The Library at Thrushcroft Grange: The Pennine Library of Robert Heaton

This article provides an account of the library at Ponden Hall, home of the influential Heaton family for nearly 400 years. Situated close to the Lancashire–Yorkshire border, it was used as a source of reading by the Brontë children in their formative years. The library was formed in the late eighteenth century and sold by auction in 1899. Reconstructing the contents of the library from a badly compiled auctioneer’s catalogue, the author shows how the library reflected the concerns of a landowning gentry family who became entrepreneurs in the textile industry. A journal of Robert Heaton (1726–1794) provides information on how the books were acquired. The possible use of the library by the Brontë family is noted.