Recently, one of our friends took a trip to London and Haworth. They kindly shared their experiences and pictures with us. Thank you, Margot! The following article is in her words.
Hi, you all! I’d like to share with you my trip to London and Haworth. It was such a great memory that I hope you’ll like it!
Adam inspires us in so many ways. As for me, he made me go back to England. I chose to go to London, and then to Yorkshire, to see the Parsonage Brontë.
Once arrived in London, I went to visit The National Portrait Gallery, to see Branwell’s portrait of his three sisters. I couldn’t see it, but they had in display the one of Emily, painted by Branwell as well. It was incredible to see it in person! You can tell a century and a half has passed but, it’s still absolutely beautiful.
The same day, I had time to walk and go see the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) where Adam studied. I’ve seen some students, but I stayed in front of the doors, I wasn’t sure I could go inside!
The next day, before going to Madame Tussauds, I went to Baker Street, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, where Arthur Conan Doyle has also wrote his novels! I thought about Gudgett and his frustration, and it was quite amusing!
And to stay in Houdini and Doyle’s world, near Big Ben, are the former headquarters of Scotland Yard, New Scotland Yard, that you can see in the show. Once again, I felt Gudgett’s presence! I could imagine him with his hat and his coat walking through the gates every morning. That’s a beautiful building, typical of London, but in restoration, so I couldn’t see the whole of it! However, I could capture the main building that we see in the show.
Since I love William Braxton from Law & Order: UK, I wanted to find where some of his scenes were filmed, and I found one! It was at Grange Court, not far from Somerset House, and not far from a bridge where you have a magnificent view of the Thames, the City and Westminster!
The place hasn’t changed much since Law & Order was filmed, and I don’t know what it is (maybe some of you do?), but I was glad I could be at the exact place where Adam stood! There isn’t much to see, but the symbolism was enough to go there !
The third day was the day I went to Yorkshire. I left Kings Cross Station early in the morning and I arrived to Keighley (through Leeds) shortly after noon. I took a Brontë Bus, the green buses that can take you straight to Haworth, a great idea!
And there I was, HAWORTH!
How wonderful it was to be there! Just like in the pictures, absolutely beautiful. Very charming little village, and you can feel the essence of the Brontës, even if you aren’t aware of it. Even if the village has some modern little shops, it stayed as it was in those days. The Church, the Black Bull Inn, the old post office, the graveyard, and of course the Parsonage! Everything hasn’t changed much since the Brontës’ time period, except Nature has developed a little!
The graveyard is a spooky but great experience! It seems abandoned, but it’s so typical of the British graveyards, I loved it! So many crows!
I arrived on Saturday, and my ticket for the Parsonage was for the day after, but it didn’t keep from going to the shop! I’ve bought a drawing of Branwell, pins with written ”Team Branwell”, several magnets, and post cards. Most of them had something to do with Branwell.
Talking about Branwell, he is the reason why I went to Haworth. I love him, and I wanted to be where he lived his life.
I visited his resting place, in the Church, and I felt emotional going there. It was so strange, because I was right next to him. It was really an emotional moment.
I then took a walk on the moors, near Haworth. What a view! The Brontës used to walk these moors so often, and it even inspired their stories. It’s not surprising, since it’s so beautiful! I searched and I think I found the path where they filmed one of Adam’s scene in To Walk Invisible. The one where he walks hands in his pockets on a small road while going to see Joe Leyland. I’m not sure it is there though! But I watched the landscape and tried to find the right angle.
Before going back to my hotel room at the Fleece Inn, I went to Penistone Hill. If you don’t know, it is where they built the Parsonage replica for To Walk Invisible, you have to climb a little (a lot) and once at the top, you can see the place, but there is nothing left, they destroyed the replica of the Parsonage. But it still has a beautiful view!
Arrives the day of my visit to the Parsonage. Everything is so similar to the movie (but quite different from what the Brontës knew, but it doesn’t matter, this still is their home). The study of Mr. Brontë, the kitchen, and the room the sisters wrote their novels!
An employee told me the table was THE table they wrote on.
The Parsonage had to spend a quite big amount of money to get it back. I climbed the stairs and here I was, Branwell’s studio. Emily, Charlotte and Patrick Brontë’s room.
I entered Branwell’s studio, and it’s just like in the movie. It’s not like Branwell’s room, they had to recreate it as it must have looked like.
So many papers everywhere, his drawings (they are replicas, the originals are in the Parsonage’s storage), paintings, his bed…his painting accessories…it represents so much Branwell’s way of thinking. So much talent, so many ideas. I think there was, on display on his bed, Adam’s shirt he wore in the movie.
I visited Emily’s little room, where one of the actress’s hats is placed on a chair, and where Emily wrote some parts of Wuthering Heights.
Then there was Charlotte’s room, a quite big one, and one of her dresses, her hat, her bag, her shoes (and her stockings!) are on display. As well as some of her jewelry, and glasses.
I then entered Patrick Brontë’s bedroom, where Branwell stayed after he set fire to his bed, and where he died. Once again, it was an emotional place to be. There was a lot of suffering in this room, and that was where Branwell took his last breath.
After Branwell’s studio was a room with several pieces of the Brontës’ history. Mr. Brontë’s glasses, Anne’s hankerchief with blood on it (I was told it was when she was sick and she coughed blood). Glasses, Branwell’s funeral card, personal items, books…I can’t tell all of them. The reproduction of the Gun Portrait by Branwell they did for To Walk Invisible! It was strange to see Adam’s face!
AND there are 3 of Branwell’s paintings. HIS paintings, and he was even more talented that I thought. And I already thought he was very talented. When you see his drawings (the cat one was made when he was barely 11!), his paintings, extracts from his stories, poems…it was TALENT! He just didn’t have the chance to show it to the world.
The whole house is a simple one, but it has so much history, so many memories! It was incredible to be there, where they lived, where they breathed, where they laughed and cried. So much happened in this house, so much talent. Three of the most famous English novels were written there. It is something I recommend to do. Visit the Parsonage, visit Haworth. Do it if you can! Do like me, don’t think too much and go if you can!
Now, I’d like to share some anecdotes with you. When I was near Branwell’s studio, I asked a question to a man who worked there about the Gun Portrait, and here I was, about to start an hour-long conversation!
That man (I’m sorry not to know his name) was wonderful, we talked about Branwell, his talents, his problems, his struggles, his personality, rumours about him, his friends, his moments at the Black Bull, his relationships with his sisters…I told him how much I loved Branwell, and the common points I had with him, and you could tell he did love him too. We talked about To Walk Invisible, he told me the portrayals were faithful (he said Adam’s performance was incredible), and the inside of the Parsonage was made in Manchester.
He also gave me an incredible anecdote about Adam. As you probably know, Adam went back to the Parsonage in december, and the mister told me that when Adam came in Branwell’s studio, he started to cry. He really was emotional to be there, playing Branwell left a mark on him, and he loved being him for a while. He also told me that Adam is indeed a great man, sweet and lovely. We love him even more now!
I then talked to a sweet woman, with whom I shared personal anecdotes, we talked about travels (she wants to go back to France!), we talked traditions, food, queens and kings, Brontës a little too!, and she told me the Parsonage has spent a lot to get the family’s items and furnitures. Everything or almost everything, is authentic.
To conclude, I spent more than two hours in the Parsonage! I’ve made several donations. To the Parsonage, and to the Church. I want this place, this village, to go on for centuries!
And of course, I couldn’t help but go back to the shop…
If you can go to Yorkshire, to Haworth, don’t hesitate and go. I was expecting it to be great, and it was beyond, it was WONDERFUL, AMAZING.
Every single people I’ve met (the hotel staff, the Parsonage’s employees, the shops’ workers, the pubs’ barmen/barmaid) were awesome. I had a great experience, I felt like home, I felt welcomed, they acted with me as if I was an old friend! And I was the only French! I can’t find a single bad thing to say about Haworth, I had no problem to go there, everything went as smooth as possible. And the weather was cold, but I did get a little bit of sun!
There were tourists, but not too many, just enough for the village to have a joyful atmosphere! The memory of the Brontës weighs a lot on Haworth, and not in a bad way, they are still there somehow, and you live with them for the time you’re over there. It’s a lovely feeling.
Haworth will go down as one of my greatest memories!!
Thank you for reading, wish you all the best!
Margot (bbdreamer)
Oh, and sorry for/if any mistakes, grammatical or historical!
