Thornton

Thornton, where the Brontë birthplace is situated, was once a separate village but is now a commuter suburb of Bradford, and in truth is a little run down in parts. Apart from the newly rescued and renovated parsonage where the Brontë sisters were born, perhaps its best known attraction is the collection of 19th century workers' cottages known as South Square, renovated in 1982 as a community arts centre with studios, a gallery and a café (above). 

Up on Market Street, quite near the Brontë birthplace, is the curiously shaped building known (for obvious reasons) as 'Coffin End'. This was once the Star Inn. One of its former landlords was transported to Australia for the crime of stealing ten shillings.

A signpost in the village points to various local places of interest, including the adjacent hamlets of Egypt and Moscow. Established in the early 19th century to house local stone quarry workers, their quirky international names were inspired by British military victories during the Napoleonic Wars. They are not far from the hamlet of Jerusalem and the Walls of Jericho, originally massive stone walls that held back the quarry spoil heaps. The walls have now been demolished for safety reasons but I remember them from my younger days - high, dark and forbidding. 

One of the nicest things, in my opinion, about Thornton is that it sits on the hillside overlooking Bradford dale, where streams come together to form Bradford Beck, a river which ultimately runs down to and under the city centre. There's a massive Victorian railway viaduct and far-reaching views from the village streets. 

The Bell Chapel

Following on from yesterday's post, here is the Bell Chapel in Thornton. It was originally built between 1587 and 1612 and had undergone many changes by the time Patrick Brontë became its parson from 1815 to 1820. (He later said this was 'the happiest time of his life'.) In 1872, after he left, a new church was constructed and the Bell Chapel fell into disrepair. The font, where the Brontë children were baptised, has been relocated to the new church of St James, just across the road. Now all that remains of the chapel is one wall and a small anteroom, and the cupola that once graced the roof. It has been tidied up and made safer by volunteers since I last visited. It's now a rather attractive and romantic ruin, sitting in its graveyard, which was full of bluebells. 

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.  

Thornton

I had intended to have a good wander around the village of Thornton. By the time I'd walked from my car to the Brontë birthplace, however, I was freezing cold, despite wearing a thick, hooded coat and gloves. The winter sun was weak and the temperature barely above freezing so I decided to leave my exploration for a better day. I seem to feel the cold a lot more these days. Yet another of those things no-one ever tells you about getting older... 

I took a few photos along Market Street, where the Brontës lived during their time in Thornton. It used to be the main street through the village before the turnpike road (now the main Thornton Road) was constructed in 1829. Like most places, the older buildings have been infilled with newer ones and it's all a bit of a hotch-potch - and I think any 'market' and its site are long gone. Back Field (above) is a narrow alley, with cobbles and a central drain. The road surface must be higher than at one time, as further up there are old windows and doors, partially covered over:

The unusual building below is known locally as 'Coffin End' for obvious reasons. In the 1800s it was The Star Inn, one of three alehouses in the village. One of its former landlords was transported to Australia for the crime of stealing ten shillings. The structure illustrates the way the builders managed the steep terrain. At the lower end the building has three storeys whilst, behind, the adjoining cottages are much smaller.

Brontë birthplace

Not far from the Brontë Stone (see yesterday), in the village of Thornton itself, lies the house where the Brontës lived when father Patrick was the minister of the Bell Chapel. In my photo above, the house is on the left and you can see in the far distance the spire of St James' Church, which replaced the Bell Chapel after Patrick's time. [For more about the Bell Chapel, see my post HERE.]

Four of the Brontës' children were born in this house, in front of the fire in the parlour so it's said, before the family moved to Haworth in 1820.

In the intervening years the house has always been in private ownership. For a while it was a butcher's shop, which is why it has been extended out at the front. In the late 1990s through to 2007, it was restored and opened as a museum by crime novelist Barbara Whitehead. It then became a coffee shop but that closed during the Covid pandemic. Now, a community group, supported by private donations and a grant from Bradford's City of Culture fund has managed to purchase the property and it is currently undergoing restoration. They intend to open it as a café and holiday accommodation, dedicated to preserving the heritage and memory of the famous literary family. 

One of the four Brontë Stones, the Charlotte Stone has been placed against the wall here:

Two verses of a poem by Dame Carol Ann Duffy, a former Poet Laureate, have been inscribed. The poem in its entirety can be read HERE. The inscription reads: 

'The vice of this place clamps you; daughter; father who will not see thee wed, 

traipsing your cold circles between needlework, bed, sleep's double-lock. 

Mother and siblings, vile knot under the flagstones, biding. 

But the prose seethes, will not let you be, be thus;

bog-burst of pain, fame, love, unluck. True; enough.

So your still doll-steps in the dollshouse parsonage.

So your writer's hand the hand of a god rending the roof. '

Across the road from the birthplace, in what was once apparently a shop front, a whimsical mural alludes to the Brontës' lives and writings. 

Brontissimo

After finding the Anne Stone in Haworth (see HERE), I went on the trail of the others. This one, commemorating all the Brontë sisters, is situated in Thornton Cemetery. 

The poem, carved by Pip Hall, is written by Jeanette Winterson and reads:

'BRONTESAURUS

Fossil record of a miracle

Bone by Bone

Word for Word

Three Women writing the Past into the Future

Line by Line

Listen to the Wildfell of your heart

Do not betray what you love

The earth opens like a book

You are come back to me then? 

BRONTISSIMO' 

 (After seeing the way the Anne Stone faces a wall, I'm not hugely impressed by the way these markers have been sited. This one is in a lovely setting on a ridge with the hills behind - but the carved face points north, meaning that it is always going to be silhouetted by the backlight. It makes it hard to read and photograph, even on a not very sunny day.)

The Brontë Bell Chapel

Just before Christmas, when I went to Thornton to view the Christmas Tree Festival in St James' Church, I was lucky enough to find the gate to the Bell Chapel, opposite, unlocked. These days I think it's normally 'out of bounds' to visitors but there was a working party doing some tidying up in the grounds so I was able to go in and take some photos.

The Bell Chapel, as it is known locally, was built between 1587 and 1612, but underwent various alterations over the years before the appointment of Patrick Brontë as the parson, in 1815.  He was, as you may recall, the father of Charlotte, Anne and Emily Brontë, who went on to become famous novelists. They were all born in Thornton whilst their father was incumbent there for five years - a period he described as the happiest of his life. His children were all baptised here and the original baptismal font is now relocated inside St James' Church across the road. 

Not much of the actual chapel remains, apart from an end wall with a tiny anteroom, and the cupola. The new church of St James was built in 1872 (well after Patrick and his family had moved on to Haworth). After that the old chapel and its surrounding graveyard (where over 6000 people are buried) rapidly deteriorated and became overgrown. Great efforts have been made in recent times to clean up the surroundings and look after it but I think funding is hard to come by and volunteers come and go. There's more information HERE. 

It's an interesting place, surprisingly peaceful despite being next to a main road, and full of echoes of the past. I've chosen to process the photos in sepia to accentuate the history.