Patrick Brontë

Patrick Brontë ( , commonly ; born Patrick Brunty; 17 March 1777 – 7 June 1861¹) was an Irish Anglican clergyman and author who spent most of his adult life in England. One of ten children from a very poor family, he managed to secure a scholarship to study theology at St John's College, Cambridge, and went on to take holy orders. In 1811 he published a collection of poetry, Cottage Poems. He continued to write and publish throughout his life. In 1812 he married Maria Branwell, and they had six children, including the writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, and Branwell Brontë, their only son. In 1820, the family moved to Haworth, where Patrick had been offered the role of perpetual curate. In 1821, Maria Branwell died, leaving Patrick to care for six children under eight. After the deaths of his two eldest daughters, Maria and Elizabeth, who had fallen ill at boarding school, Patrick looked after his children at home, with the help of his late wife's sister, Elizabeth Branwell, and the house servants. Patrick was an abolitionist and a keen advocate for social reform. He died in 1861, aged eighty-four, having outlived all of his children.

Patrick Brontë ( , commonly ; born Patrick Brunty; 17 March 1777 – 7 June 1861) was an Irish Anglican clergyman and author who spent most of his adult life in England. One of ten children from a very poor family, he managed to secure a scholarship to study theology at St John's College, Cambridge, and went on to take holy orders. In 1811 he published a collection of poetry, Cottage Poems. He continued to write and publish throughout his life. In 1812 he married Maria Branwell, and they had six children, including the writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, and Branwell Brontë, their only son. In 1820, the family moved to Haworth, where Patrick had been offered the role of perpetual curate. In 1821, Maria Branwell died, leaving Patrick to care for six children under eight. After the deaths of his two eldest daughters, Maria and Elizabeth, who had fallen ill at boarding school, Patrick looked after his children at home, with the help of his late wife's sister, Elizabeth Branwell, and the house servants. Patrick was an abolitionist and a keen advocate for social reform. He died in 1861, aged eighty-four, having outlived all of his children.

Early life

Patrick Brontë was born on St Patrick's Day, 17 March 1777 at Imdel (or Emdale) in the parish of Drumballyroney, County Down. He was the eldest of ten children. His parents were Hugh Brunty (or Prunty), an Anglican, and Elinor Alice ( ), an Irish Catholic. His father was described as a "farmhand, fence-fixer and road-builder". The family was very poor, owning four books (including two copies of the Bible) and subsisting on a restricted diet of porridge, buttermilk, bread, and potatoes, to which Patrick attributed his lifelong digestive issues. Patrick had several apprenticeships (to a blacksmith, aged twelve, then to a linen draper, and a weaver), until he was befriended by a local clergyman, who saw his potential and provided him with an education. In 1798 he became a teacher, then in 1802 moved to England, having won a scholarship to study theology as a sizar at St John's College, Cambridge. He first registered his name as "Branty" or "Brunty", then later as Brontë, receiving his BA degree in 1806. While the reason for this change of spelling remains unclear, there are a number of prominent theories to explain it, including that it may have been in tribute to his hero, Lord Nelson, who had received the title of Duke of Bronte.

Career

Portrayals

Montagu Love portrayed Patrick Brontë in Devotion (1946) Alfred Burke portrayed Patrick Brontë in The Brontës of Haworth (1973) Patrick Magee portrayed Patrick Brontë in The Brontë Sisters (1979) Jonathan Pryce portrayed Patrick Brontë in To Walk Invisible (2016) Adrian Dunbar portrayed Patrick Brontë in Emily (2022)

References

Further reading

The Letters of the Reverend Patrick Brontë Edited by Dudley Green Foreword by Asa Briggs (Nonsuch Publishing Ltd 2005) A Man of Sorrow: The Life, Letters, and Times of the Rev. Patrick Brontë, John Lock and Canon W.T. Dixon, (1965) The Brontës, Juliet Barker (1995) Charlotte Brontë: Evolution of Genius Winifred Gerin,(1967) The Letters of Charlotte Brontë (3 vols, edited by Margaret Smith), (1995–2003)

External links

Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth Brontë Family. Italian Translation Poems by Patrick Brontë

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