Today, in our Virtual Tour of the Brontë Parsonage, we want to tell you about a very peculiar object: the grandfather clock which can be found halfway going up the stairs that lead to the family’s bedrooms.
It is a wonderful mahogany pendulum clock placed inside a recess in the wall, but despite its location it definitely doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s a very big and elegant clock, and on top of the clock face there’s a miniature of a woman in the countryside who’s wearing a red dress.
Unfortunately, the clock we can see nowadays is not the original one. Apparently, the original grandfather clock was sold after Patrick Brontë’s death, during the sale of 1861. However, this pendulum clock belongs to the same period and – most importantly- it was made by the same artisan who made the original clock: Mr Barraclough.
One of the most important sources that testifies the presence of a pendulum clock in the Parsonage is Ellen Nussey, Charlotte’s best friend, who took part in the everyday life at the Parsonage. According to Ellen, after the evening family prayers and after locking the front door, the Reverend would pass the sitting room, admonish the “children” not to stay up late, pause in front of the clock and wind it up, to have it ready for the next day.
