Page "Anne Brontë" Paragraph 11

In summer 1824, Patrick sent Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Emily to Crofton Hall in Crofton, West Yorkshire, and subsequently to the Clergy Daughter's School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire.

When his eldest daughters died of consumption in 1825, Maria on 6 May and Elizabeth on 15 June, Charlotte and Emily were immediately brought home.

The unexpected deaths distressed the family so much that Patrick could not face sending them away again.

For the next five years, they were educated at home, largely by their father and aunt.

The children made little attempt to mix with others outside the parsonage, but relied on each other for friendship and companionship.

The bleak moors surrounding Haworth became their playground.