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

 

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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

Historic photographes Haworth.

facebook/Jack Hargreaves.

 

Bottom of Main Street Haworth c1890- 1900

Beautiful view on the Church. Not many trees in that time.

 

c1910-20 pre Park

 

 

The Bronte Society was formed 122 years ago today!

 

Opening of the Haworth Parsonage Museum

 

In 1893 The Brontë Society was founded to organise a permanent home for these treasures, and to keep them together as a collection.

Even before Charlotte died in 1855 enthusiastic visitors were making their way to Haworth to spot the famous author around the village. Mr Brontë's Sunday afternoon congregations were sometimes swollen with sightseers, eager for a glimpse of his daughter, or, failing that, happy just hear her father preach.

Towards the end of the century, when cheaper editions of the novels appeared, and after Mrs Gaskell's 'Life of Charlotte Brontë' made popular the story of the three doomed and tragic sisters, interest in the Brontës boomed. Anyone who had known them was besieged with requests for anecdotes and souvenirs. Mr Brontë had died in 1861, at which point the Parsonage contents had been sold off and moved out. Many items had gone with Charlotte's husband Arthur Bell Nicholls to his new home in Ireland; others had been given to friends and servants as keepsakes. The sisters' manuscripts, letters and personal belongings began to appear in salerooms, and many fetched high prices on the American market.

 

In 1893 The Brontë Society was founded to organise a permanent home for these treasures, and to keep them together as a collection. The first Museum opened in 1895 above the Yorkshire Penny Bank on Haworth Main Street. The Society began to purchase Brontë treasures at auction, and many others were loaned or donated. By the following summer 10,000 visitors had passed through. In 1928 the Church put up for sale Haworth Parsonage at a price of £3000, and it was bought by Sir James Roberts, a Haworth-born wool merchant and lifetime Brontë Society member, who handed the Society the deeds. It was, of course, the perfect home for their collection.

 

The wealthy Philadelphia publisher Henry Houston Bonnell bequeathed to the Society his extensive collection of Brontë manuscripts, letters, first editions and personal effects, which arrived at the Museum upon his sudden death in 1926. From then on the Museum could boast the world's largest collection of Brontëana, and many subsequent bequests allowed them to bid successfully for Brontë items coming up for sale at auction. Today the Brontë Society is one of the world's oldest and most respected literary societies, with a worldwide membership of around 1500. bronte/bronte-society/history

From; bronte/bronte-society We are one of the oldest literary societies in the world, founded in 1893 and today we have a thriving worldwide membership. The Brontë Society is a charity and depends entirely on admissions and the generosity of members for its income. The Society is responsible for running the famous Brontë Parsonage Museum in the picturesque village of Haworth in West Yorkshire, once the home of the Brontë family and also for promoting the Brontës' literary legacy within contemporary society.

 

The Brontë collections at the Brontë Parsonage Museum are the largest and most important in the world and continue to inspire scholars, writers and artists. Our Contemporary Arts Programme includes literary events, exhibitions, artistic responses, a competition and festivals, and our lifelong learning programme enables us to reach students of all ages across the country.

 

Becoming a member of the Brontë Society supports our work especially as we approach the celebrations for the bicentenaries of Charlotte Brontë in 2016, Emily Brontë in 2018 and Anne Brontë in 2020. By joining today you will assist us maintain the legacy of this remarkable family whose novels remain as popular today as when they were first published in the first half of the nineteenth century. You can join online or when visiting the Brontë Parsonage Museum. members.bronte./Join-Online

 

Campaigners in fight to save Bronte landmark from threat of cash cuts

 

EVOCATIVE: The ruins of Wycoller Hall in the village of Wycoller, said to be the setting of Ferndean Manor in Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre

 

AN EAST Lancashire landmark which inspired Charlotte Bronte is under threat – and a petition to support it has already been signed by more than 700 people. Wycoller Hall, on the outskirts of Colne, was the model for ‘Ferndean Manor’ in Bronte’s Jane Eyre – and the historic venue is the starting point for the Bronte Way which leads to the Parsonage Museum in nearby Haworth.

 

But the countryside service offered by Lancashire County Council is under threat, as part of the £262m cuts required over the next five years, which has sparked a wave of protest.

 

Also under threat are the Queen Street Mill in Burnley and Helmshore Textile Mill near Haslingden.
The Friends of Wycoller is behind the petition on the change.org website, citing the hall’s links with one of Bronte’s most memorable characters, Mr Rochester.
The petition reads: “‘Ferndean Manor’ is the centrepiece of the gorgeously romantic Wycoller hamlet, clustered around a stream at the heart of Wycoller Country Park. Its moody scenery and residents inspired the Bronte sisters.

Read more: lancashiretelegraph/Campaigners_in_fight_to_save_Bronte_landmark_from_threat_of_cash_cuts

How the moors changed my mind about the Brontës

Read everything of this article on:  theguardian/moors-brontes-charlotte-emily-anne 

I’ve just got back from a week’s filming in Haworth and its environs – its bleak, freezing, inhospitable, endlessly compelling environs – for a documentary about … yes, you guessed it: the Brontës. There were three of us presenting, each going in to bat for a different member of the family.
The novelist Helen Oyeyemi was Emily’s champion, the BBC stalwart Martha Kearney was Charlotte’s, and I was there to represent Anne. She’s the only Brontë sister I can really cope with. The others, with their Wuthering Heights and their Jane Eyres, are just … too much. T’Sturm und t’Drang are not my way, in life or in reading. Give me the quiet, forensic scrutiny of Agnes Grey, the eponymous heroine of Anne’s first book, based on her miserable experiences as a governess for two rich families full of semi-feral children. Or the slow, pitiless anatomising of the effects of alcoholism on a Victorian family, so accurate that The Tenant of Wildfell Hall could have been written yesterday.

CHARLOTTE Brontë married her sweetheart

CHARLOTTE Brontë married her sweetheart – watched by a huge crowd of well-wishers in Haworth churchyard. The BBC today recreated the 1800s wedding of Charlotte, then the only surviving Brontë sister, to her clergyman father’s assistant Arthur Bell Nicholls. A crew filmed the ceremony inside Haworth Parish Church with a costumed wedding party made up of professional actors and Brontë Parsonage Museum staff. Brontë enthusiasts and local people, invited along by the museum, lined the churchyard to cheer the happy couple and throw confetti.

The event was filmed by BBC Bristol as part of a series due to be shown in 2016 to mark the 200th anniversary of Charlotte’s birth. Living Like A Brontë will be part of a year-long BBC season focusing on classic literature in a bid to get more people in the UK reading. During today’s ceremony Rebecca Yorke, the parsonage museum’s marketing officer, played bridesmaid Ellen Nussey, Charlotte Brontë’s best friend. She said: “The ceremony was really moving. The two people playing Charlotte and Arthur were really well cast and it felt very real, being in the Brontë Chapel. “When we were in the church we could hear the rain hammering down, so it was amazing that so many people were outside to greet us.

“I’d had lots of inquiries so I knew a lot of people were interested in going. We had responses from people all over the world.” Ann Dinsdale, a Brontë historian and collections manager at the parsonage museum, said she was surprised how touching the event was. She said: “We spent a week with a film crew around Haworth to got used to them, but it was quite moving to see the actual ceremony. Mrs Dinsdale said the replica dress was created from descriptions of the actual dress and the design of the real wedding bonnet and veil from the museum’s collection. She added: “The real dress didn’t survive. Arthur Bell Nicholls kept it for many years but left instructions that it should be burned after his death. Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nicholls after publication of her novel Jane Eyre and the death of sisters Anne and Emily. Filming is being carried out with support from staff at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. Living Like a Brontë will be screened next spring as two 60-minute episodes.

Journalist and broadcaster, Martha Kearney; columnist and author, Lucy Mangan; and novelist, Helen Oyeyemi, are travelling to the parsonage, home of the Brontë sisters, to discover the stories behind their classic novels Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey. A BBC spokesman said: “With help from a range of experts, each presenter will explore one of the Brontës in detail.
                                                                                           
“By re-living the sisters’ daily routines, visiting the key places in their world and immersing themselves in their letters and diaries, and through the sisters’ interactions with each other, they’ll discover what it was that served as their sources of inspiration.” The BBC Get Reading season will also include Brontës At The BBC, showcasing excerpts from the many TV adaptations of Brontë works, and To Walk Invisible, a new drama about the Brontë sisters written by Last Tango In Halifax and Happy Valley creator, Sally Wainwright. thetelegraphandargus

The wedding took place at eight o’clock in the morning, but one important man was not to be there. At the last moment Patrick said that he felt too ill to attend, although we’ll never know if this was true or if he was still harbouring some resentment at the marriage itself. Margaret Wooler stepped into the breach and it was she who gave Charlotte away, with Reverend Morgan, Patrick’s friend who had baptised Charlotte, conducting the ceremony.Also present at the church were Joseph Grant, a friend of Nicholls, and his wife, Sutcliffe Sowden, the vicar of Hebden Bridge, the sexton John Brown and his daughter Martha, Joseph Redman, the parish clerk, and John Robinson, a local boy and former pupil of Charlotte’s. We can also assume that the by now aged and infirm Tabby Aykroyd would also have been there if she was well enough on the day. It was a low key affair, as Charlotte wanted, and they held a reception afterwards at the Sunday school building that lay between the church and the Parsonage. annebronte/the-wedding-of-charlotte-bronte

the torchlight procession in Haworth

 

.facebook/the torchlight procession in Haworth

Charlotte's wedding

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