A HOST of events are being organised in Haworth to commemorate the exact 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth.
Worldwide centenary celebrations on April 21 focus on Haworth and, particularly, the parsonage where she wrote famous books like Jane Eyre.
Highlights include a birthday party for local residents, performances from Jane Eyre and an appearance by Great British Bake Off contestant Sandy Docherty.
The day begins, however, at 11am at the Brontë Bell Chapel in Thornton, the village where Charlotte was born on April 21, 1816.
A floral tribute will be laid at the chapel, with a second transported to Haworth by bicycle.
The Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth will open at 10am, and throughout the day there will be a series of talks about Charlotte.
Visitors will also be able to to see some of Charlotte’s possessions up close in the parsonage library with a member of the collections team.
Bestselling novelist Tracy Chevalier, the museum’s creative partner during the centenary year, will talk to visitors about her exhibition – Charlotte Great And Small – at the museum.
The parsonage will remain open until 8pm, and people visiting after 6pm will be invited to join staff for a celebratory drink. Normal admission prices apply.
Meanwhile, there will be a birthday party for Charlotte in the Old School Room – just yards from the museum – from 11am to 4pm.
The event is free and open to all the community, and there will be tea, cake and entertainment throughout the day.
Haworth Primary School pupils will perform early scenes from the novel Jane Eyre.
A floral tribute will be laid in the parsonage garden, accompanied by words from Haworth vicar, the Rev Peter Mayo-Smith. A rose donated by David Austin Roses will be planted in the grounds in Charlotte’s memory later in the afternoon.
Parsonage Museum marketing and communications officer, Rebecca Yorke, said: “We are inviting members of the local community to bake a cake for Charlotte and bring it along to the School Room on the morning of April 21.
“We will take photographs of some of the most imaginatively decorated.
“During the afternoon, Sandy Docherty, a Great British Bake Off contestant and Brontë enthusiast, will present the cake she has baked specially for Charlotte."
Also at the School Room, artist Julia Ogden will run a drop-in craft activity to commemorate Charlotte’s birthday, and there will be the chance to write in Charlotte’s Birthday Book.
Visitors who go along in costume will be very welcome.
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