to the public eye. A spokesman said: “Central to the display will be the presentation of new research into the only surviving painted portraits of Charlotte with her two sisters, Emily and Anne, by their brother Branwell, in the Gallery’s Collection.

“This will explore the intriguing story of its discovery folded on top of a wardrobe, subsequent acquisition by the Gallery and its restoration.” Lucy Wood, assistant curator of the exhibition, said latest research had shown there was no sign of “flesh paint” under the pillar, adding: “It appears that he was only ever loosely sketched and never fully painted up. “The pillar was added in at an early stage, so it appears he painted himself over.” The painting will go on display alongside dozens of items loaned from the Bronte Parsonage Museum, home of Charlotte and her siblings. It includes paintings and drawings by Charlotte, letters and journals, the famous ‘little books’ created by the Brontë sisters as children and the first book Charlotte ever made.

Other items include a pair of cloth ankle boots worn by Charlotte, first editions of Jane Eyre, chalk drawings of the author and Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography, Life of Charlotte Brontë. Ms Wood said: “This rare chance to see the only painted portrait of Charlotte Brontë alongside illuminating personal treasures from the Brontë Parsonage Museum provides a fascinating opportunity to celebrate her life and remarkable achievements as one of the most celebrated authors of the 19th century. “It will enable visitors to learn more about her private life, her influences and come away with a real sense of who she was.”

Juliet Barker, former curator of the Bronte Parsonage Museum, biographer and author of the forthcoming The Brontes: A Life in Letters, said the image of Branwell is already well-known, but said new techniques may allow experts to uncover more. .telegraph/National-Portrait-Gallery-to-reveal-mysteries-of-shadowy-Bronte-brother