Thornbush Farm

Thornbush Farm is a late 18th century farmstead, with later additions and alterations. It is constructed of coursed rubble, with some brick, and has a stone slate roof, topped by brick ridge chimney stacks. The farmstead consists of a main range of single room depth, a ruinous wing to the left, and a further cottage added to the right.

The original part of the farm was a pair of cottages with end ridge stacks, joined by a central doorway. Each cottage originally had two-light stone mullioned windows on the ground floor, one retaining a shutter, but without glazing. There are also two-light and three-light stone mullioned windows on the first floor, with later sash frames, though the glazing has been lost. One first-floor window has been altered. The left-hand door has been blocked with stone, and the right-hand door has a six-panelled wooden door. The added cottage to the right has an end ridge stack, a door to the left, and a three-light stone mullioned window on both the ground and first floors. The ruinous wing to the left retains a gable fronted in 20th century brick, featuring large stone quoins and window openings on the ground and first floors, with the right return to the main range constructed from coursed rubble, featuring a doorway and ground floor window opening. The rest of the wing has been demolished. The rear elevation has a single light window to the first floor in the earliest part, a ground-floor window to the later cottage, and remains of a brick lean-to building to the right.

The interior has not been inspected, but photographs show stone flag floors, original cornices, and skirting boards. A 19th century range exists within the cottage to the right, and fireplaces, doors, and other features are reported to survive in other areas.

The farm, then known as Lousy Farm, was occupied by Reverend Patrick Bronte, father of the Bronte sisters, from 1811 to around 1815. He lodged with his landlords, Mr and Mrs Bedford, while ministering at Hartshead. It was here he met his wife Maria Branwell and published "Cottage Poems". Maria and Elizabeth Bronte were possibly born at the farm. The site also has connections to the Luddite riots, as a march to Rawfolds Mill passed the door, an event later used by Charlotte Bronte in her novel "Shirley”. Patrick Bronte left the farm around 1815, when he moved to Thornton.