55 MINUTES FROM PATELEY BRIDGE
Brontë Parsonage Museum
The Haworth home of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, preserved as the place where three of English literature's greatest novels were written. Original manuscripts, the sisters' own handwriting and the wild moorland just beyond the garden gate make this one of the most evocative literary museums in the country, around 55 minutes from Pateley Bridge.
Visit information
- Location
- Church Street, Haworth BD22 8DR
- From Pateley Bridge
- 55 minutes via Skipton
- Open
- Wednesday to Monday, 10am to 5pm, check website for seasonal changes
- Entry
- Paid, pre-booked timed tickets recommended
- Dogs
- Not permitted inside the museum
- Facilities
- Museum shop, cafes and pubs along Haworth's main street
Three sisters, one extraordinary house
The Brontë family moved into the parsonage in 1820, when Patrick Brontë took up the post of curate in Haworth. It was here that Charlotte, Emily and Anne wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey, among other works, within just a few years of each other.
The museum preserves the house much as the family knew it, including the dining room table where the sisters are said to have written side by side in the evenings, and personal possessions that bring their short, intensely creative lives into sharp focus.
Among the most remarkable items on display are the sisters' "little books", tiny handmade volumes written in minuscule script as children, an early glimpse of the imaginative worlds they would later turn into some of English literature's most enduring novels.
Making the most of your visit
Pre-booked timed tickets are recommended, particularly at weekends and during school holidays, since the museum's rooms are intimate rather than vast.
Allow time afterwards to wander Haworth's steep, cobbled main street, and if you are feeling energetic, the walk out onto the moors toward the Brontë Waterfall gives a real sense of the landscape that shaped Emily's writing.
Given the distance from Pateley Bridge, this works well as a dedicated half-day or full-day trip, especially if combined with Skipton Castle or a wider loop through the Dales on the way home.
What to see
The Family Home
The Georgian parsonage where Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë lived and wrote, preserved with much of its original furniture and atmosphere intact.
Original Manuscripts
See the sisters' own handwriting up close, including their extraordinary tiny "little books", miniature handmade stories written as children.
Haworth's Cobbled Main Street
A steep, cobbled village street lined with independent shops, cafes and pubs, virtually unchanged in character since the Brontës' day.
The Moors That Inspired Wuthering Heights
Walk out onto the wild moorland behind the village that shaped Emily Brontë's writing, including the walk toward the often-visited Brontë Waterfall.
55 minutes from Pateley Bridge
Book timed tickets ahead online, especially at weekends and during school holidays.
