Branwell's birthday activities
A Brush with Branwell, 11am-4pm
Join us at the Museum for a spot of portrait painting! Have a go at painting Branwell (or yourself!) into the iconic Pillar Portrait. A family friendly workshop, all materials provided.
A short talk about Branwell and his life, 11.30am & 2pm
Join us for a walk around the environs of the Parsonage and find out a little about Branwell Brontë and his life in Haworth. If the weather's really bad, there will be a talk in our Learning area instead.
Meet John Brown, 11.30am-2.30pm
Branwell’s friend John Brown is in and out of the Parsonage today looking for him. John’s in chatty mood, so if you come across him today, he’s sure to share a few Branwell anecdotes…
'A Humble station?' - a screening of a documentary film about Branwell, 3pm
'A Humble Station? Branwell Brontë's Calder Valley Years", is a new documentary film by Deep Lock Productions which tells the story of Branwell's years living and working in the Calder Valley, Yorkshire.
Branwell, worked on the burgeoning railways at Sowerby Bridge and later Luddenden Foot. With a reputation for drinking, opium and troubled love affairs, Branwell's story has not been looked on kindly by most biographers. However, Deep Lock Productions present a new assessment of Branwell, and the poetry and paintings he produced during his Calder Valley Years.
Filmed and directed by photographer and composer Alan Wrigley, whose score underpins scenic views of the valley, "A Humble Station?" is written and narrated by Calder Valley poet Simon Zonenblick, who has spent the weeks and months leading up to Branwell's bicentenary listening to artists, writers, historians and local people about the life and legacy of this much misunderstood man. With interviews from Brontë biographer Juliet Barker, Brontë Parsonage Collections Manager and author Ann Dinsdale, playwright Caroline Lamb, Performance Poet Geneviève L Walsh, historian David Cant and many, many more, "A Humble Station? Branwell Brontë's Calder Valley Years" is a whole new look at the legacy of Yorkshire's famous Brontë family, through the prism of the talented but troubled Branwell, and a celebration of the beautiful area where some of his most important art and writing were created.
All activities free with admission to the Museum.