Haworth, West Yorkshire: The Brontës, History & Things to Do

Haworth is a hill village in the Worth Valley, among the South Pennines, a few miles south of Keighley. Its steep cobbled Main Street climbs between stone houses to the church and the Parsonage, and beyond them the open moorland begins.

Why Haworth Is Special

This is where Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë grew up and wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Walking from the Parsonage onto the moors that shaped their imagination is one of the great literary pilgrimages of the world.

Haworth is also simply a lovely village, with tea rooms, bookshops and galleries on its Main Street, and a heritage steam railway running along the valley below.

The History of Haworth

Haworth grew as a Pennine textile village, its mills powered by the River Worth. In 1820 the Reverend Patrick Brontë came here as perpetual curate, bringing his wife and six young children to the Georgian parsonage beside the church.

The children lost their mother soon after, and two elder sisters died young, but in the Parsonage the surviving four, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne, created whole imaginary kingdoms in tiny handwritten books. In 1847 the three sisters published Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey, under the names Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.

The Parsonage is now the Brontë Parsonage Museum, run by the Brontë Society, with the family's furniture, letters, drawings and the sisters' own small books. The church of St Michael and All Angels beside it was largely rebuilt after Patrick's time, but the family vault lies within it.

Out on the moors, the ruined farmhouse of Top Withens is reputed to have inspired the setting of Wuthering Heights, and Ponden Hall, further along the valley, is said to have been the model for Thrushcross Grange.

Things to Do in Haworth

Start at the Brontë Parsonage Museum (check opening times), walk through the churchyard to the church, then wander down the Main Street, stopping at the Black Bull, where Branwell drank, and the old apothecary.

Walk out onto the moor to the Brontë Waterfall and the Brontë Bridge, and on to Top Withens if you have a full morning. Then ride the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, the heritage line through the valley below the village.

Gardens, Countryside & Antiques near Haworth

For gardens, RHS Garden Harlow Carr at Harrogate and the water garden of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden are within an hour's drive. Antiques lovers can head to Antiques on High Harrogate.

To the north, the Yorkshire Dales National Park begins beyond Skipton; see our guide to the Yorkshire Dales.

Haworth Through the Seasons

Spring brings lambs to the moorland farms and the first walkers to the Brontë Way. In late summer the moors turn purple with heather. Autumn gives the best light and the moodiest skies, and at Christmas the Main Street is lit and decorated for the season.

Getting to Haworth

Haworth station on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway connects with the main line at Keighley. There are pay car parks at the bottom and top of the village.

Haworth: Questions & Answers

Is the Brontë Parsonage open to visitors?

Yes. It is the Brontë Parsonage Museum, run by the Brontë Society. Check opening times before you travel.

How far is Top Withens from Haworth?

Top Withens, the ruin said to have inspired Wuthering Heights, is a moorland walk of a few miles each way from Haworth, past the Brontë Waterfall.

Our Advice

Our advice: Visit the Parsonage first thing, walk to the waterfall and back before lunch, and save the steam train for the afternoon.