Anne Bronte was youngest of the renowned Bronte writing dynasty of West Yorkshire. She was born in the village of Thornton, near Bradford, on the 17th January 1820, daughter of Patrick Bronte, a Church of England clergyman and Maria Branwell.

Whilst it is sometimes said that Anne’s sisters, Emily & Charlotte, achieved a much [...]]]>

Anne Bronte was youngest of the renowned Bronte writing dynasty of West Yorkshire. She was born in the village of Thornton, near Bradford, on the 17th January 1820, daughter of Patrick Bronte, a Church of England clergyman and Maria Branwell.

Whilst it is sometimes said that Anne’s sisters, Emily & Charlotte, achieved a much greater level of fame, she was an accomplished poet and novelist in her own right. Her two novels were titles; Agnes Grey & The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The latter of the two was published in June 1848 was an overnight hit and the entire print run was sold within six weeks.

However, as the year progressed, the winter of 1848 turned out to be particularly ferocious. All members of the family had suffered various coughs and spluttering fits, but it was Anne’s older sister Emily who fell victim to the germs of the day. Despite the state of her health, Emily, ever the stubborn Yorkshire-woman, fiercely independent, refused medical attention on several occasions. This led to a rapid decline over a couple of months and Emily finally succumbed on 19 December.

Emily’s death left Anne grief-stricken, almost losing the will to live herself during the Christmas period. However, being both emotionally and physically fragile at this time, Anne contracted Flu, the dreaded influenza. A serious condition without the modern medicines of today.

In February 1849 however, Anne felt stronger and decided to go to Scarborough in North Yorkshire. Scarborough was the first seaside resort in the United Kingdom and people regularly visited for the fresh coastal air, though Anne, remaining frail, was now being pushed in a wheelchair by her sister Charlotte. However, recovery was elude Anne and she died in the coastal town, 70 miles from her home in Haworth.

Charlotte made the decision to bury Anne in Scarborough, in St Mary’s Churchyard. A difficult decision, since holding the funeral only three days after her death did not allow time for her heartbroken father to make the journey to be present to lay his youngest daughter to rest.

Following Anne’s death, publishers reprinted several editions of her work, however sister Charlotte blocked the re-publishing of  The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Anne had chosen this novel to present a more realistic depiction of life, drunkenness & debauchery, challenging many of the social norms of the day and producing a writing style in stark contrast to that of her more talked about sisters.

The grave today has suffered at the hands of the coastal weather, however it is still clear to see that Anne died on the 26th May 1849 and remains in the consecrated grounds of St Mary’s Church, within site of Scarborough Castle and overlooking south bay.

It was originally intended to be a mission [...]]]> Rievaulx Abbey today is a shadow of it’s former glory as a Cistercian Abbey near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, though it remains an impressive view from the road approaching the site.

It was originally intended to be a mission centre for the conversion of Northern England back in the year 1132AD and was founded by only a dozen monks.

The site itself is ideal, situation close to the River Rye in a natural dale that provides shelter from the worst of the elements. Those early monks really did pick their spot wisely.

By the time that King Henry VIII dissolved the abbey in 1538 as part of his backlash against the church, the early dozen had only grown in numbers to twenty two, including the Abbot himself.

The abbey is well signed from the main road and you find yourself drifting back in time on your approach, passing through the village of Rievaulx itself. There is a magical quality about the buildings and the people who live there clearly work hard at maintaining this idyllic place to live.

The abbey site is managed by English Heritage.

Acquired by The National Trust in 1983 Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal are part of a huge site just outside of Ripon. Fountains Abbey was established in 1132 by 13, French, Benedictine monks who left their order due to their outrage at the way their order was being broken. The monks originally travelled to [...]]]>  

Acquired by The National Trust in 1983 Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal are part of a huge site just outside of Ripon. Fountains Abbey was established in 1132 by 13, French, Benedictine monks who left their order due to their outrage at the way their order was being broken. The monks originally travelled to York but were given the land on which Fountains Abbey now stands.

We spent much of the morning on a guided tour of the abbey with our most informative National Trust guide, John. All the while trying to avoid a large group of school children who were being taken on a tour, dressed as monks, by guides who were also dressed for and acting the part, complete with bell ringing, fighting and singing in the abbey!
Lunch was eaten in the grounds of the abbey which is incredibly tranquil.

After lunch we moved on to walk along the banks of the River Skell to the Studley Royal Water Gardens. Studley Royal was inherited by John Aislabie in 1693. He became the first Tory MP for Ripon in 1695 and 1718 became Chancellor of the Exchequer. The water gardens were influenced by the work of French gardeners but the design in entirely original.
Also in the gardens are several temples. These include The Temple of Fame and The Temple of Piety (which became known by us as the temple of pie eating – sorry).

You can also wander the cascades, formal canals and various bridges.

Our walk back to the visitors centre was via the deer park (not a deer in sight!) and St Marys Church, with a quick stop for a clotted cream tea at Lakeside.
All in all we spent a very pleasant day at Fountains. If you do go for a visit then I would highly recommend joining one of the guided tours, be it of the abbey or Studley Royal. Take a picnic and just enjoy.

View from the footpath across the river of the Cathedral towering over the city and the boathouse at the river-side.

Bolton Abbey is a beautiful village in North Yorkshire.