Manor house linked to Brontës set for new chapter as hospitality venue

A GRADE II-listed manor house with connections to the Brontë family is poised to become a holiday let or a wedding venue.

The Red House in Gomersal was a museum, but Kirklees Council is to consider a £600,000 project to give the premises a new lease of life.

The plans include renovating the 19th century manor house to become a five-star luxury holiday home for commercial letting.

It would accommodate up to 10 people within five bedrooms to be let as a single holiday cottage unit.

The site’s cart shed is also set to be remodelled and refitted to provide four self-contained holiday apartments, each accommodating two people. Revenue is expected to cover the costs of the site and to enable open days to be held. There will also be a room for weddings.

The handover could be as soon as March 2022, with the house open for stays in April next year.

Members of Kirklees Council will consider the plans at a meeting on April 13.

Charlotte Brontë, the eldest sister of the famous literary sisters who were responsible for novels including Wuthering Heights and

Jane Eyre, was a regular visitor to the house, through her friendship with fellow writer Mary Taylor who lived at the property.

Methodist preachers John and Charles Wesley are also said to have visited Red House.

The Red House Museum was closed by Kirklees Council due to budget cuts in 2019. Labour Councillor Graham Turner described the new plans as “groundbreaking”.

He added: “This project will not only help stimulate the local economy but will ensure that this historic building is retained as a publicly-owned building.”