Anne Bronte's grave error corrected

A new plaque on the grave has been officially unveiled by the Bronte Society

Author Anne Bronte, the sister of Charlotte and Emily, has been given a new gravestone after 164 years to correct an error on the original.

Anne, who wrote Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, died in Scarborough in 1849 after succumbing to tuberculosis at the age of 29.

But her headstone in St Mary's Churchyard gave her age as 28.

A new plaque on her grave has been officially unveiled during a service of dedication.

Anne is the only member of the famous literary family who is not buried at their home in Haworth, West Yorkshire.

She travelled to Scarborough because she loved the resort and hoped that the air may improve her condition. But she died just three days after arriving.

Anne Bronte's original gravestone has deteriorated over the years

Her death came during a bleak period for the Bronte family. Brother Branwell had died eight months earlier, followed by Emily, who had written Wuthering Heights.

Anne's original gravestone was refaced three years after her death, when Charlotte returned to discover five errors on it. The other mistakes were corrected but the age was not.

The Bronte Society has installed the new plaque alongside the original, which has deteriorated over the years.

"Anne was the quietest Bronte and can still sometimes be overlooked in favour of her sisters Charlotte and Emily," said the society's Sally McDonald.

"In some ways, though, she is now viewed as the most radical of the sisters, writing about tough subjects such as women's need to maintain independence, and how alcoholism can tear a family apart.

"It is a pleasure to honour her in this modest way... in the coastal town she loved so much."

Often left alone together in their isolated Haworth home, Charlotte, Emily and Anne began to write stories at an early age

Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are now hailed as British classics, while The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was a huge bestseller.

Charlotte continued to write after her siblings' deaths and later married, only to die herself in March 1855.