The Brontë Homeland

Most people are familiar with the story of the Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne. 
The sisters, well known as poets and novelists, first published their work under masculine pseudonyms, due to the custom of the times practised by female writers. Charlotte was the first of the sisters to achieve success with Jane Eyre, whilst Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and of couse Emily's haunting Wuthering Heights were also masterpieces of literature and they have become subject to a following that hasn't wavered with the passing of time.
The family will forever be associated with Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire in England. Their home, the parsonage at Haworth is now the Brontë Parsonage Museum and has become a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, but what is perhaps less known is that the sisters' father Patrick hailed from Co. Down. 
If you want to find out more about the link between the Bronte family and Northern Ireland visit the Bronte Homeland south of Banbridge. There's a well-signposted ten mile drive that will take you to the birthplace cottage of Patrick, to the Drumballroney Church and School where he taught and to the stunning Bronte Homeland picnic site, overlooking some of the most picturesque scenery in the county. There's an interpretative center inside the Drumballroney Church and School House and you can easily follow the story of Patrick Brontë and his family through the buildings that survive within the Brontë Homeland. The Brontë Homeland Drive starts at Drumballyroney Church and School near Rathfriland, ten miles south of Banbridge. It is well signposted along the entire route.