Media Release - Free Local Residents' Admission to Brontë Parsonage Launches Development Project

MEDIA RELEASE - June 2009
For immediate release

Admission to the Brontë Parsonage Museum will be free to local residents on Saturday 8 August.

The Brontë Parsonage Museum was recently awarded £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to support an exciting new development project. The project will focus on renewing the presentation of the historic rooms of the Parsonage with new interpretation for visitors, young and old; new object cases and displays, and a programme of events for local people to come and find out more about the museum and get involved in the project.

This programme will kick off on Saturday 8 August when local residents of BD20, 21 & 22 will be able to visit the museum completely free of charge. All that’s needed is a recent utility bill or other official proof of address which can be shown at the museum entrance. In addition to having the chance to look around the Parsonage, see the museum’s newly refurbished exhibition area and a new exhibition focusing on the Brontës’ reprobate brother, Branwell, there will also be a chance for locals to make suggestions about what changes they’d like to see in the museum through a visitor survey.

There will also be special open evenings at the museum on 15 and 23 September when locals can enjoy a guided walk around the Parsonage, visit the museum’s Library and take part in a Brontë treasures workshop to help staff with new displays which will focus on Haworth in the Brontës’ time. Places will be limited for these evenings and so booking is required. For further details and bookings, contact the museum on 01535 640192/ sonia.boocock@bronte.org.uk

''This is a great opportunity for local people to come along and enjoy a free visit to the museum and also for us to find out a bit more about what locals think of the museum. This project will help us include more about the history of Haworth in the museum’s presentation but also involve the local community of today.''

Andrew McCarthy
Director

Media Release - Brontë Parsonage Museum Receives £50000 From Heritage Lottery Fund to Support New Development

MEDIA RELEASE - June 2009
For immediate release

The Brontë Parsonage Museum has been awarded a grant of £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to support a programme of exciting new developments.

The museum has ambitious plans to completely refurbish the historic interiors of the Parsonage over the next two years. This will involve researching and introducing a new decorative scheme to the Parsonage rooms, the renewal of interpretation giving visitors of all ages information about the house and the family, and installing new object cases and displays. The project will also seek to create a greater focus in the museum on Haworth’s history and the social-historical context in which the Brontës lived. As part of this initiative there will be a programme of community activity to involve local people in the project. The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will fund stage 1 of the project which will involve the introduction of new interpretation, object cases and displays and the community programme of events which will begin with a local residents’ free admission day in August.

The museum, which was home to the famous Brontë family for over forty years, and is where Charlotte, Emily and Anne’s great novels were written, recently completed a major refurbishment to its permanent exhibition space located in an extension to the original Brontë house. The refurbishment was the first major development at the museum in over twenty years and the new exhibition space, Genius: The Brontë Story, which includes the treasures of the museum’s collection as well as fun interactive displays for children, has proved a big hit with visitors. This latest project will see further improvements to the museum.

Fiona Spiers, Head of HLF, Yorkshire and the Humber Region, said: “This fantastic project will really bring the Museum’s collections to life for everyone to explore. HLF is dedicated to supporting projects that open up our heritage for locals and visitors to learn about and enjoy.”

''We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting us with this work. The Brontës are the heart of Haworth but they were part of a broader community when they lived and wrote here and the museum has an important role in reflecting that and in forging links with the twenty-first century Haworth community. This project will hopefully allow us to work in partnership with that community to reinterpret the Brontës and the Parsonage for the next generation.''

Andrew McCarthy
Director, Brontë Parsonage Museum

Anyone interested in finding out more about, or participating in, the programme of community activities should contact the museum on 01535 642323/ sonia.boocock@bronte.org.uk
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Brontë Parsonage Museum

Please see the Brontë website for further details at http://www.bronte.info/ or write to Brontë Parsonage Museum, Church Street, Haworth, Keighley BD22 8DR T: 01535 642323, F: 01535 647131

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 more than 28,800 projects, allocating over £4.3 billion across the UK. Website: http://www.hlf.org.uk/.