A MEMORIAL to the Brontë sisters installed 85 years ago in Westminster Abbey has finally had an omission rectified – thanks to a former Keighley News reporter.

Sharon Wright, who began her journalistic career on the KN, noticed during a visit to the abbey that the diaeresis – the dots over the 'e' in the siblings' surname – was missing.

She raised the issue, and the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, agreed that it should be addressed.

Now, thanks to the skills of an abbey stonemason and a conservator, the memorial to the famous literary sisters – Charlotte, Emily and Anne – has been amended.

Sharon – a journalist, author and Brontë historian – was visiting Westminster Abbey to research a new book when she spotted the omission.

"As a journalist I always ask questions and as soon as I saw the tablet I wanted to know why the famous name was spelled incorrectly – also why no one had ever pointed this out before!" she says.

"I am immensely proud that the correct, unique and immortal name of Charlotte, Emily and Anne is finally complete in Poets’ Corner. It is a Brontë story with a happy ending."

The Very Reverend Dr Hoyle said: "I am grateful to have this omission pointed out and now put right."

Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, also welcomes the move.

She adds: "We are absolutely thrilled with this outcome and are very grateful to the Dean of Westminster and his colleagues at the abbey for their positive response to Sharon’s enquiries.

"As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial.

"I’m sure that everyone at the Brontë Society and the Brontë Parsonage Museum, as well as Brontë enthusiasts across the world, will be very excited to learn about this new episode in the enduring story of Charlotte, Emily and Anne."

The Brontë memorial – made from Huddlestone stone – is situated in Poets' Corner near others for famous writers including Jane Austen, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.

It was installed on October 8, 1939, soon after the outbreak of the Second World War.

Why the diaeresis was missing remains a mystery.

A letter dated May 1, 1939, held in the abbey archive, gave clear instructions for the wording, including the diaeresis.