Some places reach into your head; some into your heart. And then there are the rare few that get inside you both ways. For me, that’s Haworth, England, where the famous literary family, the Brontes, lived.
This small town in West Yorkshire is a magnet for Bronte book lovers. Their books have never been truly out of print. Film adaptations abound. And there’s the recent box office success of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Now, a new adaptation of Charlotte’s powerful novel, Jane Eyre, is in the works for television.
The centerpiece of Haworth is The Parsonage Museum, the home of the Brontes for much of their lives and their creative years. On the wall hangs a portrait of the three sisters – Charlotte, Emily, and Anne – painted by their brother, Branwell, who led a tortured existence.
All their disturbing and dramatic books were written here in this quiet unassuming place. These days, well over 75,000 people visit each year. Exhibits display fascinating memorabilia.
My husband and I marveled at Charlotte’s diminutive dress, her stockings and parasol … along with a lock of her blonde hair. Charlotte was the only Bronte to marry. She lived for just 9 months after that, dying while pregnant.
Through the guide, we learned about their difficult lives. Like many of their time, their lives were filled with tragedies. And they lived longer and better than most, as their father made a living as a parson of this quiet village.
Haworth was a working class town of weavers consisting of about 6,848 souls. People often lived no more than 25 years, we were told.
Posters from numerous films were on display. The bookstore was a treasure itself, filled with Bronte books I never knew existed. There are now souvenirs here that can only be found at The Parsonage Museum Gift Shop.
We then made our way to the cemetery behind the parsonage. At least 42,000 bodies are buried there, graves on top of one another. It was frightening because swarms of black flies circled above.
It was ghoulish … and worse. “The graveyard is eerie. You can feel gothic death in the air.” Those are the words of Joe Cooke, a contemporary journalist who grew up in Haworth. “Crows have colonized, providing an eerie soundtrack.”
Joe came back to Haworth to marry at the church next to the parsonage. Says his wife, Brittney, “I came to Haworth as an American who fell in love with a Yorkshireman, and the village became a spiritual home I never knew I was missing.”
The next day, to shake off the chill of that graveyard, we decided to walk the storied moors. Amidst the heather and thick moor grass, we set out for we knew not where.
It turns out that Top Withens, reputed to be the farmhouse in Wuthering Heights, is less than a two-hour walk up the road. Just follow the Pennine Way footpath.
Our walk became a special joy. England has a “right to roam” law that means every property has a “free access path” through it. A smattering of white sheep dotted the softly rolling pastures. At a distance, the sheep began to look like pencil points.
Dappled horses, seemingly roaming free, were under a perfect blue sky. We took our lunch next to a babbling brook. All seemed right with the world. This day reached into me. It will never be forgotten.
Come for a day trip to the museum for your head, but don’t miss the moors for your heart.
A Few Recommendations
Just getting to Haworth was a special treat. Yes, you can easily come by car and park close to downtown. (There is a shuttle bus to the Parsonage.) But we took the famous old-style steam train on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway that chugs right into Haworth.
Brittney recommends dinner at the Hawthorne, a restored Georgian house that was once home to the local clockmaker. She enjoyed morning coffee and breakfast at Cobbles and Clay.
I gloried over breakfast at The Weavers, where we stayed the night. It’s a comfortable, simple place in the center of town. Betty’s Tea Room nearby in Ilkley is a branch of the iconic restaurant in York, which is a favorite of mine. Their soups and salads served on bone China are excellent, as are their British scones and cookies.
Check out Visit Britain and The Parsonage Museum website for more information.
As a television producer and on-camera reporter, traveling to Asia, Europe, and around the U.S., Norma Davidoff got hooked on travel. She loved her work on television projects in Italy, France, Spain, Indonesia, India, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Norma liked nothing better than being on-location with a small camera crew, meeting locals to learn about their lives. Among many positions, she was producer/on-camera reporter for Newsweek Broadcasting, Director of Program Development for The Travel Channel, and Senior Producer for Ted Turner’s Better World Society. She is particularly proud of her work in public television in its infancy. These days, she writes feature and travel articles, many with her own photos. That has brought Norma to still more places to satisfy her curiosity about the world.
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