The screenplay of one of the most famous Bronte films has been bought by the guardians of their home in Haworth.

The script of the movie, Jane Eyre, will go on display for the first time at the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth when it re-opens next month.

And to mark the event, the film, starring Orson Wells and Joan Fontaine, will be screened on Friday, February 18, in the West Lane Baptist Centre.

Parsonage bosses managed to buy the script for an undisclosed sum, thanks to a grant from the Museums, Libraries and Archives’ Victoria and Albert fund.

It has special status because it is annotated throughout by Aldous Huxley, the British author who adapted the movie for the big screen.

Huxley is famous for books such as Brave New World and The Doors of Perception, in which he wrote of his experiments with hallucinogenic drugs.

Jane Eyre was filmed in Hollywood during the Second World War and released in 1943.

Ann Dinsdale, Bronte Parsonage Museum’s collections manager, said: “It’s a fascinating archive which includes the preliminary script – it means you can see how the screen play evolved and changed when the film was in the making.

“For anybody studying or researching film and interested in how scripts are adapted and how a film evolves, it will be extremely interesting.”

The museum re-opens on Tuesday, February 1, following a months closure for maintenance work, cleaning, conservation, revaluation of the museum’s collections, decorative archaeology and the development of new displays. A team of experts have also been carrying out decorative analysis which it is hoped will help reveal how the place was decorated during the Bronte time in the early 1800s.

Information relating to the project will be available to visitors and the museum will be formulating a plan to completely redecorate the Parsonage in 2012.

Visitors to the museum will also be able to see a variety of new displays, with more of the museum’s collection on display than ever.

The Brontës will be continuing to feature in the world of movies with new film versions of both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights expected to be released in 2011.

For information on museum opening and events visit bronte.org.uk or telephone (01535) 642323.