Bronte Birthplace (18th century) Bradford, West Yorkshire A month before the battle of Waterloo, the Rev. Patrick Bronte travelled to the little hillside village of Thornton, four miles west of Bradford, to take up his new post as curate. His family consisted of his wife Maria and their two little girls, Maria and Elizabeth. He described the property thus: 'The chapel is endowed with a parsonage, consisting of six rooms, three on the ground floor, and three bedchambers, having a separate stand for a cow and a horse at one end, and a cottage at the other all built of stone and lime... There is a road round the west end into the garden at the back of the house, which is enclosed by a stone wall, the greater part of the eastern side of which is built at the expense of the owner of the adjoining fields, and the remainder by the minister.' http://www.Brontebirthplace.org.uk
	Shandy Hall (16th century) Coxwold, North Yorkshire Medieval house, former home of Laurence Sterne, 18th Century author of Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey and where he wrote both novels. The house, added to by Sterne, is surrounded by 2 acres of garden, part is a walled garden full of old fashioned roses and unusual cottage garden plants, part a wild garden in the adjoining disused quarry. Shandy hall contains a collection of Sterne's work plus an interesting background of contemporary prints and paintings illustrating his novels. This is a lived-in house where you are sure of a personal welcome. http://www.worldofjamesherriot.org/ http://www.dave-ford.co.uk/shandy_hall.htm http://www.hambleton.gov.uk/hambleton/leisure.nsf
Photo courtesy of Skipton Web	Kirkby Malham Church (15th century) Kirkby Malham, North Yorkshire The cathedral of the dales: this austerely beautiful 15th century church (whose bells are heard by Tom in Charles Kingsley's 'Water Babies') stands in a leafy, beckside corner of the village, slightly apart from the tourist bustle of the 'Cove', as befits its early monastic connections. Rich in beauties and rarities from Viking to modern times, it speaks of a worshipping community with its roots deep in English history. http://www.daelnet.co.uk/features/churches/3peaks/kmalham.htm
	St. Mary's Church (15th century) Thirsk, North Yorkshire St Mary's Church was completed in 1480 in the perpendicular style. Features include the 15th Century medieval woodwork in the chapel, roof, door and font and the window by Strachan, which contrasts with the medieval glass in the chapel. James and Helen Herriot (Alf and Joan Wight) were married here in November 1941. http://www.thirsk.org.uk/stmaryt1.html
	St. Michael and All Angels Church (19th century) Haworth, West Yorkshire The present church apart from the tower is over 100 years old and has rectors including William Grimshaw and Patrick Bronte. The church windows are of historical interest as is the Bronte vault and Charlotte Bronte's marriage certificate. http://www.visitbrontecountry.com/church.htm
	St. Oswald's Church (19th century) Arncliffe, North Yorkshire Romantically situated beside the lively River Skirfare, this is a harmonious building of 1841, on Norman foundations and retaining a 15th century tower. Inside is a soldier's pike and a list of the Men of Littondale who fought at Flodden. Charles Kingsley wrote part of Water Babies at Bridge House nearby. Bishop John Robinson, well-known as author of Honest to God, was buried here in 1983. http://www.daelnet.co.uk/features/churches/wharfe/arnclife.htm
	St. Oswald's Church (19th century) Thornton-in-Lonsdale, North Yorkshire The church, rebuilt in 1870, was sadly burnt down during a blizzard in 1933 and again rebuilt in pink Tebay sandstone to an interesting design by Austin Paley, reproducing the original Norman arches. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was married here in 1885. http://freespace.virgin.net/gregory.collins/3peaks/ingleton.html
	St. Peter's Church (19th century) Rylstone, West Yorkshire The pleasant, airy church was built by Paley in 1853 on an ancient site. Nearby are relics of Rylstone Hall, home of the ill-fated Norton family who suffered calamity twice: in the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536-7) when Henry VIII's reforms were resisted, and again in 1569 when the Rising of the North was suppressed. The story is commemorated in Wordsworth's poem, 'The White Doe of Rylstone'. http://www.daelnet.co.uk/features/churches/wharfe/rylstone.htm
	Oakwell Hall (16th century) Leeds, West Yorkshire Oakwell Hall is a late-16th century manor house set in a tranquil rural oasis in the heart of the West Riding conurbation. Nestling close to the M62 motorway and just a few miles from the major cities of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield, Oakwell was immortalised by Charlotte Bronte in her novel 'Shirley'. With its historical connections, wide open spaces, wooded areas, ponds, streams, walks and abundant wildlife, is truly a countryside oasis in what is predominantly an industrial area. http://www.oakwellhall.f9.co.uk/
	Wycoller Hall (16th century) Skipton, North Yorkshire Wycoller is a small, pretty hamlet, just over the border in Lancashire. In the 16th century Wycoller would have been a busy farming and weaving community, but the coming of the power looms led to the village's decline, and a hundred years ago Wycoller was all but abandoned. Over the years the stone from twenty or thirty buildings was taken and used elsewhere, and nowadays there are just a handful of well tended buildings, and the ruins. The ruins of Wycoller Hall dominate the village, and are believed to be the inspiration for Ferndean Manor in Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. The Brontes lived in nearby Haworth, and would almost certainly have visted Wycoller at some time. The Hall was built for the Hartley family towards the end of the 16th century. http://www.skiptonweb.co.uk