00:00We have the largest collection of Bronte items in the world and the parsonage of course is at
00:10the center of that collection. It is itself an object in our Bronte collection. It's the home
00:15where they lived until they died and all of their lives and a lot of work goes to keeping it safe
00:22and secure. Obviously items have to be conserved, protected from the light. There are a family of
00:29six children and they grew up here in Howarth at the parsonage having moved from Thornton in Bradford
00:36where they were born and their mother died very young which is of course very tragic for them as
00:41small children and Mr Bronte knows doing his best to bring them up with an aunt from Cornwall. They
00:46were told boarding school, the two elder daughters died. It was a life full of tragedy but resilience
00:52and they survived against all the odds and have written some of the best loved novels in the world.
00:57They were writing about things that clergymen's daughters weren't normally writing about and
01:02that's down to Mr Bronte giving them such freedom with their learning and reading when they were
01:06when they were younger. They had access to all sorts of material, newspapers, Byron, you know poetry and
01:12things that might have not seemed appropriate for young children but he was very forward-thinking and
01:17they had their own ideas and of course their vivid imaginations. We get between 60 and 65,000 at the
01:24moment since Covid and they come from all over the world. Some people are coming here on like a pilgrimage,
01:30you know, something to tick off their bucket list. Other people are from the UK or from nearer to Bradford.
01:37So, yeah, all over the world and often, you know, very passionate, you know, about literature and the family.
01:44Well, we're really excited. We're a base for the Wild Uplands project for Bradford 2025 which involves, you know,
01:52sculpture on the moors behind us and will be a pick-up point for headsets for the Opera North Earth and Sky programme.
01:58We're also involved in wandering imaginations which is some writers and residents from Garner and Bradford
02:05being inspired by the Bronte's writings that they wrote when they were very small children, so very excited about that.
02:11We've also got a very special loan coming from the National Portrait Gallery which is Branwell Bronte's portrait of Emily Bronte
02:19which we're very excited to be having here back in the place where it was painted so many years ago.
02:24Well, obviously, we're looking forward to welcoming visitors all over the world coming to Bradford in this special year.
02:30But what we really want as well is to remind people that live locally that we are here on your doorstep,
02:35a gem in the Bradford Heritage Crown and that we would love to see some of our local residents as well.
02:41Lots of local residents tell us that they came on a school trip and haven't been since and this is the year to put that right.
02:47We've got a special exhibition called From Howarth to Eternity which is about the enduring legacy of the Bronte's through TV and film and screen adaptations.
02:58Howarth started to become famous even in the Bronte's day. There were people coming to find the writer of Jane Eyre and hoping to get a glimpse of Charlotte Bronte in church or meet her father.
03:11And, of course, there's been lots of screen adaptations and films since then which have been seen all over the world, screened in many different languages.
03:19And we thought this exhibition, the subject of this exhibition was perfect fit for Bradford City of Culture 2025,
03:26what with Bradford being a UNESCO City of Film and also the global appeal of Bronte enthusiasts across the world.
03:35So, we always see an uptick in visitor numbers when a new adaptation comes out and we're always delighted to share information and sell books
03:43and talk to visitors about adaptations that they've seen and enjoyed.
03:47And we're looking forward next year to the new version of Wuthering Heights directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie.
