Brontë Birthplace Museum

I recently went with a friend to visit the Brontë birthplace on Market Street in Thornton. Thornton was a village in Victorian times and it was here that Rev'd Patrick Brontë, supported by his wife Maria, was, for five years from 1815 to 1820, the minister of the Bell Chapel. Thus it was here, in what was then the modest parsonage, that four of their six children were born. They already had Maria (b 1814) and Elizabeth (b 1815) and added to their family with Charlotte (1816), Patrick Branwell (1817), Emily (1818) and Anne (1820). The three younger girls, of course, went on to become the famous novelists that we know as the Brontë sisters. In 1820 the family moved on to nearby Haworth, living in the Parsonage there.

Sadly, their mother Maria died in 1821 of cancer and the two older girls died of TB in 1825. 

Their original home was fairly new when they lived there. (It was built in 1802). Since then, it has been a butcher's shop (which explains the extension on the front); the home of a crimewriter, Barbara Whitehead, who did open it for a while as a small museum; and then a coffee shop (which I visited in 2019, see HERE) that did not reopen after COVID. In 2023, the local community and supporters set about crowdfunding to restore the building and secure its future. It has been renovated, preserving the original features that were left and adding period-appropriate decor and furniture. 

They've uncovered the original stone flags in the hallway, and the fireplace in the family room (below), in front of which, it's said, the children were born. This room, which became the butcher's shop, is now a Tea Room. 

The more formal Parlour, across the hallway, also has its original hob grate fireplace, and a series of display cabinets showing some of the items that were uncovered in the restoration. 

Upstairs, what was once the nursery where the children slept is now a large bedroom. This room had connecting doors to both the parents bedroom and that of the young household servant who helped the family.

Since the renovation, you can book an overnight stay in the house, which I'm sure will appeal to some of the many avid fans of the Brontës. 

The scullery (my first photo) was the beating heart of the domestic life of the family, where food was prepared and laundry done. The cast-iron range isn't original to the house (as the room had been stripped and turned into a more modern kitchen) but is of the same period. Leading off it are very steep stone stairs up to the small room where the family's servant slept. Nancy Garr came in 1816 (aged just 13 herself!) to help look after the children, later joined by her 12 year old sister.