Easter activities at the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth

 

Easter activities at the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth include a celebration of the 198th anniversary of Charlotte’s birth on Bank Holiday Monday. Visitors can find out more about her life with talks from members of staff throughout the Parsonage – including a talk from Executive Director Ann Sumner on the Brontë connection to the railways, which highlights the new display in Branwell’s Studio and follows on from our appearance on Michael Portillo’s Great British Railway Journeys. There is also a rare opportunity to view some of Charlotte’s possessions, letters and manuscripts up close, as Collections Manager Ann Dinsdale (pictured) takes visitors behind the scenes in the research library at 11am, 12pm and 1pm (free to museum visitors, though numbers are restricted so booking essential – contact susan.newby@bronte.org.uk or call (01535) 640185. thetelegraphandargus

Easter traditions

Many of our current Christmas and Easter traditions originated back in the Victorian era which covered the duration of Queen Victoria's reign over the UK from 1837 to 1901. At that time England was emerging from its historic Puritanical bans on celebrations. The people at that time were filled with joy and hope as they embraced a new world of merry celebrations and traditions. Today many of these Victorian traditions are still popular and there is no sign that they will be abandoned.

Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of the year in the UK. The participants enjoy its customs, folklore and traditional foods. It is an ancient holiday dating back to pagan times long before Christianity arrived in Britain. The first English historian, the Venerable Bede, wrote that Easter derived from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn and spring--Eostre.
Easter falls at the end of the winter and the end of Lent, which is a time of fasting during the Christian calendar. This is a joyful holiday marked by feasting, fun and celebration. The British national holidays for Easter come on the Friday before Easter Sunday and the Monday afterward. The schools are closed for two weeks and the children devour chocolate in large quantities.

Victorian Traditions

A large variety of Victorian traditions have survived the years. One favorite is Easter cards, which began in the late 18th century when a publisher added an Easter greeting to a drawing of a bunny on writing stationery. Sending the cards is a fun practice which is now growing in the US as well.
The Easter Lily became popular in symbolizing life after death, since the bulb grows, blooms, dies back and grows once again during the following year. Although tulips, daffodils and narcissus follow the same life cycle, the lily with its large size and white blossom is an excellent symbol of resurrection during the season.
Easter parades allow the participants in the processional to show off their spring finery after Easter Mass as they stroll through the streets following a priest or minister with a crucifix or a candle. The

Easter bonnet became a favorite adornment for women and girls to show off as they walked. During Victorian times, a beau might give a pair of gloves to his sweetheart and if she wore them during the parade, she was announcing her acceptance of his marriage proposal.

The children were especially excited when they awoke on Easter morning to see what the Easter bunny had brought them for their Easter baskets. If they had been good throughout the year, they could expect a variety of chocolate eggs and bunnies, jelly beans and other sweet treats. Egg rolling contests and Easter egg hunts were/are a favorite pastime during this holiday.
In some areas, Morris dancers perform a folk dance which has roots dating back to the Middle Ages. The men dress in colorful costumes with hats and ribbons. They also wear bells around their ankles as they dance through the streets. Some carry sticks with inflated pigs' bladders tied on the end. When they dance up to young women, they smack them over the head with the bladder. This is supposed to bring them luck. One wonders just what kind of luck the lady might find afterward--or is it the young man who gets lucky?

Maundy Thursday

This is the Thursday before Easter, commonly remembered as the Last Supper, when Christ washed his disciples' feet as an act of humility. The word "Maundy" comes from the French word, "Mande," which means "command." The Ceremony of the Royal Maundy in Britain dates back to Edward I.
It is traditional for the British Queen to participate in the ceremony. She distributes Maundy Money in white and red purses to senior citizens which amounts to one man and woman for each year of her own age. This tradition dates back to at least the 17th century when the royal sovereign washed the feet of some poor people as a gesture of humility. The last royal monarch to participate in this version of the tradition was James II.
The British continue to enjoy their Victorian Easter traditions which they still practice today. As a side note, today the Easter Bunny is just as popular as Santa Claus.

Source

• An Easter Celebration: Traditions and Customs From Around The World by Pamela Kennedy; Ideals Publications; 1991
• diane-evans
• selmaala
• Maundy-Money-Queen-Victoria-1839-Silver-Coin

Brontë Studies. Volume 39. Issue 2

Brontë Studies. Volume 39. Issue 2



The new issue of Brontë Studies (Volume 39, Issue 2, April 2014) is already available online. We provide you with the table of contents and abstracts:

Early 1900's postcard

Mick Walpole
 

 

Haworth

Jack HargreavesI love Haworth and the Bronte Parsonage
 

Bronte Parsonage around 1920

BronteParsonage Bronte Parsonage 26 mrt.

#MuseumMemory This image shows the Parsonage in around 1920, when it was still a private house #MuseumWeek pic.twitter.com/5qXwgkDVnz

 

A very good idea

For the first time the Parsonage is offering VIP tours for the most dedicated Brontë enthusiasts. Small groups or individuals can now enjoy a personalised tour of the Museum given by a specially trained guide, and/or view close up some of the treasures of the collection, whether manuscripts, 'Little Books', the Brontës' personal possessions, letters or drawings. Special interest groups can be catered for, and tours and treasures tailored to your particular requirements. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime present for a special occasion, or an unforgettable part of your trip to Yorkshire for a group of true Brontë lovers. To contact us click here, or ring Sarah Laycock on 01535 640199.

VIP Tour Fees, 2013
For 2 to 8 people:Private Tour -  25 per person
Library Viewing -  £25 per person
Private Tour and Library Viewing - £40 each,
For 1 person only, minimum payment:Private Tour -   £50 each
Library Viewing - £50 each
Private Tour and Library Viewing - £50 each
bronte.uk/visit/vip-bronte-treasures

A Jenkins descendant meets a Heger descendant

A Jenkins descendant meets a Heger descendant:
M. Francois Fierens (great-great-great-grandson of Constantin
Heger) and Monica Kendall (great-great-granddaughter of Rev.
Evan and Eliza Jenkins), Brussels, February 2014

 

Read the complete story on: brusselsbronte/brussels-bronte-jenkins

I am the great-great-granddaughter of that Mrs Jenkins (her name was Eliza, née Jay), and of Rev. Evan Jenkins, the British Chaplain in Brussels from 1825 until his death in 1849. Until October 2013 I knew quite a bit about the Jenkins family in Brussels, though mostly in the second half of the nineteenth century, but knew nothing about our connection with the Brontës. It’s a mystery why there are no anecdotes in the family. But thanks to hugely helpful people who responded to my interest (and an inordinate number of emails I sent) I finally arrived in Brussels in February 2014 to investigate. It was the same month Charlotte and Emily arrived, 172 years before – rather more quickly (by Eurostar from London where I live) than the Brontës had managed!

 

 The current 61 Rue des Champs Elysées - possibly the same
house as in the 1860s: the Jenkins home and school at that time

Sketch of the head and shoulders of a young woman by Charlotte Bronte

Bronte Parsonage Museum

On this day in 1831, Charlotte completed this sketch of the head and shoulders of a young woman, possibly as part of an art exercise at Roe Head School.

Wallet of Branwell

Bronte Parsonage Museum

From the Treasure Trove

This wallet is the only personal possession of Branwell's in the collection, and it was empty when it was found. It joined the collection here at the Parsonage in 1950.

Anne Brontë copied this scene from Bewick's "A History of British Birds"

Bronte Parsonage Museum

On this day in 1829, the nine year old Anne Brontë copied this scene from Bewick's "A History of British Birds"

Literary heritage: The three-bedroom cottage in the West Yorkshire village of Thornton was once home to the Bronte family

 Patrick Bronte, his wife Maria and their first two children, Maria and Elizabeth, moved there in 1815 and it is where Charlotte, Emily, Anne and  Branwell were all delivered in front of the fireplace in 1816, 1818, 1820 and 1817 respectively. But five years after making it their home, the family moved to the Parsonage at nearby Haworth – which has claimed the spotlight in the Bronte story ever since. The cottage was shut up for years following the failure of a birthplace museum on the tourist trail. It was let as private rented accommodation until it came back on the market last year. The historical home had been rented as bedsits to tenants in search of cheap accommodation but the plaques commemorating the births of the four gifted children outside the faded front door were barely noticed. After the last tenants packed their bags the absentee landlord put the property on the market last year. The Bronte birthplace trust was formed by local villagers to save the property and turn it back into a museum again.  But this scheme failed after Bradford Council decided it could not afford to buy the property. Amid fears it would be turned back into flats, businessman Mark de Luca and his wife Michelle spotted the near-derelict property believing it to be an unpolished tourism gem.

He renovated the home which was suffering from damp and flooding and has turned it into a deli where visitors can look round the Bronte’s private quarters. The cafe is due to open up in May following an extensive renovation. Among other features, visitors will be able to inspect the very hearth where all three sisters were born. It also boasts the writing desk built into the structure where Patrick Haworth wrote his first sermon - about the Battle of Waterloo.

Birthplace: The drawing room still boasts the fireplace, in front of which Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell were all born

The new owners, both 29, sold their cottage in the village to buy the Bronte home. They
snapped it up as a repossession for £120,000 and then spent another £30,000 doing it up. The couple already had a track record, having converted a Grade II listed building around the corner into a hair salon. But it was cheap because the 100 year old timber windows were rotten, the roof was leaking, and the wallpaper was falling off the walls -which were riddled with rising damp. The old scullery at the rear of the property had flooded through the back door with waste from the overflowing drains. Mr de Luca, a former quantity surveyor, said: ‘It was so damp and humid. The drains were overflowing with years of dirt and debris.’‘The property has been mistreated over the years and I wanted to bring tourists back to the village,’ he said. ‘It is a very important property for England and we wanted to reclaim the history and restore the place to its former glory.’ The couple are sleeping in Patrick and Maria’s room complete with the writing desk where he wrote his first sermon – on Wellington’s victory at Waterloo.

 The owners' private living room complete with a wardrobe used by the Bronte family

The second bedroom where the younger Brontes slept has become the drawing room, though it still has the built-in wardrobe used by the children. The third bedroom used by the Bronte children’s nurse serves as a study while the downstairs scullery has become their private kitchen. The rest of the downstairs rooms, including the drawing room with the famous fireplace, have been laid out as a delicatessen and coffee shop with room for 35 people due to open next month. A counter and open kitchen serving cakes, sandwiches, and pastries has been created in one of the front extensions built in the 1900s as a butcher’s shop. The couple hope the trendy décor will attract of a new generation of Bronte fans who previously may have regarded the sisters’ writings as a touch highbrow. Mr de Luca added: ‘We want to make the Brontes cool and trendy. The Bronte Society meetings and events at Haworth seem to attract mainly older people. ‘The original idea of a museum is great - but you do not really get to sit there and enjoy reading a Bronte book or a newspaper.’ Birthplace Trust Chairman Steve Stanworth said: ‘I am delighted. It will  once again be somewhere that Bronte fans can see the actual place the literary giants were brought into the world. ‘It could have been turned into flats - and that would have been a real shame. But Mark spotted a unique selling point for a coffee house.

The original desk where Patrick Haworth wrote his first sermon - about the Battle of Waterloo

Thornton village needs the recognition as the first stop on any pilgrimage and we hope this helps the regeneration of the village.’
Bronte Society Chairman Sally McDonald said: ‘The birthplace in Thornton is hugely important in the Bronte story. ‘In the bicentenary year of 2016 the world’s attention will turn to all places linked with Charlotte Bronte. ‘Some years ago former Bronte Society member, Barbara Whitehead, bought and tried to restore the house but sadly it proved just too big a project. ‘It is a pity the Birthplace Trust’s hopes of turning the house into a museum were pipped at the post but it wasn’t to be and it is heartening to hear the new owners are keen to sympathetically retain the history.’ Patrick Bronte wrote of his time in Thornton: ‘My happiest days were spent there.‘This is where the family was complete: father, mother and children, and where they had kind friends.’ In Haworth, he said, he felt like ‘a stranger in a strange land’.

dailymail.co.uk/

Here you can see how it lookes in Barbara Whitehead's time :kleurrijkbrontesisters/the-birthplace-of-charlotte-bronte

Charlotte Brontë’s time in the city of Brussels.

 

From: Charlotte Mathieson. read more and see more pictures on her website.

Although it is well known that two of her novels, Villette (1853) and The Professor (published 1857) are based on her time as a student and teacher in the Belgium capital, the importance of Brussels is typically given less attention other than as a topographical reference-point for her novels. In my research I’m exploring the legacy of Charlotte Brontë in Brussels over the past 150 years, and this visit was the first step in seeing the sites for myself and meeting the Brussels Brontë Group

 



 



 



A small section of the Rue Terarken, just a few steps away from the Pensionnat, has survived and gives a sense of what the area would have looked like when the Brontë sisters were there: The street is narrow and close, with the overhanging buildings adding to the sense of proximity; it also shows the difference in depth of the past topography of the area, as the photo above is taken from the current street level, and a series of steps descend into the Rue Terarken



There are also the houses of some of the Brontës’ friends in Brussels, including 11 Rue de la Régence, home to the Dixon family and inspiration for Madame Walravens’ house in Villette:

 

kleurrijkbrontesisters/a-virtual-walk-through-isabelle-quarter

Parsonage in spring

Bronte-Parsonage-Museum

Couldn't resist popping outside to take a snap of the daffodils in the garden ‪#‎MuseumWeek

The Old White Lion.

 

 

Ian Howard  https://www.facebook.com/groups/141852959183989/

The Old White Lion.

300 years old ( and where the first Freemason lodge met, pre Branwell )