Designation and the Brontë Parsonage Museum
We were thrilled when the Brontë Parsonage Museum became a Designated Collection in England. Trustees, staff, volunteers, members, as well as Brontë scholars and enthusiasts, already understood the significance and uniqueness of the museum’s collection, but to have it recognised as Designated instilled an even stronger sense of pride in us all.
The Brontë Parsonage Museum collection comprises over 8,000 items housed within Haworth Parsonage where the Brontë siblings grew up, where they began writing as children, where they wrote their great novels and poetry, and where they all, with the exception of Anne, died.
The Parsonage is a Grade I listed building and is furnished with much of the family’s original furniture and domestic artefacts. The collection includes:
the Brontës’ early writings, ‘little books’ and poetry manuscripts
drawings, watercolours and oil paintings
diary papers, books, and correspondence
writing desks with their original contents
costume, textiles, jewellery and hair
and furniture and household items
This archive of material relating to the many dramatic adaptations of the Brontës’ lives and works (including scripts, stills and costumes), as well as a range of contemporary art and literature reflecting the impact of the Brontës on creatives from the nineteenth century to the present day, ensures that the museum collection fully covers not only the Brontës’ lives and literature, but also their afterlives and legacy.
As Andrew Carnegie famously observed, “Anything in life worth having is worth working for”, and our Designation journey, quite rightly, took time and commitment. Our advice to any institution considering applying for Designated status would be to identify a number of colleagues to work on the process together. Strange though it may seem, one of the hardest aspects for us was making the case for the national significance of the collection: to us, it was obvious why the Brontës were worthy subjects for a museum collection, but we had to step back from our position of knowledge and familiarity and imagine we were making the case to someone who had never heard of them. It was really useful to share a draft with an external ‘critical friend’, as well as with other colleagues.
Being awarded Designated status has attracted increased respect, credibility and kudos, and is further evidence of the Brontë Parsonage Museum ‘punching above its weight’ as a small, independent museum. Our marketing, fundraising, recruitment and team morale have all been given a boost by the award.
The Brontë Society was founded in 1893 with the purpose of establishing a museum to promote interest in the life and works of the Brontë family. Since then, our collections of Brontë manuscripts, furniture, clothing and personal possessions – the largest in the world – have continued to fascinate and inspire generations of visitors and academics. Our Designation certificate is proudly displayed for all to see and our staff and volunteers are excited to explain its significance to anyone who enquires. We believe our founders of 130 years ago would have felt just as proud of this achievement as we do today.
Rebecca Yorke, Director, Brontë Parsonage Museum
Ann Dinsdale, Principal Curator: “The Museum’s collection is a great scholarly resource, offering fascinating insights into the Brontës as writers. It also includes many of the family’s personal treasures, which remind us, in a profoundly moving way, of the Brontës as ordinary human beings. After working with this wonderful collection for many years, I’m thrilled to see its importance recognised in this way.”
Vesna Armstrong, Visitor Experience Assistant: “It’s a privilege to work at the Parsonage and share the Brontës’ manuscripts and belongings with visitors every day. Our Designated status helps them to understand just how important the house and collection are and how fortunate we are to have all of these unique and fascinating items gathered together.”
