Top Ten Places to Visit Near Haworth

13th May 2020

•  Haworth Main Street

Haworth became famous as a destination due it’s association with the Brontë sisters, but there are plenty of other reasons for you to visit this picturesque village surrounded by dramatic moorland.

Haworth is full of character and has a traditional cobbled main street on a steep incline.  There are some fabulous independent shops, including handmade chocolates, independent art galleries and jewellers.  There are many places to eat and drink from quaint little cafes with homemade cakes to Haworth Steam Brewing Company who make their own beer and gin.  There are also some lovely restaurants and pubs including The Black Bull said to be frequented by Branwell Brontë. 

Haworth hosts many themed events throughout the year. The 1940’s weekend in May is extremely popular and transports you back to 1940’s wartime, complete with the outfits, music and vehicles from the time.  Haworth also hosts the 1960’s weekend in June and ‘Steampunk and ‘Hawortheen’ in October.  Haworth’s Victorian Christmas really gets you into the Dickensian Christmas spirit with events including ‘Scroggling the Holly’ and the ‘Torchlight Procession’. You will find Haworth friendly and welcoming and enjoy browsing it’s shops and walking it’s nearby moors…

• Brontë Parsonage Museum and St Michael and All Angels’ Church

Second on this list, has to of course be, the Brontë Parsonage Museum.  The Museum is maintained by the Brontë Society in honour of the Brontë sisters – Charlotte, Emily and Anne. The museum is in the former Brontë family home, the parsonage is just off Haworth Main Street, where the sisters spent most of their lives and wrote their famous novels. The Brontë Society, one of the oldest literary societies in the English-speaking world, is a registered charity. Its members support the preservation of the museum and library collections. The Parsonage is listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England. 

St Michael and All Angels’ Church is the Church of England parish church of Haworth, West Yorkshire. The current structure, the third church building on the site, was built between 1879 and 1881 although parts of the original medieval church building, notably the tower, survive from earlier periods. The church is best known for its historic association with the Brontë sisters whose father Patrick Brontë served as minister of the parish between 1820 and 1861.

•  Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is a 5-mile-long heritage railway line in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire and one of the country’s premier ‘heritage’ steam railways.  It runs from Keighley to Oxenhope, connecting to the national rail network at Keighley railway station.  The line opened in 1867, funded predominantly by local wealthy mill owners. The journey is a powerful reminder of our industrial heritage, as well as being a unique way of enjoying the beautiful countryside immortalised by Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë.  The railway also famously featured in the film The Railway Children.

The Railway today serves a dual purpose. Whilst by far the majority of its passengers travel on it for pleasure, a significant minority, about a third, use it as a means of transport to reach Haworth, or to go walking on the moors.  You can visit the stunningly beautiful surrounding countryside by steam train or diesel train, rail services operate on more than 200 days per year.  There are themed events throughout the year including ‘The Haworth Haddock’ and ‘Strawberries and Prosecco’, the ‘Santa Special’ and many more.

• Brontë Waterfalls

The Brontë Waterfall is a small waterfall located about a mile south west of Stanbury, near Haworth, West Yorkshire. The area surrounding the waterfall is mainly moorland and farmland but is part of Brontë Country. It is an area of outstanding beauty and famous for its association with the Brontë sisters. Below the falls can be found an old stone bridge named Brontë Bridge across South Dean Beck. The bridge was destroyed in a flash flood in May 1989 and rebuilt in 1990. 

• Top Withens

Top Withens is a ruined farmhouse near Haworth, West Yorkshire, which is said to have been the inspiration for the location of the Earnshaw family house Wuthering Heights in the 1847 novel of the same name by Emily Brontë. A plaque affixed to a wall reads: This farmhouse has been associated with “Wuthering Heights”, the Earnshaw home in Emily Brontë’s novel. The buildings, even when complete, bore no resemblance to the house she described, but the situation may have been in her mind when she wrote of the moorland setting of the Heights. — Brontë Society 1964. This plaque has been placed here in response to many enquiries. The ruin lies on the Pennine Way east of Withens Height below Delf Hill. It is a popular walking destination from nearby Haworth and Stanbury. 

• National Trust, East Riddlesden Hall

East Riddlesden Hall is a 17th-century manor house in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England, now owned by the National Trust. The hall was built in 1642 by a wealthy Halifax clothier, James Murgatroyd. The hall is a Grade I listed building. There is a medieval tithe barn in the grounds. East Riddlesden Hall perches on a small plateau overlooking a bend in the River Aire on its way downstream from the town of Keighley. Interesting features include well-restored living accommodation on two floors, two Yorkshire Rose windows, walled garden, the ruined Starkie wing and several ghosts. A hiding place for Catholic priests was installed during the 16th century. 

• Penistone Hill Country Park

Penistone Hill Country Park is an open space of breath-taking Yorkshire moorland that is located to 0.31 miles west of Haworth and 0.62 miles north-west of Oxenhope in West Yorkshire. The park’s highest point is detailed with a trig point which is 1,030 feet above sea level. Penistone Hill is only a very short walk from Haworth Village. A path heads up the south side of St Michael and All Angels’ Church, an impressive building where the father of the Brontë sisters was reverend for 41 years.

• Skipton

Skipton is the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales National Park.  People travel the length and breadth of the country to visit this charming market town. With its famous 900 year old Medieval castle, romantic ruined priory and historic cobbled High Street.

Skipton is endlessly rich both in history and outstanding natural beauty.  Take a peaceful narrowboat cruise along the Leeds Liverpool Canal and visit the colourful market, thriving shops, pubs and restaurants and cafes which all add to Skipton’s appeal.

• Hebden Bridge

Hebden Bridge is known for its welcoming atmosphere, quirkiness and creativity.  The high street has a welcome array of independent shops touting everything from wool to records. The countryside is on your doorstep with endless possibilities for walking and exploring. The picturesque Rochdale Canal runs through the heart of Hebden Bridge, providing a beautiful walkway on sunny days. Walk towards Todmorden along the canal to admire the colourful barges, and have a pint outside the Stubbing Wharf pub and simply enjoy the scenery. 

Hardcastle Crags needs a mention here as it’s one of the most picturesque destinations to head to for surrounding yourself with nature, but you’ll find beautiful countryside whichever direction you set off in. One of the most beautiful of all the local nature spots is this National Trust site. Take a walk through the wooded valley, admiring the bluebells in spring, before stumbling upon Gibson Mill, where you can take a break and enjoy the café inside. There are plenty of small waterfalls, tumbling streams and unique wildlife along the way.

• Malham

Malham is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, not far from Skipton.   Tourist attractions include Malham Tarn, Malham Cove, Gordale Scar, Janet’s Foss and the Dry Valley. This 1769 sq km of the Yorkshire Dales National Park has been described as wild, expansive, tranquil and at times awesome and bleak.

Malham Cove is a curved crag of carboniferous limestone formed after the last ice age. Meltwater, particularly from Malham Tarn, cut back the cove as it fell over the edge as a waterfall. This erosion took place more actively at the lip of the fall, hence the curved shape.  The cliffs are 80m high by 300 m across, and this amazing area is amongst the top ten geological wonders of Britain.

Sources: Wikipedia, Visit Yorkshire, Culture Trip, BBC

Longcase Grandfather Clock by John Barraclough of Haworth c1830

8th May 2020

We recently managed to find a very rare oak and mahogany longcase clock handmade by John Barraclough of Haworth. The clock is most likely to have been made around 1830  (10 years before Mulberry Cottage was built). 

John Barraclough (1773-1835) was a very important and well-known clock maker in Haworth, Yorkshire, living and working on Haworth Main Street at the time of the Brontës. His home was the building which is now The Hawthorn and two more examples of his clocks can be found there. There is also a John Barraclough clock in the Parsonage which was made for Patrick Brontë. 

A portrait of the clockmaker has been attributed to Branwell Bronte, who may have been acquainted with Barraclough through the Haworth Masonic Lodge.

Charlotte Brontë even used the name Moses Barraclough in ‘Shirley’.

John Barraclough died in 1835 and is buried at St Michael and All Angels churchyard in Haworth.

The clock is believed to have been made for the ‘The Rule Britannia’ public house at Upper Ponden, not far from Haworth. ‘The Rule Britannia’ failed to have their licence renewed in 1869 and was forced to close.  The clock was found for sale in Northampton in 2019 having been in the same family for three generations

75th Anniversary of VE Day

8th May 2020

For our very first blog, we thought it would be poignant to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of V E Day (Victory in Europe) and the end of the Second World War in Europe.  Seventy five years ago, the 8^th May 1945 marked the end to nearly 6 years of war.  People rejoiced and across the nation – there were street parties, dancing and singing in Haworth village.  We have this amazing photograph of Mulberry Cottage on VE Day in 1945.  At the time Mulberry Cottage was an Off Licence and can be seen on the right with three ladies chatting outside.  In it’s more recent history the cottage has also been a sweet shop.  We understand the frontage was changed and the shop turned into a home around the 1970’s.  It became our holiday cottage in 2016.  Our guests love it’s original features and pretty rear garden being only a few minutes walk to Haworth village’s famous cobbled Main Street.