New exhibition celebrates life of Branwell Brontë

A new exhibition about Branwell Brontë has opened at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth to celebrate his bicentenary.

It is curated by the poet Simon Armitage and explores Branwell's history through a series of writings, drawings and possessions.

At the heart of the exhibition is a letter which Branwell wrote to the poet William Wordsworth. The letter was written in January 1837 when he was 19-years-old. He enclosed one of his own poems with the letter, expressing the hopes and dreams of a young romantic, intent on building 'mansions in the sky'. Wordsworth did not reply.

Simon Armitage has written a series of poems for the exhibition exploring reactions to Branwell Brontë's complicated life.