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Brontë Parsonage Museum awarded Designation
Collection becomes the 155th in England to be recognised under the scheme
The Brontë Parsonage Museum has become the 155th Designated collection in England.
The status recognises the outstanding compilation of items belonging to and created by the Brontës found in their family home in Haworth, Yorkshire.
The institution is the only museum to be awarded Designation by Arts Council England (ACE) this year.
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said: “We are pleased beyond measure by Arts Council England’s decision to designate our collection as outstanding, and believe our founders of 130 years ago would have felt just as proud of this achievement as we do today.”
The collection features more than 8,000 items, including handwritten letters, poems and "Little Books"; sketches, drawings and paintings; clothing and jewellery that belonged to Anne, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, their brother Branwell and father Patrick.
The museum is also furnished with much of the family's original furniture, including the dining table where they wrote, a rare 5 octave cabinet piano, art boxes and geometry sets.
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Ann Dinsdale, principal curator, said: “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.”
Established in 1997, the Designation scheme identifies the pre-eminent collections of national importance held in England’s non-national museums, libraries and archives, based on their quality and significance.
ACE chief executive Darren Henley said: “I am delighted that we have awarded the Brontë Parsonage Museum with a prestigious Designation award for their collection. For over 25 years, the Designation Scheme has identified the best collections held in museums, libraries and archives across England. The Brontë Parsonage joins an eclectic group of outstanding collections.”