Free Day at the Bronte Parsonage Museum

This article is also by Bronte Society PR consultant Diane Benn:

FAMOUS BRONTË MUSEUM WELCOMES ITS 7TH MILLIONTH VISITOR

The Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth were delighted to welcome the 7th millionth visitor through its doors on Saturday 24 June 2006 and plan to celebrate with an open day which will be free to local people.
The lucky visitors were Mr. & Mrs. Derek Stringer from Bowness-on-Windermere who were visiting Haworth to take in the atmospheric home of the talented Brontë family whose novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights won them international acclaim.
Alan Bentley, Brontë Parsonage Museum Director, surprised the couple with a bag containing a selection of Brontë gifts, including a collection of the Brontë novels. The couple also received a year’s free membership to the Brontë Society and were invited to be guests of honour at an open day at the Museum on Saturday 29 July 2006.
The Parsonage Museum has enjoyed buoyant visitor figures over the years with the highest visitor figures of 221,000 recorded in 1974. This figure was attributed at the time to the popularity of a TV mini series, The Brontes of Haworth, and the recent success of the Wuthering Heights film staring Timothy Dalton. Soon after it was decided that the large numbers of visitors were damaging the 200 year old building .
Alan Bentley said "to celebrate the 7th millionth visitor is a real honour for the Parsonage Museum. Although there have been many additions and alterations to the Museum since 1928, it remains a place of pilgrimage for thousands of UK and overseas visitors. Our aim at the Parsonage is to extend a warm welcome to all and to provide an authentic interpretation of what life was like for the Brontës in the 1800s". He added "I would like to extend a personal invitation to all members of the public to come and join us on the 29th July and to learn a little more about the world’s most famous literary family".
The planned open day on Saturday 29 July 2006 will be free to local residents within the BD20, BD21 and BD22 postcode areas with normal admission charges applicable to other visitors. Some form of identification will be required for local people to gain access. The fun-filled day will include drama, free guided walks, short talks on the Brontës and a chance to visit the house where the Brontës lived and worked.