Haworth: Bronte Parsonage Museum

Llew poses in Haworth’s pretty Main Street

Then, we were on the road again, heading towards Haworth (pronounced ‘Howith’), which lies just north of the village of Hebden Bridge but along a remote and deeply isolated moor whose barrenness gave truth to the myths that the sensibility of the Brontes’ was negatively affected by the wide loneliness of their environment which led, in turn, to the moroseness of their plots. In the house, we trooped through the rather tiny rooms actually inhabited by the family members from 1820-1861 and where they wrote their best-known novels.

The house is full of memorabilia from the lives of the family and their dogs, Flossy and Keeper. There are many paintings by Branwell Bronte, their brother, a drug-addict, including the famous one that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Next, we visited the Haworth Parish Church where their father, Patrick, served as pastor for many years—a small cute church with a graveyard attached with really old gravestones. The entire space was so steeped in Victoriana that we were transported to another era. I almost felt as if I was walking into the plot of a Victorian film.
Then, we walked along Haworth Main Street, which slopes down steeply and offers excellent views of the moors. Of the many shops that line the street, the Rose and Co. Apothecary had a very authentic atmosphere and was the place from where Branwell obtained his supplies of opium. By then , it was about 5-5.30 pm and Llew wanted to get back on the road again before it got too dark.

To return to the rest of our travels, please click on Yorkshire.