Patrick Branwell Brontë – known as Branwell – was the only brother of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne – the Brontë sisters – and only son of the Brontë family.
Born at Thornton on 26th June 1817, when Rev Patrick Brontë was at the Bell Chapel there.
Anne and John Scholefield Firth were his godparents.
He had a long list of friends and acquaintances, including: John Frobisher, Rev Sutcliffe Sowden and others mentioned below.
A brilliant child, he was destined to become a poet, writer, and artist. He made various unsuccessful attempts at being a tutor and an artist.
He had no formal schooling and did not go to university. His father taught him Latin and Greek. He played the flute and the organ in Haworth Church.
He was probably the most brilliant member of the family, and might have developed into a successful writer and painter.
In 1830, he wrote a History of the Young Men, and a play entitled Caractacus.
He probably never knew that his sisters were successful writers.
In July 1834, he went to Leeds to visit an exhibition by the Northern Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts.
In 1835, he went to the Royal Academy Schools in London, but he returned home. About this time, he painted the famous pillar portrait of his sisters – in which he painted out his own image.
On 29th February 1836, he was initiated into the Haworth Three Graces Lodge of the Freemasons – although he was 2 years below the minimum age. In June 1837, he was appointed as Secretary to the Three Graces Lodge until 11th December 1837. John Brown was Master of the Lodge.
In 1837, he wrote to Blackwood's Magazine, imploring them to publish his stories
Surprisingly, he was a member of Haworth Temperance Society.
In 1838, he wrote a poem called Azrael or Destruction's Eve. In May 1838, he went to Bradford to become a professional portrait painter, and set up his own portrait studio. He stayed with Mr & Mrs Kirby.
In May 1839, he gave up his studio and returned to Haworth after running into debt in Bradford.
It is said that, in July 1839, he was dismissed from his job in the Lake District, (possibly) for fathering a child by one of the maidservants.
In December 1839, he took up a post as a tutor to John and William, the sons of Robert Postlethwaite. During that time, he visited Hartley Coleridge, who lived at Rydal Water. In June 1840, he was dismissed from the Postlethwaites for imbibing too freely and not being a good influence on the boys.
Starting in September 1840, a few days before the opening of the Leeds & Manchester Railway line at Sowerby Bridge Station, he worked at the station as Assistant Clerk in Charge at a salary of £75 per year.
On 1st April 1841, he moved to the post of Clerk in Charge / Stationmaster at Luddendenfoot station at a salary of £130 per year. It was here that he met Francis Grundy and William Woolven.
In June 1841, he had some of his poems published in the Halifax Guardian.
He stayed at Brearley Hall. He frequented several local pubs, including the Lord Nelson Inn, Luddenden, the Anchor & Shuttle, Luddendenfoot, and the Red Lion, Luddendenfoot, where his drinking companions and other acquaintances included John Whitworth, George Thompson, and William Henry Thompson.
Around 1842, William Dearden challenged him to a poetry-writing contest which was to be judged by J. B. Leyland. The works were to be read at the Cross Roads Inn between Haworth and Keighley. At the appointed date, Dearden read his The Demon Queen. Branwell announced that he would read a poem entitled Azrael, but when he produced the paper it was the wrong manuscript and was what he said was an early work. The others prevailed on him to read that, rather than return to Haworth for the poem. Dearden later recalled that the scenes and characters in Azrael were much like the beginning of Emily's Wuthering Heights – which was published in 1847 – suggesting that Emily and Branwell may have collaborated on the work. Dearden recorded the event in a poem entitled A Retrospect.
Contributor James Gorin von Grozny has suggested that the poem which Branwell forgot may have been his
On Landseer's "Chief Mourner"
On 4th March 1842, Branwell was dismissed from his post for culpable negligence and gross misconduct, having been found drinking on duty and a deficit of £11 1s 7d having been found in the station accounts. Both Branwell and William Woolven were questioned, but Woolven retained his job. It is likely that the station porter was the real thief, or the cause was Branwell's carelessness, rather than any wilful dishonesty on Branwell's part. The station ledgers were covered with Branwell's verses, sketches, and caricatures.
With J. B. Leyland, and Tom Cliffe, he was a member of a club which met at the Union Cross Inn.
In January 1843, Branwell obtained a post at £80 per year, as a tutor to Edmund, son of the family. He lodged at the Monk's House.
In 1845, he was dismissed from his post with the Robinson family for having an affair with Mrs Robinson. Although Mr Robinson's letter of dismissal did not detail the reasons for the departure, Branwell himself told his family and acquaintances. He fell into deep depression and turned to drink and drugs. He became addicted to opium and gin, and his addictions caused much suffering to his family.
In July 1845, he was sent away for a week to recover, and John Brown accompanied him to Liverpool and on a steamer trip to north Wales – see Misery. At that time, Branwell wrote Penmaenmawr and Real Rest.
When Mr Robinson died in 1846, Branwell was convinced he would now be able to marry Mrs Robinson. However, she did not intend to marry marrying a penniless man who was 17 years her junior, and Branwell was told that Mr Robinson's will required her to stay away from Branwell, and never marry him. Mrs Robinson sent him money from time to time, which he spent on drink and drugs – laudanum and opium.
In December 1846, a sheriff's officer from York came to the Parsonage demanding that Branwell settle his bills or be taken to York gaol. Rev Brontë paid the bills.
In 1846, he went to stay at the Ovenden Cross Inn, where he befriended Mary Walton.
In June 1848, he ran up bills at the Old Cock, Halifax, and the innkeeper, Mr Nicholson, wrote to Rev Brontë demanding settlement of the bill.
On 22nd September 1848, he collapsed in the street at Haworth, and William Brown helped the exhausted man home. On examining him, the doctor discovered that he was on the point of death from consumption, the symptoms having been disguised by his drunkenness and drug-taking. Branwell also suffered fits which were aggravated by his drinking.
On 24th September 1848, he died of consumption and marasmus at the age of 31. On his death-bed, he declared:
All my life, I have done nothing either great or good
It has recently been suggested that Branwell may have painted the portrait of John Almighty Whiteley
See A Humble Station?, Dr William Sutcliffe and John Titterington
This & associated entries use material contributed by James Gorin von Grozny & Mike Simonson
Page Ref: MMB393
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