Chapter closes at Red House

THERE will be mince pies and fireworks but also tears of pride at the Red House Museum for its final public event on Sunday.

And as the popular site winds down to its official closure on December 21, a final appeal has gone out to preserve the Gomersal attraction for the future.

Jacqueline Ryder, chair of the Friends of Red House Museum, said she hoped it was still possible to keep the atmosphere of the 17th century building alive.

Her comments come as staff and volunteers prepare for Red House at Christmas, a full day of festive food, seasonal music and carols running from noon to 4pm with an accompanying craft fair at nearby Oakwell Hall, Birstall, from 11am to 4pm.

Budget cuts caused by government austerity have led Kirklees Council to close Red House and Dewsbury Museum. Tolson Museum in Huddersfield is also under threat.

Dewsbury Museum, which closed last month, is now the focus of a bid by the Friends of Crow Nest Park community group to save it by securing grants and generating income for the future.

Mrs Ryder said she hoped something similar could safeguard Red House.

“In terms of the future the council is asking for expressions of interest in the building. It’s not something the Friends group, as we are at the moment, can take on. It was set up to help Red House and the staff, and that’s what we have done for the last four years. It’s our hobby, not our job.”

She added: “It needs an eccentric millionaire or someone who is a philanthropist and who will allow public access to a very special place.

“We feel for the staff because their future is uncertain. They know the history of the house and family inside and out. The closure will be devastating for them. For some of them Red House has been their work, their hobby, their whole life.”

Visitors on Sunday will see Red House decorated as it would have looked in the 1830s when Charlotte Bronte was a regular visitor.

There will be a traditional kissing ball hanging in the hall, music will be provided by Honley Brass Band and Nonsuch Dulcimer Club, a vintage bus will shuttle people to Oakwell Hall, and the evening will conclude with fireworks.

“We will go out with a bang,” said Mrs Ryder.