23/07/2011 - Historic Bronte building under threat
Update 22nd August 2011
Sale of Bronte building deferred – for the moment! Fears that the only building in Haworth that was constructed by Rev. Patrick Bronte, father of the famous authoress sisters, may have to be sold for development by its owners Haworth Parish Church have been placed on hold.
Following a series of crisis meetings between the Church’s Parochial Council and Bronte Spirit, the committee charged by the Church of restoring and developing the Old School Room on Church Street, Haworth, it was decided last week that enough potential support had been received for the restoration project to continue for the time being.
At a meeting last Wednesday it was agreed that archaeologist Dr Angela Redmond, one of the current directors of Bronte Spirit, would lead the project; that the planned application for charitable status would continue and that discussions with two organisations are to be explored.
Dr Redmond, who had been employed by Bronte Spirit when an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund was being advanced in 2008, said: “We believe that the building has a future with a role in the community and that’s something we’ll be exploring in the next few weeks.
“We were concerned that the lack of funds and support were threatening the project and we’ve been encouraged by our initial discussions with organisations and individuals who want the Old School Room to be restored and remain true to Patrick Bronte’s vision of having a building available for public good.
“We don’t want to say publicly which organisations have been in touch with us because negotiations are at a delicate stage. No doubt if those discussions are successful it will be possible to make appropriate announcements later.”
The discovery of dry rot in the building roof space in June brought the state of the building to crisis point but, following media exposure of the Church’s difficulty with the project, significant support has been received.
Rev Peter Mayo Smith, the Priest in Charge at Haworth Parish Church which is better known to people in Haworth as St Michael and All Angel’s, said: “We’re exploring every avenue and, although we recognise that these are not easy economic times, we believe that we could be possible to secure enough grants to enable us to restore and develop the building as a community asset.
“None of us really wanted to sell the building but we have been in real danger of having to take that drastic step. Fortunately, we have been able to step back from that brink.”
Original News story added on 23rd July 2011
Historic Bronte building under threat The only building in Haworth designed and built by Patrick Bronte is in danger of having to be sold as a development project.
Patrick Bronte was the father of the world-famous authoress sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne and he was the priest at Haworth Parish Church from 1820 until 1861.
The Old School Room, which is next to Haworth Parish Church and the world famous Parsonage home of the Bronte family, in Haworth was built as a ‘national’ style school by Bronte in 1832 then extended in 1850 and 1871.
Now the single-storey building is showing its age. It is in need of a major restoration and the owners of the building, Haworth Parish Church, do not have the cash or expertise to ensure that the Old School Room is restored to its former splendour.
The building housed a school where the famous Haworth-based authors Charlotte, Emily and Anne, together with their brother Branwell, worked as teachers to give the poor children of the village an education.
It is estimated that just short of £1 million will be needed not only to repair the roof that has dry rot issues but also to complete the restoration.
Now the Church’s committee charged with maintaining the building, the Bronte Spirit, has reached a point where giving the building a new lease of life is seemingly impossible for them.
Mrs. Averil Kenyon, the chairman of the Bronte Spirit, said: “We had high hopes of gaining funding several years ago but we were unable to take the project past the development stage for many different reasons.
“Basically Haworth Parish Church has its hands full seeking funding to undertake its own restoration project and, while they are making progress, there is simply not enough cash or people available to help us advance the Old School Room project.
“Now the roof of the Old School Room needs at least £12,000 spending on it to keep the building even reasonably water tight through next winter.
“On top of that thieves have again raided the lead from the roof and we’ve suffered some water damage as a result.”
On Wednesday last week a crisis meeting between the Bronte Spirit Committee and the ruling Parochial Church Council was staged to consider the future of the building.
Explained Mrs. Kenyon: “There have been several attempts at restoration during the last 20 years, but they came to nothing.
“Now we look to have reached the end of the road. If no solution is found in the next three or four months, the building will suffer more serious damage and become even more expensive to restore.
“We don’t have the people or resources to do the job ourselves and, although we had high hopes of establishing a partnership with a socially-responsible group, three years of negotiations recently ended without agreement.
“Now we have to find a solution and one of the options we and the Church’s Council are considering is whether the Old School Room could be sold as a housing or development project.
“That would be heart-breaking but we’re running out of answers, money, people and time.”
Rev. Peter Mayo-Smith, the Priest in Charge at Haworth Parish Church, said: “We realise the historical significance of the building but there don’t appear to be any answers on the horizon.
“Last week we debated whether to continue trying to raise the necessary money ourselves or to seek alternative solutions like leasing the building to an external partner, or even selling the building as a development project.
“The Parish Church is making excellent progress in raising the money it needs to repair its roof and undertake other essential works so we simply don’t have the capacity to undertake a major heritage project.
“The crisis meeting appointed a consultant to undertake some final research into what grant aiding may still be available. She will report back in a month but if there are no suitable pathways then the building may have to go on the market.”
He added: “In the meantime we shall also be talking to organisations in the heritage business to see if we can establish a partnership and save the building that way.”
During the last three years the Old School Room has hosted a very successful photographic exhibition illustrating life in the Worth Valley; retro-clothing fairs and a design exhibition run by both Bradford Council and English Heritage.
