Bronte shrine homes in on top award

From the archive, first published Saturday 17th Mar 2007.

A house where sisters wrote some of the greatest English literature is to lead a challenge to find the country's favourite historic site.

The Bronte Parsonage Museum at Haworth, where Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte got their inspiration, has been selected to start a series of programmes fronted by Yorkshireman and gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh.

The Parsonage is the country's second most visited literary shrine after Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare.

It will compete against such honey-pots as Stonehenge, Hampton Court and Chartwell, home of Winston Churchill. The series, called Britain's Best, will feature on the freeview channel UKTV History and will run until September, when the public's choices will be revealed.

It will also result in the production of an online guide which can be used to explore heritage or simply find somewhere for a good day out.

Andrew McCarthy, the Bronte Parsonage Museum's deputy manager, said the Parsonage deserved to be up there among the top visitor sites in the country.

"The house is virtually unchanged from the time of the Brontes and it is where they spent most of their lives and were inspired to write their novels," he said. "It feels like a home and although we do use new technology, this has not impinged on the essence of the place."

The museum is the global centre for study and also houses the biggest collection of artefacts related to the Brontes with 7,000 items including 1,500 letters and manuscripts.

Chris Masters, of UKTV history, said the website was a crucial part of the challenge.

"Viewers and web users can get involved by adding video, audio imagery and text content and add their own reviews creating a unique guide," he said.

The series will start on Monday, April 9, at 9pm and the Parsonage will feature on Monday, April 30.

People can vote on line from now at www.uktv.co.uk/uktvhistory.