HAWORTH was not the only place where Charlotte Brontë’s birthday was celebrated last week.

Thornton, where the writer was actually born, and London joined the festivities with special 200th anniversary events.

The Brontë Society’s celebrations began on Thursday at 11am at St James’s Church, Thornton, where Charlotte's father Patrick was the minister.

Charlotte and her sisters were born in the nearby parsonage, now a boutique coffee shop called Emily's.

Barbara Kirkaldy and husband Alan had flown in from France for the occasion, because her father Reggie Lovette had owned the butchers shop in the very same building between 1936 and 1979.

"We are fascinated by all the history and this is such an important day," Mrs Kirkaldy said.

Lyn Glading had travelled from Lancaster and is one of the longest-serving members of the Bronte Society, having joined in 1972 and was on its council for 20 years until 2002.

"The Bronte sisters blazed a trail for women and women writers and Charlotte was their driving force - it was she who urged them to publish," said Miss Glading, accompanied by her springer spaniel, Bronte.

Bronte expert and former TV presenter Christa Ackroyd attended the ceremony where a small bright coloured wreath was laid at the Old Bell Chapel by the the Reverend Gloria Hardisty and another was carried to Haworth by a team of cyclists.

"We must remember Charlotte's passion for equality of class and gender - which is as relevant now as then," Ms Ackroyd said.

"That campaign for fairness all started in Thornton with her wonderful father who educated all his daughters and who said 'Thornton, my happiest days were there'.

"Charlotte lived here for four years and then her mother died a year after they moved to Haworth.

Bronte Society members travelled to London earlier in the week to join Keighley MP Kris Hopkins and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey on the Terrace of the House of Commons.

Mr Hopkins said it was wonderful to wish Charlotte a happy 200th birthday with members of the Bronte Society.

He said: “We are honoured to have the parsonage in Haworth and be able to remember such a famous literary icon as Charlotte with one of the oldest literary societies in the world.

“The Brontes are celebrated around the world and we now have a gilt-edged opportunity for Haworth to show off the many attractions it has to offer.”

Brontë Society Council chairman John Thirlwell said the organisation had spent several years planning a five-year programme of events to celebrate the 200th anniversaries of Charlotte and her siblings Emily, Anne and Branwell.

Ed Vaizey, who cut a specially-made 200th anniversary birthday cake, said the work of the Brontës would be promoted to a new generation.

An exhibition looking at Thornton's past has gone on display at the National Media Museum in Bradford.

The exhibition, Thornton Village - the Bronte Birthplace, has been put together by the Thornton Antiquarian Society and South Square Gallery, and will run until the end of May.

Photographs, including images dating back over 100 years are on display in the museum foyer while others are available to view from the Insight research centre.