Bronte table brought back to Haworth Parsonage
A table at which the Brontë sisters wrote has been brought back to the family home in Yorkshire after being purchased with a grant of £580,000.
The Bronte Society at Haworth said the table was a "most evocative" 19th Century literary artefact. It was sold along with other household effects from the Brontë Parsonage after the death of Patrick Brontë in 1861. The mahogany drop-leaf table's purchase came after a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF). Ann Dinsdale, collections manager at the Haworth Parsonage, said "It is one of the most important literary artefacts of the 19th Century." Among the novels written by the sisters in the parsonage were Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The table has ink blots, a large candle burn and a letter E carved into its surface. Source: BBC History The table was where the children gathered to write their stories, poems, and novels, the society said. It featured in an 1837 diary sketch by Emily, showing herself and her other sister Anne writing. After the death of their father, Patrick Bronte, the table was bought by a Mr Ogden. The Ogdens later sold it on and eventually the museum was approached about buying it back. The table was previously loaned to the Bronte Parsonage Museum for a short period in 1997, to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Carole Souter, chief executive of NHMF, said it was important the table "should be saved for the nation so that it can be displayed to the public in its original setting". The table will be on public display in the parsonage's dining room from February.