"a vast oak dresser”

Whilst we were staying in Saltaire we visited East Riddlesden Hall, a National Trust property near Keighley, one that we used to visit quite often when we lived in Yorkshire as it was nearby and good for children. Unlike many stately homes, this is a 17th century manor house and feels like it was lived in. It is a fascinating place to wander round. There are good gardens too.

Although we have been many times in the past I had forgotten all about it . . . until we reached the Dining Room. Then I saw this huge dresser and remembered . . . 

. . . we were there with our two girls and I saw this dresser and recognised it from Wuthering Heights. In my eagerness I must have got too close and set an alarm off . . . our girls were not impressed! However, when the guy came to see what had happened we had an interesting chat about the dresser. Yes, I was right the dresser came from Ponden Hall and Emily Brontë would have seen it and used it in her book.

Today I was sorting photos and found the book and checked how she described it - “a vast oak dresser, to the very roof” “racks of pewter dishes”. I thought Catherine and Heathcliffe hid in the cupboard, but actually she envisages the arch below as being bigger and that’s where they hid.

Interesting that there was all the pewter, at the time that’s all the tableware there was, if you couldn’t afford silver. At the time some of my ancestors were pewter engravers. I love links like that.