House once owned by Brontë friend to be auctioned

Red House Museum is a Georgian mansion parts of which date from the 17th Century

A date has been set for when a Grade II* listed former museum with Brontë connections will be auctioned off.

Kirklees Council said the Red House, a Georgian mansion in Gomersal, would be listed for sale with Pugh Auctions on 3 December, with a guide price of over £650,000.

The property, which was once the home of Charlotte Brontë’s friend Mary Taylor, was previously a museum which closed in 2016 and a plan to turn it into holiday accommodation and wedding venue fell through.

Kirklees Council announced it would dispose of several assets to address a £47m deficit last year. The Red House Yorkshire Heritage Trust, formed to try and save the site in 2019, said they were "profoundly saddened" by the decision to sell it.

A statement on their Facebook page said they had worked with Communities Together to put forward a bid to purchase the house and gardens with a view to restoring community access, but the council did not accept it.

"As a result, Red House will now be sold by auction," the group said.

“We are profoundly saddened by this outcome and fully understand and share the community’s strong disapproval of the council’s decision.”

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Graham Turner, the council's cabinet member for finance and regeneration, said: "As this building is now surplus to the council’s requirements, it could generate crucial capital funding to help us deliver a better future for Kirklees.”

Mary Taylor's family lived at the Red House and she met Charlotte Brontë at Roe Head School in Mirfield and maintained a lifelong friendship with the writer.

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