Westminster Abbey's Brontë Memorial Finally Corrected After 85 Years

The Brontë memorial in Westminster Abbey has been amended to include the diaereses over the ‘e’ of the names of the sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne, which have been missing from the memorial since its installation 85 years ago.

Sharon Wright, Editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, alerted The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle to the ommission during a visit to the Abbey to research her new book about the Brontës when she noticed the diaereses were not on the memorial.  

The work to put them on has been completed by Abbey stonemason Mark Croll by tapping the dots in and Abbey conservator Lucy Ackland painting them.

The Brontë memorial is a rectangular tablet of Huddlestone stone measuring 600mm x 600mm in Poets’ Corner near other famous writers including Jane Austen, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. It was installed on October 8, 1939, sponsored by the Brontë Society which was founded in 1893 to champion the Brontë sisters and their legacy. 

The two dots, which are rare in English, indicate the division of a word into two syllables. The Brontë name evolved from the sisters' father Patrick’s Irish surname of Prunty or Brunty when he entered St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1802. 

“As soon as I saw the tablet I wanted to know why the famous name was spelled incorrectly," said Sharon Wright. "I am immensely proud that the correct, unique and immortal name of Charlotte, Emily and Anne is finally complete in Poets’ Corner. It is a Brontë story with a happy and timely ending.” 

The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, The Dean of Westminster said: “I am grateful to have this omission pointed out and now put right. Memory is not a locked cupboard, but an active thing and the Brontë Society have given us a glimpse of their commitment to a lively remembering.” 

Rebecca Yorke, Director of the Brontë Society, added: “We are absolutely thrilled with this outcome and are very grateful to the Dean of Westminster and his colleagues at the Abbey for their positive response to Sharon’s enquiries. As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial."