North Lees Hall opens to mark Charlotte Bronte's birth

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-36083596

Version 0 of 1.

A Grade II-listed hall that influenced Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is opening its doors to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the author's birth.

Bronte paid several visits to North Lees Hall in Derbyshire which provided the inspiration for Thornfield Hall.

Thornfield Hall was the home of the 1847 novel's hero Edward Rochester.

North Lees is now owned by the Peak District National Park Authority, which is holding open events on Saturday and Sunday.

At the time of Bronte's visits to the Hathersage area, the Eyre family were living at North Lees. They lived there from 1750 until 1882, as well as occupying the hall for two generations during the 15th Century.

In Jane Eyre, the world-renowned author describes the North Lees's battlements, the view from the roof and the apostles' cabinet - a piece of furniture that belonged to the Eyre family.

Bronte later bought the cabinet and moved it to her family home in Haworth, Yorkshire, where it can still be seen.

The hall closed in July after the Vivat Trust, which had managed the building since 1988, stopped trading.

Bronte, born on 21 April 1816, was the eldest of the literary Brontes. She wrote three other novels - Shirley, Villette and The Professor.

The open days run from 11:00 to 15:00 BST on both Saturday and Sunday.

North Lees Hall (as featured in Jane Eyre)

"Leaning over the battlements and looking far down, I surveyed the grounds laid out like a map: the bright and velvet lawn closely girdling the grey base of the mansion; the field, wide as a park, dotted with its ancient timber; the wood, dun and sere, divided by a path visibly overgrown, greener with moss than the trees were with foliage."