The Bronte Photograph Explained! | Brontes | Haworth

[@DaysofHorror]

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[@frannyalfonso]

Thank you for thus video which I have only just found. I found it fascinating as I am descended from an old Haworth family, with family graves in this churchyard. My grandma is in nearby Stanbury cemetery up the road. As a child I lived in Stanbury, half a mile from the cemetery and in Haworth as an adult . My father lived in Haworth as a boy I'm now an old lady, I last lived in Haworth in 1994. The first Shackleton grave is of interest to me, as I lived next door to one of the Shackletons in Stanbury as a child. I called her Auntie, but I don't think we were related. I was told by my (Victorian) grandmother about a very old lady she remembered meeting as a child, who had worked for the Rev Bronte in some capacity towards the end of his life. Sorry I have no names or details. Thanks for the video.

[@sandradring6265]

Thank you so much for this great video. I’ve visited the Bronte parsonage many times as I love the Brontes. You are right in saying how wonderful it is. Anyone who hasn’t visited it’s worth it. Inside you will see where they wrote their stories, the table,furniture, books and dresses they wore...so much to see. As with the graveyard. The history of why the graves are flat and sinking is amazing. Look it all up! 👍

[@DaysofHorror]

Thanks Sandra 😀 It's loaded with history and so much to see. It's a pity you can't film inside the parsonage, which I find a little bizarre, but it's still worth a visit nevertheless. The photo we mentioned, whilst it's caused a few to comment, some not so nice, it's at least provided a taking point so the video did what it was intended to, to bring about discussion 👍

[@sandradring6265]

@@DaysofHorror I thought the photo was great..it’s a great talking point! It’s the first video I’ve seen of yours..I’ve liked and subscribed...looking forward to more 😉👍

[@Lancastrian501]

Brilliant video yet again thanks. It always amazes and saddens me when I visit graveyards and see the ages of many of the deceased. The Brontes themselves were only young women when they died and the newest of those three graves in a row read "Also 6 children of theirs". Unfortunately the death of friends and loved ones must have been commonplace for many, especially for the likes of Patrick who outlived his own daughters. Very sad 🥲

[@GraveVisitations]

Interesting and well done in trying to piece things together. I love old photographs

[@slowfootlabeef704]

Hey OK, this could be a little bit out there, but would it be possible to gauge the height of the woman walking along the wall of the parsonage? Charlotte Bronte was only about 4 foot 7. Of course, I'm sure there were other women at the time that were 4 foot 7, but if there was a big difference it might conclusively tell you that it isn't. or closer it would tell you it indeed might be. Very interesting video, I enjoyed it!

[@claretsman1882]

Thoroughly enjoyed this mate, a vision into our past, we are humbled to walk on ground where history once walked before

[@DaysofHorror]

Cheers Paul. If you get the chance, pop on over to Haworth and check out the graveyard. So much history in that one place.

[@claretsman1882]

Yeah I will do, I want to get over for the 1940s weekend when that is on in the new year

[@donnabooth9904]

The new video was amazing X

[@sandradring6265]

Thank you so much for this great video. I’ve visited the Bronte parsonage many times as I love the Brontes. You are right in saying how wonderful it is. Anyone who hasn’t visited it’s worth it. Inside you will see where they wrote their stories, the table,furniture, books and dresses they wore...so much to see. As with the graveyard. The history of why the graves are flat and sinking is amazing. Look it all up! This is the first video I’ve watched. I’ve liked and subscribed. Looking forward to seeing more 👍

[@bill90405]

Its traditional to erect the monument on the first anniversary of the death. The parish records should show when the actual burials occurred. Yorkshire may have even digitized the records.

[@terencebennison6275]

That graveyard was the 'cause' of so many death's in the village , being the source of contamination of the water supply and may have even been responsible for the Bronte sisters illnesses.

[@rubabmirza4354]

Thank you so much but you did not show the place where Anne was buried

[@robertdiamond2830]

Loved the video - thank you both. 👍

[@DaysofHorror]

Our pleasure!

[@annieoakley3516]

It was Elizabeth Gaskell, another close friend of Charlotte Brontë, who wrote several books, including a biography of Brontë. Not Ellen Nussey.

[@serenjns]

What if the family of the person in the 3rd grave had to save up to buy the headstone. That can happen. Some people don’t get headstones for years.

[@grapestheoriginal]

That's an excellent point. Maybe there perish records that would indicate when the headstones were placed?

[@-Reagan]

@@grapestheoriginal Sometimes either the parish or caretakers will have records or there may be a record from the stone masonry preserved somewhere. Otherwise, if you can find photos of the cemetery you might be able to narrow it down by date. Unfortunately, photography wasn’t as easy and convenient so, it wasn’t as common. Fortunately, the cemeteries were intended as pleasant places for family gatherings. So, it’s possible. There might also be grave rubbings that might be dated. The practice of grave rubbing to preserve grave markers has been around for centuries. The Victorians, especially were close to death in life and as such were great collectors of memento mori, objects to remember the dead. Among them were photographs, paintings, drawings, lithographs and rubbings. They even made quilts featuring detailed embroidered pictures of headstones, copied directly from grave rubbings. I’d say there’s a chance of finding out although it might require a lot of research. I wish I were there, I’d love to help you out!

[@grapestheoriginal]

@@-Reagan no, I'm not there either.

[@suemount6042]

The clothes they wore can also be dated to further tighten the date

[@Brontephile666]

Great video, love Haworth visit regularly from over the hill in Lancashire

[@keithfletcher5024]

Thanks for another great video, been there a few times, plenty of interesting shops. Lovely church.

[@trevorwright6165]

what a lot of homework you must have done and the photo line up was wonderful very interesting thank you again for sharing this with us all cheers from trev and chris xx

[@DaysofHorror]

Yes it was. Thanks for watching and commenting 🙂

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

Thanks 😊

[@suehawthorne1553]

Enjoyed watching this video and learning some of the history of the Bronte sisters

[@DaysofHorror]

Thanks Sue. I'm no expert on them, but I wanted to visit those three graves and to touch upon that photo.

[@missjayemau]

Oof, please don't hate me, but there's a small flaw in the dating here. I've stumbled on this one often enough in my own research. While you're 100% correct to pin the start date at the earliest death date (generally, headstones aren't erected before a person's death), the date on the 3rd headstone would only be the earliest date the photo could have been taken, not the latest. To pin the possible years down exactly, we'd have to know the date the HEADSTONE was put in place, not the death of the person. I've had instances of this era which has headstones several years after a death. I've had some that have been decades. So, the questions would have to be, how well off was that family? What are the common headstone styles, were there elements that aren't common to the older headstones? Were the remainder of her family still in the area, or did they move? How strong were the relationships of the people involved? Things along those lines can give a clearer indication of a possible date for the headstone itself, if there aren't any records available for when the 3rd headstone was put in place. At the most, we can say that there's AT LEAST 7 years in which the photo could have been taken, but possibly more. Which could raise questions of whether or not Charlotte was still alive. Thank you so much for this fascinating video, it's certainly brought some more questions to mind I hadn't considered before. I'd love to know if you or anyone around there area could find out more about the headstone's origins. That would be an amazing find!

[@DaysofHorror]

We don't hate anyone 😀 I'm glad you commented and it does give food for thought, so thank you very much.

[@pdq2403]

Well put together as always.

[@user-qh8nh7oe6d]

Thank you for this. Poor Charlotte died during her pregnancy from hyperemisis, severe vomiting. Its thought she may have lived with a low level chronic TB too, and she was prone to bilious attacks which can be interpreted now as gall bladder trouble. She might not have survived the birth, she was an older mum, and very small. Always find it sad the family vault is under the church pillar. Its as though its pressing them down. The 2 eldest sisters lie there too, Maria and Elizabeth who died in childhood..

[@DaysofHorror]

Wr have never really got into the whole Bronte saga, but we think we need to. There are tons of interesting things about them, and I think many stories could be told.

[@user-qh8nh7oe6d]

I've just found out it was discovered in 2018 that the Bronte vault isn't under the pillar but a couple of metres out from it.

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

​@user-qh8nh7oe6d thanks for the info 😊

[@GhostLivesMatter]

Just watched this now. I've always wanted to go to Haworth. Thankyou so much for this video!! Have you seen the film about the Brontes? It's called ' To Walk Invisible '. You've inspired me to watch it again now.

[@DaysofHorror]

It kind-of sounds familiar. I'll check it out over this weekend 😃

[@jonfitz2278]

Absolutely brilliant mate thanks and keep them coming

[@DaysofHorror]

Thank Jon! Much appreciated 😁

[@arthurlockwood8735]

Lovely. Live in the. Location. On the Lancashire and Yorkshire border in pendle Nelson bin many time s. Lovely place to go thanks 🇬🇧👌❤️

[@DaysofHorror]

Many thanks Arthur 😀

[@andrewharrison8975]

I don’t think the flat grave slabs are headstones, they look more like table tombs.

[@lauriewarner4848]

I have two question, are there more than one person buried in that grave? Second why are you thinking that is Charlotte because ?? Could it not be anyone?

[@debwalls9405]

Lovely video. Thankyou for sharing.

[@DaysofHorror]

Many thanks Deb 😀

[@JJBushfan]

I only visited Haworth Parsonage once, a little over thirty years ago. It was the only time in my entire life that I felt a strong sense of being on a pilgrimage. I don't now where my obsession with the Bronte's comes from, but it's very strong.

[@DaysofHorror]

Haworth is such a brilliant place. Full of history and the walks in the village as well as the moors.

[@susanverhoeven4962]

I took my mother to England from the Chicago area in 1984. We felt that visiting the Bronte Parsonage was a pilgrimage, so I know what you mean.

[@DaysofHorror]

The one thing we cannot really understand is that we went into the Parsonage and was told we couldnt film whilst inside. That kind-of spoilt it a bit for us but nevertheless, we still go back and enjoy the place. @@susanverhoeven4962

[@JJBushfan]

What I most remember when I went there, two or three years after Susan, was being most moved by the sight of the sitting room (first on the left after going through the front door, as I recall.) I was particularly awestruck by the sight of the chaise longue on which I'd read that Emily was believed to have died (which I gather is disputed), but just being on the periphery of the room in which those three women had lived and talked and laughed and cried was an almost mystical experience.@@DaysofHorror

[@secretblackburn4992]

Thank you For sharing this with us all

[@DaysofHorror]

It was just something different for us to talk about pal 👍😁

[@PeterSmith-bj4ml]

By the mid 1850s exposure time had got down to 10s of seconds in good light, certainly not several minutes, that was the old Daguerreotypes. If the subject that was possibly Charlotte Bronte was walking fast it would be blurred. She may have been standing fairly still, but she, of course wouldn't have know it was being taken. I'm certainly no photo expert, only what I've read. Maybe some experts could comment. Didn’t he prove by the headstones that it must have been taken mid 1850s? Therefore what you see is what you see regarding the lady's image clarity.

[@behindthesashcrown4008]

Completed an entire uni module on the bronte sisters,

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

Well done 😊

[@johnryskamp2943]

There's a wonderful article on the subject of where Emily got her legal knowledge, which is excellent if you follow the path by which Heathcliffe becomes the owner. Wish I could remember the name of the author!

[@emilijadivaine162]

❤thank you❤wish happy and inspiring year now❤ nice video, i am fan of Brontes too.... i was there october 2024 and fall in love with Hawort... as that women, she may be what ever she be, every woman may went nearly... but try to use modern technologies - and so: it is known, how tall Charlotte or Ellen was, so get to know, what height is a woman on photo, and then will see if it may Charlote, or Ellen... that graveyard is awsome... and church too, and moors.... also cafes, restorant and cakes in Hawort is marvellous! ! - I will be back 🙂🙏

[@jeannenebabor7897]

😅how in the world can you think that could be Charolette Brontë? The person is so far way and so small. There isn’t a whole lot to prove it is her. She is in profile. Wow your eyes are good.

[@DaysofHorror]

Ok Sherlock 👍

[@eagleitalia]

1839, 1846 and 1853 - so there's a 7 year window from November 1846 - September 1853 when the photograph could have been taken. Emily died in December 1848 and Anne in May 1849, so surely it's possible that the figure in the photograph could have been Anne, Charlotte or Emily?

[@matparks08]

Great video again. 😊. Never seen that photo before so it adds a new spin on the graveyard I've been in many times before. Most of the gravestones were once all lying flat. Rainwater off the hill washed through the graveyard, the water mixing with the corpses (some of whom died of terrible diseases) and the locals having no choice but to drink the water. It's no surprise that adult life expectancy back then was 25, and 6 on average for children. Rev Patrick Brontë was the catalyst for change in getting the headstones upright over time which helped the general sanitation of the village.

[@grapestheoriginal]

I don't understand, why would standing the stones improve sanitation?

[@matparks08]

@grapes6861 the water was saidto be washing through under the gravestones and mixing with the corpses before continuing flowing into the village. Standing the stones allowed them to almost be a water barrier (flowing round them, instead of through). I don't think it was a quick fix, but allowed the ground to stabilise.

[@grapestheoriginal]

@@matparks08 oh, I see, thank you.

[@Kerokerokeroppipipi]

I read the report of the time and apparently it's more like the flat headstones prevented air circulation and fast decomposition. So the water just kind of festered underneath.

[@nadiazeeb1868]

So sad God took them away so young. 😔🙏✝️❤️🇺🇸

[@sharynmorgan944]

" Time and unforeseen circumstances befall us all "

[@esterherschkovich6499]

Lots of views but no likes😢. I have liked... Great channel.. From a Londoner. I have lived on and off in Manchester 😊

[@DaysofHorror]

424 likes, 9 dislikes. These don't show on the video page as we have turned off the visibility of them. The same with all our videos. The thumbs up or down doesn't ever shown the true feeling of videos, but the comments do. A thumbs down for example, never gives any content creator an idea of what they have done wrong as those that dislike a video don't back it up with a constructive reason. Same with thumbs up to be honest.

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

Thanks Ester. Appreciate this and your lovely comments 😊

[@chegwin126]

The date on the second headstone was 1858 not 1853.

[@DaysofHorror]

I'll have another look at that. Sometimes I find it hard to see the numbers during filming with the age of headstones and moss on them etc. but thanks for spotting it 👍

[@johnjames-glover4630]

At this stage in the development of photography, how long did the subject have to remain motionless? I'm sure it was several minutes, and if that's the case how is it that the lady in the background - be it Charlotte, her friend Emily or someone else - is so clearly in focus if they're walking at a normal pace?

[@DaysofHorror]

That's a good point. Photography, I'd think, was in its infancy. I never give it a thought when we did this video 🤔 Excellent point!

[@danielquill]

It looks like she is walking to the left, but the zoomed in photo shown later in the video shows she is actually standing facing the right.

[@TruthSeekerInvestigations]

How important are those headstones?! What a catch! I reckon that was Charlotte. Some place!

[@DaysofHorror]

It's the whole dating of the photograph and how important that photo possibly is in terms of the writing community I love.

[@carolb8521]

Thankyou , brilliant 😊

[@DaysofHorror]

You’re welcome 😊

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

Thank you for watching Carol 😊

[@rossendalecollieries7995]

Howarth such a great place...nowt like a debatable image to get the intrigue going

[@joannicholson3051]

A really lovely video , takes me back many years ago when I visited Haworth . Happy times

[@DaysofHorror]

Many thanks for the kind comment. We usually go at least once, sometimes twice a year over to Haworth. Its such an historic place to visit, with loads of character and interesting stories.

[@mn4169]

lovely video

[@carolinecoffey5404]

❤very well done and interesting love Brontes

[@DaysofHorror]

Thanks Caroline from Vickie & Chris

[@louisecoupland]

Similar situation with Beatrice Potter x

[@DaysofHorror]

Really, that's made me curious 😁 I'll have a look on Google!

[@linasliauteryte9127]

Very interesing.thanks😊

[@marklonsdale1774]

Really enjoy watching ure videos liked the one of Elizabeth Anne holt near me

[@DaysofHorror]

Many thanks Mark. We love uncovering these stories and visiting the places they took place at. We may not be the most professional when it comes to editing but we are what we are 😁

[@AcornElectron]

Always interesting. Always someone called Sarah in these stories too it seems 🤣

[@DaysofHorror]

I never picked up on that 🤣 Sarah must have been popular back in the day!

[@AcornElectron]

@@DaysofHorror I find it funny as my girl is called Sarah and I point it out to her regularly when I’m watching these. ‘here, another Sarah murdered’ or ‘another wrong’un called Sarah’. Keep up the good work and, as always, stay safe!

[@decorpresentation]

Your video is fascinating and lovingly presented. Problem. Charlotte was short-sighted. Those eyes are not those of a myopic. Kind Regards

[@grapestheoriginal]

I think he said the portrait photo was of Charlotte's friend Ms. Nouse. He was speculating that the shadow like figure of the woman in the photo next to the wall of the parsonage is either Charlotte or Ms. Nouse

[@danielquill]

Fascinating video but your preparation could have been so much better. There are a lot more clues about where the photo was taken from and potentially a more accurate dating from what inscriptions are and are not there. You were clearly standing about 2m or so left of where the photo had been taken, and it seems like you were reading inscriptions for the first time ("Ennis? No, Binns"). Thanks though, will get a copy of the photo for my next visit to Haworth as want to delve deep into locating and dating the photo.

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

We take alot of time in preparation during our work and social times and might not always get it right, but I want you to know that we take pride in what videos we put out and the preparation too.

[@tscaring]

Your volume is too low

[@DaysofHorror]

Really? Not a single other person has ever mentioned it?

[@danielquill]

I think your volume is too low.

[@irenebrewer8911]

If you look really closely as you are looking over to the front door of the parsonage to the left of the door, I can see three more ladies, two ladies sitting side by side, the nearest in a pale dress and a lady standing.

[@DaysofHorror]

I'm going to take another look 👍 That's perked my curiosity now.

[@grapestheoriginal]

We can't really see the photo clearly here. I can sort of see the standing imagine, but if the people who have the original photo have not noticed these ladies, I think it is just a truck if the eye.

[@danielquill]

Could be the leaves, but it does seem like 3 ladies/people standing in front of the front door, would explain the woman in black standing facing that direction. Maybe they came to visit the great Currer Bell , and were told by who they thought was the maid that she wasn't home. That 'maid' dressed in black, in mourning for her lost siblings in the past 6 years.

[@MrBrutal33]

"the most famous photograph that has ever been found" - prone to exaggeration much?

[@DaysofHorror]

Well, thanks for watching 👍

[@daveflick12]

Wow I was only there last week.

[@DaysofHorror]

It's an amazing place to visit. I had read the story of the old photograph a whilst back and always wanted to go back and do a small video on it 👍

[@daveflick12]

@@DaysofHorror Ive not got through the video yet. Was talking to a local about the painting their brother did. He scrubbed himself out. I will carry on with the video and comment later