Brontë Birthplace
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The Brontë Birthplace is a house in Market Street, Thornton, West Yorkshire, England, where writers
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...
, Charlotte and
Emily Brontë Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English writer best known for her 1847 novel, ''Wuthering Heights''. She also co-authored a book of poetry with her sisters Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte and Anne Brontà ...
, and their brother Branwell, were born between 1816 and 1820.


Building

The house is a two-storey, three-bay terraced house built of sandstone in 1802. It is a grade II*
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, identified as 72 and 74 Market Street.


Brontë occupancy

The house was the parsonage when
Patrick Brontë Patrick Brontë (, commonly ; born Patrick Brunty; 17 March 1777 – 7 June 1861) was an Irish Anglican minister and author who spent most of his adult life in England. He was the father of the writers Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte, Emily Bront ...
, his wife Maria and their two children, Maria (1814-1825) and
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...
(1815-1825), moved there on 15 May 1815. The literary sisters and their brother Branwell were all born in the house, and the family lived there until moving to
Haworth Haworth ( , , ) is a village in West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines south-west of Keighley, 8 miles (13 km) north of Halifax, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhop ...
in 1820 when Patrick was appointed curate there.


Later history

A
butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...
's shop was added to the house front in the mid-19th century, and it was later used for various purposes including becoming flats. In the 2010s the house was in use as a cafe, named "Emily's", but it did not re-open after closing during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


2022 and beyond

A campaign to purchase the property for community use was established in July 2022, with the establishment of the Brontë Birthplace Steering Group, which worked in partnership with the existing charity the Thornton and Allerton Community Association Ltd (TACA). Brontë Birthplace Limited was set up as a
Community Benefit Society An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules. The members of a society benefit from the protection of limited liability ...
in June 2023, independent of TACA, and produced a 7-year business plan in October 2023. In November 2023 the future of the building was secured, to be restored and preserved as a cultural and educational centre and visitor attraction. A major contributor to the community share scheme was Nigel West, whose father Jim West had inherited the house and donated it to the church. Jim had inherited the house in 1959 from his aunt Florrie, who had been a cousin of Charlotte Brontë's husband Arthur Bell Nicholls. Another patron of the project was
Duncan McCargo Duncan McCargo is President's Chair in Global Affairs at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where is also a professor of English (by courtesy). McCargo retains an affiliation with the School of Politics and International Studies at th ...
, a professor of global affairs and English at
Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country. The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, includi ...
, whose father's family grew up in Bradford. Supporters included television journalist Christa Ackroyd.
Bradford City Council City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. Bradford has had an elected council since 1847, which has been reformed on several occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metr ...
supported the project with a substantial grant linked to Bradford UK City of Culture 2025. The plan is to operate a cafe / small restaurant / events space on the ground floor and to generate income by renting four upstairs bedrooms, decorated in the style of the Brontës' time in the house, as holiday lets or to visiting scholars. Brontë Birthplace Limited completed their purchase of the property at the end of March 2024, and planned to begin extensive renovations as soon as possible.


References


External links

* {{Brontë sisters Brontë family Buildings and structures in Bradford Grade II* listed buildings in West Yorkshire Grade II* listed houses Birthplaces of individual people Houses completed in 1802