Today I visited the village of Haworth in the West Riding district of Yorkshire, a neighbouring county to my own (Lancashire). Haworth itself is great of course, but we also took the scenic route (rather than the motorway), which is another fantastic trip in itself. We drove out through the old mill towns of Lancashire and up over the Pennine Moors. The scenery is just incredible, hills, rolling fields, stone walls (the usual lot), the roads are really small and winding though. I'm so useless in cars (buses, boats, the lot), I've always suffered from bad travel sickness, which gets really annoying sometimes. Say, when you have to make an emergency stop on a dirt road through the mountains of Honduras to spew beans everywhere (gross I know, sorry to all my friends that wiped down the carnage . Anyway, needless to say, after spending an hour being chucked around on country roads by my mum's erratic driving I spent the majority of the morning trying too focus on the horizon and not be sick (so I missed a lot of the wonder). In between my nausea I pointed the camera roughly in the direction of some beautiful hills, so I'm hoping there's at least some decent pictures.
The stunning view of the valley
The beautiful English countryside, it's so awe inspiring
The harsh, windy moorlands; the setting of Wuthering Heights. It's so windy and cold up on the moors, not much grows. The bleak landscape was a huge inspiration for the Brontë's in their writings.
The Village of Haworth:
Haworth is a historical town located in what was historically the 'West Riding' region of Yorkshire. It sits high up on the bleak Pennine moors. The first recorded mention of the village as a place of settlement dates back to the year 1209. The town has retained most of its original buildings and cobbled streets, as well as its preserved Victorian era steam railway. The main economy of the town is now tourism, with visitors being attracted by its famous inhabitants; the Brontë sisters, who wrote some of the best loved and most well known English literature during their lives in the village. The Brontë family resided in Haworth from the 1820's to 60's, during the height of the Victorian era. Despite its hill-top setting and being surrounded by open countryside, the Victorian era township was incredibly overcrowded and thus a really unhealthy place to live.
A man with his horse and cart, Main Street
Life and Death in Haworth
A General Board of Health report published in 1850 attributed the ill health and disease to the cramped conditions and the lack of toilets in the town, with one toilet for every 4 families!! The sewage system of the town consisted of open channels running down the main street. This was all made worse by the poor water supply, which was not only inadequate for the population of the town, but was also contaminated by seepage from the toilets, the rubbish middens as well as from the graveyard that sat above the town (yes, you read that right). The graveyard, which sat next to the parsonage home of the Brontë family, was also incredibly overcrowded. All of this meant that the death doll was staggeringly high; 41% of children died before reaching the age of six, and the average life expectancy for the village was only 25 years old (that'd make me really old, lucky or dead). These figures corresponded with some of the poorest parts of London and sadly Haworth missed out on much of the Victorian era Health campaigning.
The Church at Haworth and a tiny glimpse of the church yard. I actually find graveyards quite fascinating and sad of course, but something draws you in.A lot of these graves are really old, I like to read the names on them and peoples ages. I like to imagine the people and their lives.
A painting of the three Brontë sisters, painted by their brother Branwell. He had originally been in the picture, but later painted himself out.
Our first stop was the Brontë parsonage Museum, which is located in their old home atop of a hill above the town. The parsonage itself was built in 1778 and became the home of the Brontë's in 1820, when Patrick Brontë became the perpetual curate of the church, it remained Patrick's home until his death in 1861, having outlived all of his children. The building was acquired in the 1920's by the Brontë Society and turned into a museum.
The Brontë parsonage Museum
The front view of the Georgian era Parsonage. It still looks much as it would during the Brontë's time.
The view from the Parsonage, down the small street. the church and the graveyard.
Sadly, they don't allow photos to be taken within the parsonage itself. I think my descriptions would also not do it justice at all...
When you leave the parsonage you head down a small cobbled street, the church towards the centre of the village. The building on the left is a school where Charlotte Brontë once taught
Plaque on the school wall.
The streets winds round, past the church, then round another corner past some cute little housesand opens up in the centre of the town.
The town centre is at the top of a large hill that leads down the Main Street. It's full of lovely little vintage shops.
Cute little vintage trinkets :)
I really like this shot, with the iconic red phone box and the old apothecary in the background. It's just a shame that it doesn't allow the view down the hill to be seen as well.
The old stocks, where you would be placed when you had committed a minor crime. Then people could throw rotten fruit and veg at you!
My mum in front of the old Apothecary. The word is the historic one for what would have be the pharmacy (drug store if you're American). It has been restored on the inside to its full Victorian glory and is full of all kinds of wonderful vintage things. You can take a look here.
From the centre of the village we made our way down the steep cobbled hill of Main Street.
The street is lined with beautiful sandstone shops, tea rooms and houses and from the top you get a beautfiul view across the Yorkshire countryside
Haworth has become home over the past few years to many specially vintage shops. There's some beautiful things to be found
Delicious food!
We decided to stop here for some lunch
The cafe did some delicious traditional English grub. I had crumpets with cheese and caramelized onion!
More cute little tea rooms
A gorgeous view down the hill. I like to try and imagine it without all the cars... other than that not much has changed since the Victorian era
Entrance ways to people's houses and back gardens
Life and Death in Haworth
A General Board of Health report published in 1850 attributed the ill health and disease to the cramped conditions and the lack of toilets in the town, with one toilet for every 4 families!! The sewage system of the town consisted of open channels running down the main street. This was all made worse by the poor water supply, which was not only inadequate for the population of the town, but was also contaminated by seepage from the toilets, the rubbish middens as well as from the graveyard that sat above the town (yes, you read that right). The graveyard, which sat next to the parsonage home of the Brontë family, was also incredibly overcrowded. All of this meant that the death doll was staggeringly high; 41% of children died before reaching the age of six, and the average life expectancy for the village was only 25 years old (that'd make me really old, lucky or dead). These figures corresponded with some of the poorest parts of London and sadly Haworth missed out on much of the Victorian era Health campaigning.
The Brontë Family:
The Brontë's are famous as a literary family and unlike many writers of their era, they achieved fame and notoriety during their own time. The most famous family members were the three Brontë sisters; Charlotte, Anne and Emily whose novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are recognized literary classics. The girls father, Patrick Brontë was born in Ireland in 1777 to a very poor farming family. He worked hard during his time at school and taught himself to read, his ambition lead him to be accepted into St John's College in Cambridge (England). It was at college that he choose to drop his Irish surname 'Brunty', changing it instead to a more regal sounding Brontë. After Patrick was ordained as an Anglican minister, he served as Reverend in a number of places around the country. In 1812 he married Maria Branwell (of Cornwall), the two had met a year earlier when Maria had visited her uncle. The couples first child, Maria was born in 1814, followed by Elizabeth (1815), Charlotte (1816), Branwell (1817). Emily (1818) and then Anne (1820) and the family moved to the Parsonage at Haworth the same year. The year after the move, Maria Brontë died of stomach cancer, leaving her husband with six children to care for. Maria's sister Elizabeth moved to Haworth soon after to care for the children. Within three years, the family's two eldest daughters caught Tuberculosis while away at school and died aged 9 and 10 years.
The Brontë children were incredibly close growing up, Charlotte Brontë was the eldest of the three surviving Brontë sisters that lived into adulthood and took on the role of caretaker for her younger siblings. The children created imaginary worlds and acted out plays together. Charlotte is most famous for her novel 'Jane Eyre' which she published under the male pen name of Currer Bell, as was customary for female writers of the time. The second eldest girl was Emily, who is documented as being shy and reclusive; rarely venturing from home and not making friends outside her family. Her sole novel is the infamous 'Wuthering Heights' which documents a destructive love affair, set amongst the backdrop of the bleak Yorkshire moors.If you haven't read Wuthering Heights, I really suggest that you find a copy! Anne was the youngest Brontë child, and is famous for two novels; 'Agnes Grey' and 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall', the latter which is considered to be one of the earliest pieces of feminist literature. The sisters used to write together in the dining room of the parsonage. They would pace around the table and read their novels aloud to one another, late at night, by candlelight. Charlotte was half way through her second novel when tragedy struck the family again; in the Septmeber of 1848 the sole brother, Branwell died of an illness made worse by his alcoholism and opium use. Shortly after Branwell's funeral Emily died of TB in December and Anne died soon after with the same disease in the May of 1849. Charlotte lost all three of her siblings within eight months. In 1854 she finally gave in and married her father's young curate who had long been in love with her. She became pregnant soon after the marriage, but only a few months later became ill and died along with her unborn child. Their father Patrick lived at the Parsonage until his death, taken care of by Charlotte's husband. There almost seems no words to describe the tragedy of their lives, it is unbearable to even think of. I really admire them all, free thinkers, who used their talent to question the status-quo of the day.
The Brontë children were incredibly close growing up, Charlotte Brontë was the eldest of the three surviving Brontë sisters that lived into adulthood and took on the role of caretaker for her younger siblings. The children created imaginary worlds and acted out plays together. Charlotte is most famous for her novel 'Jane Eyre' which she published under the male pen name of Currer Bell, as was customary for female writers of the time. The second eldest girl was Emily, who is documented as being shy and reclusive; rarely venturing from home and not making friends outside her family. Her sole novel is the infamous 'Wuthering Heights' which documents a destructive love affair, set amongst the backdrop of the bleak Yorkshire moors.If you haven't read Wuthering Heights, I really suggest that you find a copy! Anne was the youngest Brontë child, and is famous for two novels; 'Agnes Grey' and 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall', the latter which is considered to be one of the earliest pieces of feminist literature. The sisters used to write together in the dining room of the parsonage. They would pace around the table and read their novels aloud to one another, late at night, by candlelight. Charlotte was half way through her second novel when tragedy struck the family again; in the Septmeber of 1848 the sole brother, Branwell died of an illness made worse by his alcoholism and opium use. Shortly after Branwell's funeral Emily died of TB in December and Anne died soon after with the same disease in the May of 1849. Charlotte lost all three of her siblings within eight months. In 1854 she finally gave in and married her father's young curate who had long been in love with her. She became pregnant soon after the marriage, but only a few months later became ill and died along with her unborn child. Their father Patrick lived at the Parsonage until his death, taken care of by Charlotte's husband. There almost seems no words to describe the tragedy of their lives, it is unbearable to even think of. I really admire them all, free thinkers, who used their talent to question the status-quo of the day.
Our Day:
Sadly, they don't allow photos to be taken within the parsonage itself. I think my descriptions would also not do it justice at all...
A spot of Earl Grey to refuel
A cute house on the main street
So that was our day in Haworth, the pictures say far more than I ever could. The village is just so lovely and oldie wordly. It really is worth a visit if you're ever in the neighbourhood!! :) There were a lot of American tourists there actually, which I wouldn't expect with it being so far north. The tourists usually congregate in the south of England.
So we say goodbye to Haworth and Yorkshire for now...
So there we go!... I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to get the pictures up! I've had sporadic access to the computer and I was also away in Iceland for a little while. I hope you enjoyed the pictures of Haworth anyway. I'm working on getting the other blogs up too... I'm so behind! Just enjoying myself way too much ! :)
Take care pals !
xx
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