Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë

Poet and Novelist

Writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë are commemorated in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. Their tablet, made of Huddlestone stone, was given by the Brontë Society, and was erected on 9th October 1939 but due to the war and difficulty of travel it was not formally dedicated until 19th July 1947.

It is placed on the wall next to Shakespeare's memorial. The dedication service included Anne's hymn "Believe not those who say the upward path is smooth", and the address was given by the Society's President Donald Hopewell. The tablet was designed by the Abbey's Surveyor Sir Charles Peers and the inscription reads:

Charlotte Brontë

1816 1855

Emily Jane Brontë

1818 1848

Anne Brontë

1820 1849

With Courage to Endure

The diareses (two dots above the ë in the surname) were inadvertently omitted from the inscription when it was originally cut but this was remedied on 26th September 2024, at the request of the Society.

They were the daughters of the Reverend Patrick Brunty or Prunty (1777-1861) and his wife Maria (Branwell) (died 1821). He was born in Co. Down in Northern Ireland and changed his surname to Brontë when he attended Cambridge University. Their other children were (Patrick) Branwell (died 1848), Maria and Elizabeth. Both of these daughters became ill while attending a harsh clergy school in Lancashire (which was later the model for Lowood School in Jane Eyre) and died. In 1820 Patrick was appointed incumbent at Haworth in Yorkshire.

Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte was born on 21st April 1816 at Thornton parsonage near Bradford in Yorkshire and used the pseudonym Currer Bell for her writings, as women writers were often derided at this period. She and Emily also attended the school which had caused the death of their two sisters but were later educated at home by their father and aunt. After attending a school at Mirfield Charlotte returned to teach there and later took a post as governess. Jane Eyre was to be her most successful novel. Shirley was begun just before the deaths of her brother, Emily and Anne in quick succession. Villette was her other well known work. She formed a friendship with novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, who later wrote Charlotte's biography. She married her father's curate Arthur Bell Nicholls on 29th June 1854 but died on 31st March 1855, from excessive morning sickness during pregnancy and a chill, and was buried in the family vault at Haworth church.

Emily Brontë

Emily Jane was born 30th July 1818 and had some education, with Charlotte, in Brussels. She eventually became a teacher but ill health meant she had to give up that profession. After the death of Elizabeth Branwell in 1842, who kept house for Patrick after Maria's death, she returned to run the household. She wrote many poems including To Imagination and The Visionary, and a solitary novel Wuthering Heights (her pseudonym was Ellis Bell). She died of tuberculosis on 19th December 1848 and is buried at Haworth.

Anne Brontë

Anne was born on 17th January 1820 and used the name Acton Bell. She also worked as a governess and wrote Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, as well as poems. Some of her poems revealed her mourning at the loss of one of her father's curates William Weightman, of whom she was very fond. She died while visiting Scarborough on 28th May 1849 and is buried at St Mary's church there.