The father of the famous Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Ann, came to Dewsbury in 1809 and spent two eventful years as curate at Dewsbury Parish Church, now renamed Dewsbury Minster.

An exhibition depicting Patrick's life will be held in the church and many other events are being organised by a special committee set up a year ago to plan this Bronte Festival.

Bronte expert Dr Juliet Barker, who wrote the widely acclaimed book, The Brontes, will be visiting the town to talk on the life of Patrick and his family, while jazz singer Val Wiseman will be paying a tribute to him in song.

Dewsbury Arts Group have organised a presentation on Patrick's life in the town, which they will be performing on two nights in Dewsbury Arts Centre; and the local market traders will be wearing clothes of the period to mark the occasion.

Some historic walks around the town have been planned.

The organising committee, chaired by Denis Ripley, are keen to tell the world that Dewsbury played a far more significant role in the lives of the Bronte family than historians have ever given it credit for.

Mr Ripley said: "People may associate the Brontes with Haworth but we know the Bronte story actually started in Dewsbury. If Patrick hadn't come to Dewsbury when he did, the Bronte family as we know it may never have existed. He was the one who established the Bronte connection with Yorkshire."

There are many fascinating stories about Patrick's stay in Dewsbury and the effect he had on the town, including diving into the River Calder to save a drowning boy and tackling a thug who tried to disrupt a Whitsuntide Procession.

Another interesting Bronte connection with Dewsbury is that it was a Dewsbury man, William Walsh Yates, editor of the Dewsbury Reporter for many years, who first proposed the formation of a Bronte Society and a Bronte Museum.

"The first annual meeting of the Bronte Society was held in Dewsbury Town Hall and Mr Walsh was responsible for collating much of the Bronte artifacts, including letters, drawings, manuscripts and personal relics, from the Dewsbury and Hartshead districts.

"He also wrote a book on Patrick's stay in Dewsbury in an attempt to rectify an omission made by Mrs Gaskell, whose famous biography of Charlotte failed to mention Patrick had spent two eventful years in Dewsbury and had had a great influence on the development of Dewsbury itself.

"He came to Dewsbury from the south of England but just imagine if he had stayed there. He may never have come to Yorkshire at all. Dewsbury certainly plays an important part in the Bronte story. One wonders if the literary genius of his three daughters would have been awakened if they had never been exposed to life in Yorkshire.

"Their personal experiences of the harsh realities of life in the West Riding, the rumblings of discontent among the working classes and the rugged Yorkshire landscape, certainly provided inspiration for at least three of their books – Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Shirley.

"We know Patrick had a great influence on his daughters and there are certain dramatic incidents depicted in their books, especially Shirley, which could only have come from them listening to some of their father's experiences in Dewsbury and neighbouring Hartshead.

"And could Charlotte ever have written so graphically about the life of a governess in Jane Eyre if she herself had not worked as a teacher at Healds House in Dewsbury Moor, a position she reluctantly accepted to pay for the tuition fees of her sister, Ann, a pupil at the school?"

The festival will start on Friday September 25 and continues throughout the following week.



Korea veterans' appeal

Relatives of the late William Hepworth, a Leeds lad who died in Korea aged just 22 on November 21 1952, are being sought urgently.

The British Korean Veterans Association is in the process of organising a trip to Korea to tour the graves of fallen soldiers and there is a free spot available for a relative of Mr Hepworth who served in the Royal Signals as a national serviceman, was called up in December 1951 and was a wireless operator.

Veterans association branch secretary John Boyd said: "This is an annual visit whereby a relative can travel to Korea on November 6 to visit the grave. They will be assured a warm welcome by the Korean people."

Relatives of Mr Hepworth, or anyone with information about him, should contact Mr Boyd as soon as possible on 01376 343107


Eyewitness to a tragedy

Your letters...

Does anyone know anything about an incident on the railway line on the road at the side of Denison's engineering works, Hunslet, when a shunter died in 1954? It happened at the back of Denison's, where the railway line from Hunslet Lake used to run up to Parkside rugby ground.

These are the only facts I have but it is important to me because as a seven-year-old boy I saw the incident happen and it left me with a stutter for many years. Now at 62, I would like to know more about the incident.

I have asked at Middleton Light Railways but it was before they started and still belonged to British Rail. I have been to the Library at Caphouse Colliery and all I could find was a note saying 'shunter died in contravention of the Rule 162B'.At the time I lived at 29 Lake Terrace Hunslet.

James Holmes, Leeds, telephone: 0113 2550239, email: ricky.donk @googlemail.com


Regarding the 'mystery train' picture (above, published in Yorkshire Diary on July 25), the man on the far left is John Alcock (there is a locomotive named after him at Middleton Railway, I believe), and next to him is his father Edgar Alcock. The gentleman with his arms folded is, I think, a member of the royal family who was visiting the Hunslet Engine Company works in the 1920s or 1930s. John Alcock ran the business after the death of his father and he travelled the world bringing back business to the renowned Hunslet company.

John Hattersley, Sayers Close, Leeds


I was wondering if anyone knows when the trams in Rothwell ceased operation? I have checked the internet but to no avail.

Fred Bosworth, Leeds, email: boswors02 @leedslearning.net


Guess the year

A king went under and his oil dried up and as Leeds's famous bells fell silent the people spoke. What year are we referring to? Answer next week.

Last week's question: A portentious year (Orwell's book) in which the ice queen (and king) reigned supreme (Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, scored 12 perfect sixes performing Ravel's Boléro in the Winter Olympics), the world got a giant sticking plaster (Band Aid recorded Do They Know It's Christmas?) and good conversations were soon to be held in private (BT – slogan it's good to talk – was privatised). The year was 1984.


Did you know?

ALL the inclines along the 268-mile Pennine Way add up to to 32,000ft, which is taller than Mount Everest (29,000ft).

The Pennine Way was first proposed by walkers' champion Tom Stephenson in 1935. It was designated Britain's first official long distance footpath in 1951 and opened in April 1965. It celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2005.


Appeared in EP 19 Sept 2009