A HISTORIC property that has Brontë connections goes under the hammer next month – with a £650,000-plus guide price.

Kirklees Council is selling the Grade II*-listed former Red House Museum, at Gomersal.

Dating back to 1660, the house and grounds are associated with Luddite activities and the Taylor family, particularly Mary, a radical feminist and friend of Charlotte Brontë.

Charlotte was a regular guest at the property in the 1830s and gave it a starring role as Briarmains in her novel, Shirley.

Bought by Spenborough Council in 1969, the building served as a museum from the early 1970s until it was closed to the public in 2016.

The property was then earmarked for a wedding venue and holiday accommodation, but the plan fell through.

Kirklees Council announced last year it was looking to dispose of several assets when it was facing a £47m budget deficit, and was hoping to bring in a minimum of £4 million from the various sales.

Red House is scheduled to be sold by Pugh Auctions on Tuesday, December 3.

Auctioneers say the property is likely to be suitable for redevelopment or change of use and could potentially be returned to its original use as a large private residence.

The building’s many original features include a wooden staircase leading to a galleried landing, as well as several fireplaces, and stained glass windows featuring portraits of William Shakespeare and John Milton.

Other options for some of the properties being sold included community asset transfers, where a site is handed over to be owned and managed by the community, but in the case of Red House the council decided to push ahead with an auction.

Will Thompson, a director at Pugh Auctions, says: “In keeping with its four decades as a museum, Red House is a fascinating treasure trove that is drenched in the history of this part of West Yorkshire.

“It would make an outstanding family home, as it must have been for generations of the Taylor family, and contains some really exceptional original features, including stained glass windows in the dining room that are described by Charlotte Brontë in Shirley.”

He added: “Not surprisingly we have had a great deal of interest from would-be buyers.”

Charitable organisation Red House Yorkshire Heritage Trust was formed in November 2019 in the hope of saving the Red House site and its buildings so they could benefit the local community.