Brontë Birthplace Limited is the recipient of a large grant from Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture that has allowed the organisation to make a successful bid to secure the house in Market Street, Thornton where Charlotte, Emily and Anne and their brother Branwell were born.
The group is delighted that the offer made to the current owner has been accepted which will secure the important grade2* house for future generations. The successful grant application from Bradford 2025 means their target to open the birthplace as a cultural and educational space, in the same year the city celebrates being the UK City of Culture, now becomes a reality.
Steven Stanworth who has campaigned for more than decade to safeguard the birthplace said today,
“News of the grant from Bradford 2025 has been greeted with joy by everyone in the group. Our vision to see every Bradford school child visit this historic house and be inspired by the story of the Brontë sisters in the year the city celebrates its cultural history and aspirations, and to also welcome visitors from across the world to their place of birth, will now happen. We still have a long way to go to in raising the additional funding to restore the house, which needs substantial repair, but the fact we also have planning permission to build a café and open the sister’s bedrooms as accommodation means the final piece of the jigsaw in the story of three girls from Bradford who became the greatest literary family the world has ever known has been secured
Fellow committee member Sarah Dixon who has worked tirelessly with the group on the grant bid and the business plan said today,
We have an ambitious target to raise to restore and manage the house and news of our successful bid for the house and the Bradford 2025 grant is an enormous step in the right direction. We would encourage people to buy shares via our community share offer and I would appeal to local businesses and organisations to come forward and help us by becoming patrons. We are thrilled beyond words to receive funding from Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and are excited to move to the next stage of moving forward with our plans. Our crowdfunder is active and has raised £20,000 in the first week but we still need lots more support particularly from businesses. We have a long way to go but we are determined to get there."
Dan Bates, the Executive Director at Bradford 2025 said,
The Cultural Capital Fund is a great example of our ambition to increase investment in the cultural infrastructure within the Bradford district giving residents and visitors alike greater opportunity to experience the arts, culture and creativity during 2025 and beyond.”