Secrets of the Bronte sisters' connections with wild Yorkshire landscape revealed in exhibition

Whether it’s the evocative image of Wuthering Heights standing cold and alone over the bleak moor, or Jane Eyre escaping Thornfield across the countryside, there are perhaps no authors more closely associated with the landscape than the Bronte sisters.
Victoria Finan
By Victoria Finan
Published 15th Feb 2023, 15:36 BST
Updated 15th Feb 2023, 15:37 BST

Anne, Charlotte and Emily – as well as their brother Branwell – knew the moors, hills, waterfalls and rock formations surrounding their home at the Parsonage in Haworth intimately, taking daily walks among the flora and fauna, with the landscape serving as inspiration for their works.

And their connection to the outdoors is now being celebrated in a new exhibition at the Bronte Parsonage, The Brontes and the Wild, bringing together artwork and manuscripts all associated with the landscape.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The wild really comes through in the novels, particularly when you think of Wuthering Heights and its inspiration, Top Withens” explains Sassy Holmes, programme officer at the Parsonage.

New Exhibition ‘The Brontës and the Wild’, will run throughout 2023 at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. Ellen Dando the Visitor Experience Deputy Manager looks at Needle Case with a Birds Nest sketch on by Charlotte Bronte 1829-1832. Picture by Simon Hulme 7th February2023 New Exhibition ‘The Brontës and the Wild’, will run throughout 2023 at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. Ellen Dando the Visitor Experience Deputy Manager looks at Needle Case with a Birds Nest sketch on by Charlotte Bronte 1829-1832. Picture by Simon Hulme 7th February2023
New Exhibition ‘The Brontës and the Wild’, will run throughout 2023 at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. Ellen Dando the Visitor Experience Deputy Manager looks at Needle Case with a Birds Nest sketch on by Charlotte Bronte 1829-1832. Picture by Simon Hulme 7th February2023

"It’s so central to Cathy and Heathcliff’s story, the landscape almost comes through as a character.

"You can feel what the Brontes wrote as soon as you stand on those moors or walk up Haworth’s main street. It’s so atmospheric.

"Emily in particular talked about how nature was almost God-like and showed her the wonders of the world.

"They lived and breathed it on a daily basis.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A new acquisition to the Parsonage’s collection takes pride of place in the exhibition: The Brontë family’s annotated copy of Thomas Bewick’s ‘A History of British Birds’, recently acquired by the Museum from the Blavatnik Honresfield Library.

"It means an incredible amount for the Parsonage to bring this item home,” said Ms Holmes. “The items from the Honresfield collection join lots of dots for us. We’ve had illustrations for a while of birds the Brontes had drawn, but now we know they’re actually copies and tracings from the book they had.

"It’s a beautiful thing to have and show our visitors and such an exciting moment.”

Other key items on display included Charlotte Bronte’s drawn needle case, crampings which belonged to her father Patrick Bronte, and The Evening Walk – one of Charlotte’s famous ‘little books’ created in miniature.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Also on show is a costume from the recent biopic Emily, which according to Ms Holmes has brought a new generation of young fans to the Parsonage.

"It was a fantastic way of engaging a new audience. The film captured the spirit of Emily so well.

"The beauty of adaptations is they capture the Brontes in a different way. I think Emily was the most wild sister of them all – so it links with our exhibition in a thematic way too.”

For more information on The Brontes and the Wild, including a full list of events and talks planned to co-incide with the exhibition, visit www.bronte.org.uk

Related topics:Jane EyreYorkshire