Romance Wanderlust: Ponden Hall

GUYS. As of the date I’m writing this, Ponden Hall is for sale.

Today’s Romance Wanderlust doubles as Real Estate I’m Not Actually Going to Buy, as I drool over the building that is thought to have inspired Wuthering Heights and also served as a template for Wildfell Hall (from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall). This building is located in the Yorkshire Moors.

Ponden Hall is known to have been important to the Brontë siblings (Charlotte, Branwell, Anne, and Emily), but its role in their work is controversial. The siblings took shelter at the Hall during a storm in 1824. The Hall had the largest library in the area, including a Shakespeare First Folio (it’s no longer there, alas). We know exactly what books were at the Hall because the owners kept a catalog. After their first visit, the Brontës became friends with the owners and borrowed from the library. The owners say Emily read “gothic novels and books about dark magic and necromancy.” According to Ponden Hall’s website:

Ponden Hall has traditionally been identified with the Lintons’ home Thrushcross Grange in Wuthering Heights, and some details – the long, tree-lined drive which then existed, the large upstairs room with a window either end – correspond with that house. Ponden is, however, more like Wuthering Heights in size, style and detail, though not in geographical location.

As you no doubt recall, one of the messages of Wuthering Heights is that Wuthering Heights is a shitty place to live. Luckily the current owners, who run the Hall as a bed and breakfast, have updated Ponden Hall with working plumbing, underfloor heating, and electricity.

Today, one can spend the night in one of three rooms, as well as the Peat Loft. The Peat Loft is the annex where the Brontes took shelter during that storm. Best of all (in my opinion), you can stay in a replica box bed next to the same window where (allegedly) Cathy’s ghost shows up in Wuthering Heights.

You can read more about the Hall’s history at The Reader’s Guide to Wuthering Heights

You can find out how to stay there, or pop in for Afternoon Tea, at the B&B’s website

And if you want to learn more about the sale, here’s an article.

I have a birthday coming up. Just sayin’.