Every
year during our annual holidays in Ireland, my husband Paul and I set ourselves
a target or a mission: we follow the trail of a well-known Irish person. In the
past years we have done the Michael Collins’ trail (Co. Cork and Dublin), we
have followed the poet William Butler Yeats (Co. Sligo and Dublin), the Irish
writers James Joyce (Dublin and surroundings) and Oscar Wilde (Dublin, Co. Galway, Co.
Longford), and last year we went to Edgeworthstown, the hometown of Maria
Edgeworth (and visited her grave). It is usually more my personal mission than
Paul’s because of the literary, historical and cultural interest I have in
Ireland. Each year we also try and find “Brontë” links in Ireland, we even
found a shop called “Brontë” in
Carrigaline (Co. Cork), selling shoes of
all things!
 |
| Arthur Bell Nicholls |
As I
already said, it had become more my personal mission , especially since I had
read the book “ Mr Charlotte Brontë”. Paul is not so interested in literature
and the Brontës but he was quite willing to drive me all the way to Banagher,
because the town is situated in beautiful surroundings (we have been in the
area before, though not in Banagher itself).
I was
very excited about the whole expedition. And the nearer we got to Banagher, the
more excited I became. Finally I saw the sign indicating that we entered
Banagher. Now, we had to locate the churchyard where Arthur was buried and the
house where he had spent the last years of his life. As a way of preparing
myself for this mission, I had just finished reading the book “My dear boy” ,
telling the story of Arthur’s life. I knew from that book that the house and
the church were “at the top of the hill”.
When
entering the centre of Banagher there was a road going uphill. We took this
road and noticed there was more than one church along that road (which seemed
to be the main street), but at the top we saw a church spire and we were
convinced that this was the church we were looking for.
At the
top of the hill (called appropriately “The Hill”) we found a beautiful old
church surrounded by an old graveyard and a stone wall, which was indeed St
Paul’s Church of Ireland (mentioned in the book). However, there was one big
problem: the gate was closed and there was no other way of entering the
churchyard (climbing over the gate and the wall was certainly not an option!!).
In vain we tried to call the rector whose telephone number was mentioned on the
board at the entrance.
 |
| Entering Banagher |
 |
| The "Hill" |
I then
went to one of the neighbouring houses to ask whether they knew who was in
charge of the key, but although they were very helpful, they could not get hold
of the person responsible.
Apparently,
at that particular moment there was a funeral of a young local man going on in
one of the other churches and everybody in town seemed to be at that funeral. I
was referred to the house known as “Hill House” where perhaps they might be
able to help me further. I was very excited because that was in fact the house
where Arthur lived with his second wife and where he died.
Following the
directions and description I was given,
I finally found the house in question (located on the same road very
near to the church). Charlotte showed me the way! The
house at “The Hill” was known in
Arthur’s day as “the Hill House”, now it was a B&B and renamed “Charlotte’s
way” (I noticed the sign at the entrance).
 |
| The B&B sign "Charlotte's Way |
 |
| Hill House in the past |
 |
| Hill House today |
I saw
a man coming out of the house and explained the situation. I asked him whether
he could help me locate the person in charge of the churchyard key. His name
was John Daly and his daughter owned the house. He told me that up to six
months ago he would have been able to help me with the key, but since the
church had been vandalized six months ago (and nearly burned down) the gate was
kept closed at all times (except Sunday church service). He would try to sort
this out, in the mean time I could go in the house to meet his daughter Nikki.
I just could not believe my (Irish) luck: was this a fairytale? Was I dreaming
in broad daylight?
In the
house I met Nikki, who gave me a very warm welcome (the Irish way). She showed
me around the ground floor pointing out a few items of interest related to Charlotte : a portrait of
Charlotte painted by a friend artist based on the Richmond portrait, the crest
of the house, a copy of the pillar portrait of the Brontës (the original was
found in the attic of Hill House after Arthur’s death) which had a very
prominent place in the sitting room, the room where Arthur ‘s body was laid
before his burial. I was allowed to browse around on my own in all the rooms of
the house and I could even take pictures. I really could not believe it. I
really thought I was dreaming.
Hill
House, now “Charlotte’s way B&B”, is a beautiful Georgian house (17th
century), lovingly refurbished inside to modern standards but keeping the
spirit of the house intact. It made a wonderful impression upon me. The ground
floor contains a small sitting room, the dining room with annexed a large
sitting room (where the portrait of the 3 sisters is exhibited), the hall (with
Charlotte’s portrait and the crest of Charlotte’s Way) and the kitchen. A
beautiful staircase (though not the original staircase which Arthur would have
known) leads us to the first floor where there are 4 bedrooms. One of these
bedrooms was Arthur’s room, another bedroom was the room in which Charlotte had
tea when she visited the house and the family on their honeymoon. At the top of
the staircase (the former attic) there is one more bedroom. The basement was
converted to a storeroom and a bedroom with a large window opening up to the
garden in the back.
While
I was browsing around the house Paul came back to let me know that (by
coincidence?) someone had turned up at the church gate with the key and was
waiting for me to show me around the graveyard and the church. Finally, my
mission could be completed: I was going to see the grave of Arthur Bell
Nicholls and his second wife Mary Anna (née Bell).
Mrs
Fay Clarke, church warden of St Paul’s church,
was indeed waiting for us at the gate. She brought us straight to the
graves of the Bell family. Arthur’s grave was the grave at the right hand side
of the plot.
I had
brought a pot of lavender with me and on behalf of the Brussels Brontë Group I
put it on Arthur’s grave together with a
poem of Charlotte (“Memory”) and some
Connemara pebble stones.
The
poem reads as follows:
“Though sunshine and spring may
have lightened
The wild flowers that blow on
their graves;
Though summer their tombstones
have brightened,
And autumn have pall’d them with
leaves;
Though winter have wildly
bewailed them
With her dirge-wind as sad as
knell;
Though the shroud of her
snow-wreath have veiled them,
Still how deep in our bosoms
they dwell!”
I held a moment of silence in memory of Arthur
Bell Nicholls and his second wife, and in memory of the whole Brontë family.
For me this was a very emotional moment!
Then we went inside the church, such a quiet
and peaceful place! There was a beautiful stained glass window dedicated to the
Bell family of Cuba House (where Arthur grew up with his uncle, aunt and
cousins) .
Fay told us that Cuba House was demolished many years ago (in the 1980’s). What a shame! And the same could have happened to this beautiful old church: Imagine that all this could have been destroyed by fire six months ago, if the vandals had had their way!!!! Luckily there was an alert fireman staying in Charlotte’s Way who heard the noise and reacted immediately. The church was badly damaged, but saved. The vandals were prosecuted.
Fay told us that Cuba House was demolished many years ago (in the 1980’s). What a shame! And the same could have happened to this beautiful old church: Imagine that all this could have been destroyed by fire six months ago, if the vandals had had their way!!!! Luckily there was an alert fireman staying in Charlotte’s Way who heard the noise and reacted immediately. The church was badly damaged, but saved. The vandals were prosecuted.
We thanked Fay for taking the time to show us around the graveyard and the church. I really was very grateful that I was given this opportunity. It really was my lucky day!
We returned to Hill House (Charlotte’s Way)
where we were invited for coffee/tea in the garden. The landlady Nikki proved
to be very passionate about the house. She knew and loved the house from her childhood, because her
mother was a housekeeper there. When the house came up for sale, she jumped at
the opportunity . She is a nurse and initially it was her intention to turn the
house into a nursing home, but it proved to be an impossible task to comply
with all the requirements needed for a nursing home (e.g. lift). So she turned
it into a B&B. She is running the place on her own, but she said she never
feels alone in the house because there are so many good spirits still present
in the house. The house is steeped in history, and breathes warmth and
hospitality, …….. and Brontës!
She has been writing a book on the history of
the house, which will be published in the near future. I’m really looking
forward to reading it.
During our chat in the garden (it was such a
lovely warm and sunny day) Nikki told us
that she had many English fishermen staying in the house at regular times (the
region is a well-known fishing spot), but that she wanted to emphasize the
Brontë-link of the house a little bit more in future. She was planning to visit
Haworth in the autumn this year.
The fishing link got Paul interested in the
house, and he got talking to Nikki about all angling events in the area. So who
knows, one day soon we might come back here to stay: angling and Brontës – a
perfect combination for us!
We said goodbye to Nikki and John and thanked
them for the warm welcome and hospitality we received. A last picture from me
in front of the house was taken, and
then we left Hill House….. and Banagher.
I really believe this was my very lucky day: I
could not have been happier and I think my face must have shown a smile all the
time. It was wonderful that everything turned out so well in the end.
Not only did I reach my initial target
(visiting the grave of Arthur Bell Nicholls) but I got more than I expected (a
visit to Hill House).
My personal mission was accomplished! But
since there is so much more to explore in Banagher (and surroundings) I’m sure
we will be back here, rather sooner than later!
If you wish to learn more
about Banagher or Hill House (Charlotte’s way B&B), here are some useful links:
For
further reading, the following books are recommended:
“My dear boy - the life of Arthur Bell
Nicholls “(Margaret and Robert Cochrane)
“Mr Charlotte Brontë – the life of
Arthur Bell Nicholls” (Alan H. Adamson)
Marina
Saegerman
5
August 2013
