Unexpected – and memorable – day out in Brontë Country

My husband Paul and I headed again to Haworth last month for our annual visit and participation in the June weekend of events organised by the London Brontë group. Our friend Joanne Wilcock, an active volunteer at the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton, suggested a few Brontë-related locations “in the neighbourhood.” 

Some of the places that she suggested we had already visited, but there were still some that we had not seen yet. She saw potential and was eager for us to tick some of the boxes of Brontë-related places that we had not been to. 

Former Cowan Bridge School building

Let Me In – The Brontës in Bricks and Mortar

Let Me In – The Brontës in Bricks and Mortar by Ann Dinsdale and Sharon Wright is a book that explores the buildings where the Brontës would have lived and visited, and which consequently influenced their writings. 

Sharon spoke to the Brussels Brontë Group on Saturday April 25 about the book and the places that were important to the literary sisters.  

Irene Lofthouse on the Brontës, Boggarts and Brogue

Irene Lofthouse provided a thespian treat for the Brussels Brontë Group with her April 25 talk on the influence of folklore and local stories on the Brontës as they grew up in Yorkshire. 

 

Amongst other things, Irene is an author, writer, storyteller, playwright, actor, director, dramaturg and creative consultant, and she kept her audience on its toes by switching effortlessly between the various dialects that the Brontë children would have been exposed to throughout their lives.

credit: wikicommons

A Night with the Brontës

Love it, hate it or tolerate it, the new Wuthering Heights film has succeeded in bringing Emily Brontë's only novel and the beloved works of all three Brontë sisters to a whole new audience. 

On Thursday 12 March, I had the pleasure to attend “A Night with the Brontës” organised by Waterstones and the Brussels Brontë Group to celebrate Emily and her great book in light of the new movie. 

‘Do you never laugh, Miss Eyre?’

Jones Hayden, Brussels Brontë Group Master of Ceremonies, bookgroup leader and sometimes tour guide, took us on an engaging journey to find the funny in the Brontës. His talk to the group on Saturday, Feb. 7, focused on the Brontë sisters’ novels, but also touched on their letters and the essays they wrote while in Brussels. 

My very Brontë week

Dear reader, I had a very Brontë week. 

Genies and Genius: Middle East influences on the Brontës

Paul Willocx, a member of the Brussels Brontë Group and graduate in Arabic and Islamic studies, took us on a very interesting literary journey, from Persia and Iran to the libraries and theatres of 19th-century Europe. His talk on Saturday, Feb. 7, focused on the influence of Middle Eastern writings on Western literature, including of course the Brontës. 

'The Brontës in Brussels' at St Pancras in London

Travellers preparing to board the Eurostar to Brussels at St Pancras in London can buy Helen MacEwan’s book The Brontës in Brussels at Hatchards bookshop in the station. 

Brontë Players triumph again!

It’s said that ‘writing-by-committee’ isn’t usually a good idea, but the main item of entertainment at the Brussels Brontë Group’s 2025 Christmas lunch demonstrated gloriously that a brilliant team can write a brilliant sketch! 

The Road to Villette

Rob McRae from Leeds recounts his journey in the footsteps of Charlotte and Emily Brontë from Yorkshire to Brussels (aka Villette) -- starting at The North Midland Railway Station in Leeds and ending at the Cathedral of St. Gudule in the Belgian capital. 

Book review: 'The Girl at the Window' by Rowan Coleman

When novelist Rowan Coleman talked to the Brussels Brontë Group earlier this month about her Brontë detective novels, I became intrigued by another book that she mentioned in her presentation – her 2019 novel The Girl at the Window. 

Rowan brought up this particular novel as it is set in Ponden Hall, a centuries-old manor house on the Yorkshire moors near Haworth with a Brontë connection. 

Book review: “Charlotte Brontë – A Medical Casebook”

Charlotte Brontë – A Medical Casebook by Dr. Michael O’Dowd is an eye-opening book about medical knowledge in the Brontë household with a big focus on the exact cause of Charlotte’s death in 1855. 

Graham Watson and The Invention of Charlotte Brontë

Graham Watson, author of The Invention of Charlotte Brontë, gave an illuminating talk to the Brussels Brontë Group on his investigations into the writing and reception of Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1857 biography The Life of Charlotte Brontë. 

Bella Ellis on her Brontë Mysteries series of novels

Rowan Coleman, the author of over 40 novels, gave the Brussels Brontë Group an engaging talk on Saturday about her quartet of mystery books starring the Brontë siblings as amateur detectives. 

 

These novels, published under the pseudonym Bella Ellis, see the Brontës take on the part of amateur detectives in order to solve crimes. They are set around 1845, which Rowan explained is the year the first “detectors” were created as part of the relatively new Metropolitan Police Force. 

More things Brontë in Ireland!

Since my first visit to Banagher in Ireland in 2013 when I was on the trail of Arthur Bell Nicholls, I have noticed that a real Brontë hype has developed in the Emerald Isle. 

Brussels Brontë Group goes to Haworth – photo gallery

Here is a selection of photos from the delightful trip to Haworth that members of the Brussels Brontë Group took in June 2025, taking in the Parsonage Museum and the surrounding Brontë Country, including stops at the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton and Roe Head School in Mirfield. 

 

Led by the tireless Helen MacEwan and Joanne Wilcock, the group visited Oakwell Hall in Birstall and Shibden Hall in Halifax, and some members even trekked over the moors to Top Withens. There was also an expedition to Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast, where Anne Brontë is buried.

On a special Brontë mission in Haworth

One member of the Brussels Brontë Group on the trip to Haworth in June was on a mission of her own apart from her desire to see a place she had long wanted to visit. 

Ann Dinsdale and Carmen Albaladejo

My two lovely Brontë weekends

I took part in two Brontë weekends in Haworth in June 2025: one organised by the London Brontë Group and one organised by the Brussels Brontë Group. 

A very special visit to the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton

Brussels Brontë Group member Marina Saegerman has been involved in a fundraising project for the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton in a unique way. In this blog post, Marina tells about her particular experience in this extraordinary endeavour. 

Marina Saegerman and Liliana Pasterska

Haworth trip — the tour organiser’s perspective!

The idea of organising an excursion of Brussels Brontë Group members to Haworth grew out of Joanne Wilcock’s talk to us in October 2024 – "In the Footsteps of the Brontës in the North of England."

Joanne, a tireless Brontë traveller based in Lancashire, often shepherds Brontë fans around the places she knows so well. She and I discussed the possibility of organising a trip together. 

Joanne and Helen in action