MA Trip to Haworth (April 2018)
Students from both English Studies and 21st Century Literature had a lovely weekend at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, East Yorkshire. Home to the famous Brontë sisters, the trip involved a private tour of the parsonage, organised by student Tim Rideout and funded by the English department at the University of Lincoln.
Jeni got involved with the interactive exhibits at the parsonage.
Alongside the exclusive tour, students were able to further explore the parsonage (which is open to the public) in their free time, and also visit the research centre located within the museum. This included a look around nearby church, where Patrick Brontë worked as the curate from 1820. The parsonage rotates its displays annually, with only one quarter of its artifacts on display at any one time. This year, an exhibit ‘Making Thunder Roar’ celebrating Emily’s bicentenary can be seen on the ground floor, alongside the recreated rooms of the parsonage.This includes various artifacts on display such as first editions of the Brontës’ novels, copies of their juvenilia and even Anne’s collection of pebbles!
After the tour, we asked some of our students what they enjoyed the most:
A copy of the Brontë juvenilia on display.
‘For me, it was all about the juvenilia. Since writing on it at undergraduate I’ve always been amazed by the miniscule nature of the sagas. It was fascinating to be able to see their size up close, and even read some of it with a magnifying glass!’ Rebecca Coddington, English Studies.
‘The best thing for me was sharing a place I love with the rest of the group.’ Tim Rideout, English Studies.
The group enjoyed a spot of lunch in the historic village of Haworth.
The trip included a visit to Haworth itself and a refreshing stop at a local café where our students enjoyed some lovely cakes and snacks, before setting off on an exploration of the local book shops and one final look around the parsonage before heading home.
There was even time for a few more group photos after a VIP tour of the parsonage.
We cannot thank Tim, our voluntary driver Michelle, and the English department enough for making this trip possible, and we look forward to running more in the future!