WHEN I was 12-years-old, I dressed up as Kate Bush and lip-synced to Wuthering Heights at a school concert. Little did I know that 40 years later I would be the Director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

A lot has happened in between. I read Wuthering Heights for English A-level and first visited Haworth on a school trip. Aside from the atmospheric rooms of the Parsonage, and a blustery walk to Top Withens, I was struck by the proximity of Haworth to Bradford, despite the fields and moorland that seem determined to separate them.

It would be many years before I returned to Yorkshire. I studied English and Drama at the University of London then moved to Manchester to work as a jobbing actor. Between acting contracts, I gained a range of experience temping for large companies and also volunteered for theatres, galleries and arts organisations. Arts administration hadn’t ever been mentioned to me as a possible career route, but even if the pay wasn’t great, I enjoyed the variety and liked the people.

In 1999, I moved to Hebden Bridge and suddenly Haworth was just over the hill. The Parsonage became a place to ‘show off’ to visitors - a world-famous cultural gem on the doorstep. Victoria Wood had written her Haworth Parsonage Guide monologue by this time, and lines including “Charlotte Brontë would probably not be dead if she were alive today” were as familiar to me as “I am Heathcliff” and crept into my head as I wandered the atmospheric rooms.

While my children were growing up, I undertook freelance roles, including organiser of Hebden Bridge Arts Festival. Then, in autumn 2014, I saw an advert for a marketing and communications role at the Brontë Parsonage Museum. The deadline was next day, but I applied anyway, not expecting anything to come of it. I got the job and joined the Parsonage team soon afterwards.

It was an exciting time to be working for the Brontë Society. The organisation had just acquired the Brontë family dining table which had left the Parsonage after Patrick Brontë’s death in 1861. On a snowy January day I and the other staff watched it being carried back into the room where Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë had sat at it and written their great works of literature - a special day. Between 2016-2020 we celebrated the bicentenaries of the birth of the Brontë siblings with a high-profile programme of events and exhibitions. It was a whirlwind few years and I was fortunate to meet and work with some incredible artists and writers, including Tracy Chevalier, Simon Armitage, The Unthanks and Maxine Peake. In 2016, Sally Wainwright wrote and directed To Walk Invisible - I can be spotted working in the shop in the closing scenes - and we experienced an upturn in visitor numbers.

Needless to say the pandemic hit us hard. Like many museums, we rely on visitor admissions and though support from the Arts Council and Government was welcome, financial challenges caused by restrictions and fewer overseas visitors meant the last few years haven’t been easy. We pulled through though, and are looking forward to opportunities from Bradford City of Culture 2025 and the Museum’s centenary in 2028.

It’s an honour and a joy to be appointed Director, but like any leadership post, it’s a huge responsibility. The Parsonage team comprises 32 members of staff and over 20 volunteers. They’re fantastic colleagues and I care about their views, wellbeing and job satisfaction. There are over 1,500 Brontë Society members worldwide who help us conserve our world-class collections, plus many thousands of local residents, visitors, fans and online audiences who have a passionate interest in the Brontës and their legacy. That’s a lot of people to keep happy! There are also other stakeholders: the Brontë Society receives considerable annual funding from Arts Council England, in return for which we deliver a programme of events, exhibitions, outreach and learning opportunities, to widen access to the Museum and highlight the contemporary relevance of the Brontës’ story. This makes it a varied, fascinating role, with no two days the same. My aim as Director is to lead the organisation with vision, integrity and respect for what has gone before, while ensuring that we evolve and adapt to meet 21st century challenges. Over the next few years, I’d like to expand our digital offer, engender a sense of pride in the museum in local communities and seize opportunities presented by Bradford becoming UK City of Culture 2025.

In case there are any philanthropists reading this, we could also do with some toilets! I’m mindful that my time as Director will eventually contribute just a few chapters to the Museum’s long history: like those before me I, and our amazing staff, volunteers and trustees, am just a custodian looking after this incredible cultural asset for future generations.

If you’ve never visited the Museum or you haven’t been for some time, come and see us. Our Visitor Experience Assistants will give you a fantastic welcome (not a whiff of Victoria Wood to be had) and you’ll gain a fascinating insight into this extraordinary family. Residents of BD20, BD21 and BD22 qualify for a concessionary rate. Like me, you just might find that all roads eventually lead to Haworth.

* Rebecca Yorke is director of the Bronte Society and the Bronte Parsonage Museum.