The day I met Mr Rochester
Last weekend North Lees Hall, near Hathersage in Derbyshire, was open to the public. The hall, a late Elizabethan tower house, is thought to be the inspiration for Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë visited it several times when she was staying with her friend Ellen Nussey. It resembles the fictional Thornfield in having a battlemented façade, a view from the roof and a similar setting in the landscape. When Charlotte visited it there was an Apostle’s Cabinet which she describes in Jane Eyre. There was actually an Eyre family who lived at North Lees at the time and a legend of a mad woman who died her in a fire. So the connection is pretty secure and of course I had to visit it.
North Lees is a grand house in miniature. It’s very much smaller than Thornfield Hall could have been. You certainly couldn’t conceal a mad woman here. But the atmosphere and the setting were just right.
A local amateur dramatics group, the Hathersage Players, will be performing an adaptation of Jane Eyre this summer and the cast were there in character. So that is how I met Mr Rochester on the roof of North Lees Hall (glimpsed through the open door).
Downstairs I ran into Jane Eyre and I’m looking forward to seeing them both in the outdoor performance to be staged at North Lees Hall in July.
These splendid photos were taken by my husband.
8 Comments
AnnOxford
April 26, 2016This is so delightful, Christine! Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
Christine Poulson
April 26, 2016It is a pleasure, Ann. Lovely to hear from you.
moira @ClothesInBooks
April 26, 2016This sounds fabulous, I am envious! It looks like a lovely house quite apart from the literary connection, and it seems you had a beautiful day…
Christine Poulson
April 27, 2016Yes, it was lovely. The house is tucked away in the Derbyshire Dales and feels remote. It was very crowded, though, because it hadn’t been open to the public for years, so it wasn’t quite as atmospheric as it might have been.
Lyn
April 27, 2016How wonderful to be able to see the house & imagine the novel in its setting! Thank you for sharing the photos.
Christine Poulson
April 28, 2016Thanks, Lyn. Yes, it was lovely and sent me back to Jane Eyre.
Susan D
May 4, 2016Thanks for sharing. I saw the house from a distance while walking in Darbyshire some years ago. Don’t forget, the Apostles Cabinet from Hathersage is now at the Brontë Parsonage Museum.
Christine Poulson
May 4, 2016Thanks, Susan. It was a rather special occasion. Years since I have been to the Brontë Parsonage Museum. Perhaps it is time for a return visit.