STAFF AT the Parsonage were delighted last week to play a part in a very elaborate marriage proposal!

We were contacted a short while ago by Victor, a gentleman from Stockholm, who six years previously had met the love of his life in America, and was now hoping to propose marriage to her.

But this wasn’t to be an ordinary proposal... as his fiancée-to-be was a huge fan of the Brontës, and was working on Wuthering Heights, it struck him that Haworth and the Parsonage would be the ideal setting for a proposal, and so he endeavoured to make it happen!

On a quiet Friday morning this month the couple arrived at opening time, and Victor managed to secretly pass a book to museum assistant Victoria, who had a special role to play in the proceedings.

The couple wandered through the museum, eventually finding themselves in the Children’s Study, a room particularly associated with Emily, where Victor’s girlfriend Lauren spotted a book on the windowsill with her name on it – surprise!

It was a book of poems, made especially for the occasion, and inside Lauren found inscribed a marriage proposal. Luckily for us – and Victor – Lauren accepted, and the happy couple left as Brontë Society members!

They’ve promised to return in the future, and we all wish them well, and were very happy to play a part in such a momentous day.

And speaking of momentous days, a flock of school children were delighted to spot Professor Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff House and Professor of Herbology, on the steps of the Parsonage this week: aka actress Miriam Margoyles for those of you who aren’t immersed in the world of Harry Potter!

But back to matters real... don’t forget we have a Spooky Storytelling night coming up on Saturday, October 29, and if you live in a BD20, BD21, BD22 postcode area or live in Thornton, the birthplace of the Brontës, then you can enter the museum for free between 6.30pm and 8pm.

And don’t worry about booking – just turn up and prepare to be scared!

Looking ahead to Christmas, we only have a few tickets left for our Treasures by Candlelight evening on Friday December 9, so hurry and book soon if you want a pre-Christmas treat.

Tickets cost £17.50/£15 concessions and include a glass of wine. Call 01535 640192 to book tickets.

We’ve had a wonderful year celebrating Charlotte, and we’re now looking ahead to next year and planning the ways in which we’ll explore Branwell, the troubled brother of the Brontë sisters.

You’ll hear more from me about that in the following few months, but for now I can share our exciting news that during January 2017 – our closed period – we will be hosting an event every Saturday, and the shop will remain open throughout.

More about those events next time!

Have you missed any of our previous articles about the Brontë Parsonage Museum? Visit keighley news.co.uk, click on What’s On then Chapter & Verse.