CELEBRATION DAY

MEDIA RELEASE

February 2010
For immediate release

FREE LOCAL RESIDENTS’ DAY AT NEWLY REFURBISHED BRONTË MUSEUM

This image shows the admission queue on the Parsonage museum's opening day in 1928. The museum is hoping for similar scenes when it opens it's doors free of charge for locals on Saturday 20 February. The museum has recently completed a project with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund to improve the presentation of the historic rooms of the Parsonage. To celebrate, admission to the museum will be free to local residents of BD20, 21 & 22 on Saturday 20 February . Locals are asked to bring a utility bill or other official proof of address to gain admission.

The museum recently reopening following a major programme of work to improve its displays, which include a number of rare and important new acquisitions and items never previously displayed. Amongst these are items as diverse as Emily Brontë’s artist's box, purchased at Sothebys in December, and a pair of Charlotte Brontë’s stockings.

The museum is keen for local people to come along and see the changes made, since many contributed ideas to the development project through a visitor survey and a series of open evenings last year. The museum is open 11.00am to 5.00pm (last admission is 4.30pm).

We hope that people in and around Haworth will come and see the work that’s been done, which we feel has greatly improved the museum. There are some wonderful items on display this year, including things donated by local people, and these give an insight not only into the lives of the Brontës, but also life generally in nineteenth-century Haworth.

Andrew McCarthy
Director, Brontë Parsonage Museum

Heritage Lottery Fund

2009 saw HLF celebrate its 15th anniversary. Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported 33,900 projects, allocating £4.4billion across the UK, including £341million to projects in Yorkshire and the Humber alone.

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WORK COMPLETED!

Finally, after a very hectic month, hampered by the appalling weather in early January and with many surprizes and mishaps along the way, the redevelopment work at the museum is complete. There's new interpretation to improve the information available for visitors, beautiful new cases fashioned from English oak with new displays and new object labelling, and improvements to the decoration of the house too. The work has hugely improved the way in which the museum's remarkable collection is displayed and there is more of that collection now available for visitors to enjoy, including various new acquisitions; a tiny Charlotte Brontë poetry manuscript and Emily Brontë's artist's box purchased at Christies and Sothebys respectively, in December. There are also several items acquired through our Brontëana surgery detailed in a previous posting and items never previously exhibited at the museum, including a pair of Charlotte Brontë's stockings! The museum's thanks go to everyone who has supported the project including the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Idlewild Trust, the Charlotte Bonham Carter Charitable Trust and the Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank Foundation, as well as people in and around Haworth who supported the programme of community events.