Bronte sisters' birthplace 'saved for future generations' by funding

The house where the Bronte sisters were born has been "saved for future generations" after receiving government funding, campaigners have said.

Literary sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte were born in the terraced house in Thornton, near Bradford in West Yorkshire, between 1816 and 1820.

The building is among dozens of historic and community buildings that will share a £25m "levelling up" fund.

Its £240,000 grant will mean it can be refurbished and opened to the public.

The house had previously been in private hands but now will become a "community events space" that will "improve social cohesion and boost local tourism", the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said.

Steven Stanworth, vice chair of Bronte Birthplace Limited, said the funding was "fantastic news" and would mean it could open in time for Bradford's year as UK City of Culture in 2025.

"This has been a 20-year dream to save the birthplace, the missing piece of the jigsaw in the story of the Bronte sisters," he said.

"For the first time, the little terraced house will be in public ownership."

Bronte Birthplace Limited, a not-for-profit community benefit society, had already raised £367,000, including a grant from the City of Culture, to buy and begin work on the property.

Broadcaster Christa Ackroyd, a committee member, said they aim to "use this little building to inspire the next generation" by welcoming children from every school in the district.

In 1820, the Brontes moved to the parsonage in Howarth, where the sisters wrote masterpieces including Emily's Wuthering Heights and Charlotte's Jane Eyre. That former family home has been a museum for almost a century.

More than 70 buildings will receive money from the latest round of the DLUHC's Community Ownership Fund. Some of the others include: