A HERITAGE and arts centre at the heart of the Bronte sisters’ birthplace has reopened – following lockdown and a £700,000 refurbishment.

South Square Centre, in Thornton, is welcoming visitors again.

Literary sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte were all born nearby in the village.

The family moved to Haworth in 1820, when the siblings were young.

Their father, Patrick, was an Anglican clergyman and served as rector of Haworth.

South Square Centre does a lot of work around the Bronte family.

The centre’s director, Yvonne Carmichael, said: “Following an eight-month capital renovation – and an international pandemic – we are delighted to welcome people back to our beautiful buildings to celebrate art, community and heritage.

“We have an outdoor exhibition, Titanic Relaunched, which has taken inspiration from the centre’s new life as an arts space when it was saved from demolition in 1982. And an indoor tour ­– In Shipshape – takes us further back in time with the stories of the families that once lived here and brings us bang up to date with our new-look building.”

Both exhibitions run until September 25.

For further information, visit southsquarecentre.co.uk.