The Yorkshire street that unlocks the key to the greatest English novels
It’s incredible to think that several of the greatest English novels were written by different authors in the same house, let alone that they were all related, and talent as rare as the Brontë sisters seems unbelievable, but in their Yorkshire home, titles like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall were penned by Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.
The siblings were born in the village of Thornton, before moving to nearby Haworth, where their father became the perpetual curate at the parsonage – it was this small village, surrounded by sweeping countryside moors and perpetually gloomy weather, that inspired the sisters’ work, although one street in particular unlocked the key to their eventual success.
Take a trip to Haworth, and you can visit the Brontë Parsonage, where relics of the family’s creative endeavours and personal lives are on display… You can even see the very spot where Emily succumbed to her weakening health, passing away at the age of just 30, but once you walk a short distance up the street, past the churchyard where you can see a plaque dedicated to Emily and Charlotte, you’re on the main street that runs through the village, and it was here that the sisters were granted access to a world beyond their own.
Haworth feels like a little universe that exists outside of time; the oppressive influence of the wind and rain on the moors surrounding the village certainly creates an atmosphere of distance and separation. You can imagine that, back then, the churchyard and the parsonage area would’ve been quieter and even more gothic-feeling – there wouldn’t be the perpetual flow of tourists who have since come to dominate the area, particularly in the summer.
Yet, on Main Street, the sisters were given the chance to look beyond the walls of Haworth, where death was rampant, a threat to their dreams that could’ve easily limited their perspective on life. I mean, Maria Branwell, the siblings’ mother, died less than two years after the family relocated to Haworth, while various siblings passed away over the coming years. Tragically, the Brontë patriarch outlived all six of his children and his wife.
But before death consumed the family, the sisters found solace in writing, and it was at John Greenwood’s local news and stationery store that they were able to purchase pens and paper to begin bringing their ideas to life. It’s now Oh La La – The Original Brontë Stationary Store, which you can visit and buy writing tools of your own.
Darker, however, is what is now The Cabinet Of Curiosities, a shop offering toiletries, candles, books, and occult-themed items. It was once the place that the sisters’ brother Branwell would frequent to get his opium fix, shortly before his death. The troubled Branwell had a mighty influence on his sisters, with some readers even believing him to be partly an inspiration behind the self-destructive Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights.
The street also offers a converted post office, which now stands as a cafe, with the original counter still preserved. It was here that the siblings were able to send their manuscripts away – using male pseudonyms, of course – hoping for a chance of literary success. When they did hear back from publishers or received money, they could collect it here, too, although neither of the sisters would live long enough to know just how successful and long-lasting their legacies would truly become.
With the release of Emerald Fennell’s controversial adaptation of Wuthering Heights, it seems like Haworth is only going to become more popular as a tourist destination over the coming years. But try to imagine the now-bustling street back in the days of the Brontë siblings, where something beyond the gloom of the moors was glimpsed in the various shops that lined the road just a street away from their home, inspiring them to reach for something more.
