Wuthering Heights - Inspiration For Locations

Inspiration For Locations

There are several theories as to which building was the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. One is Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse, that is located in an isolated area near the Haworth Parsonage. Yet, its structure does not match that of the farmhouse described in the novel, and is therefore considered less likely to be the model. Top Withens was first suggested as the model for the fictitious farmhouse by Ellen Nussey, a friend of Charlotte Brontë, to Edward Morison Wimperis, a commissioned artist for the Brontë sisters' novels in 1872.

The second option is the now demolished High Sunderland Hall, near Halifax, West Yorkshire. This Gothic edifice was located near Law Hill, and was where Emily worked briefly as a governess in 1838. While very grand for the farmhouse of Wuthering Heights, the hall had grotesque embellishments of griffins and misshapen nude men similar to those described by Lockwood of Wuthering Heights in chapter one of the novel:

"Before passing the threshold, I paused to admire a quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front, and especially about the principal door, above which, among a wilderness of crumbling griffins and shameless little boys, I detected the date '1500'."

The inspiration for Thrushcross Grange has been traditionally connected to Ponden Hall, near Haworth, although very small. More likely is Shibden Hall, near Halifax. The Thrushcross Grange that Emily describes is rather unusual. It sits within an enormous park - which Shibden Hall does. By comparison, the park at Chatsworth (the home of the Duke of Devonshire) is over two miles (3.2 km) long but, as the house sits near the middle, it is no more than a mile and a half (2.4 km) from the lodge to the house. Considering that Edgar Linton apparently did not even have a title, it seems rather odd. There is no building close to Haworth which has a park anywhere near this size but a few houses which might have inspired some elements. Shibden Hall has several features which match the descriptions in the novel.