User:Lynmariecunliffe/sandbox

Ferndean The name of the house at which Jane Eyre meets Edward Rochester at the end of the Victorian novel Jane Eyre written by [[Charlotte Bronte. The house is described briefly twice in the book .In their first instance Rochester tells Jane shortly after their interrupted marriage ceremony and the discovery of his insane wife Bertha that he has looked after Bertha to the best of his abilities and that he could have placed Bertha in either an asylum for the insane or in his other property a damp and remote hunting lodge "I possess an old house, Fern dean Manor, even more retired and hidden than this, where I could have lodged her safely enough, had not a scruple about the unhealthiest of the situation, in the heart of a wood, made my conscience recoil from the arrangement. Probably those damp walls would soon have eased me of her charge:" Jane Eyre, Chapter 27. The exterior and location are loosely described towards the end of the book when Jane Eyre inquires as to Rochester’s whereabouts and is told he is "At Fern dean, a manor-house on a farm he has, about thirty miles off: quite a desolate spot." Jane Eyre, Chapter 36 Its last description is by Jane herself as she travels to see Rochester. "The manor-house of Fern dean was a building of considerable antiquity, moderate size, and no architectural pretensions, deep buried in a wood. I had heard of it before. Mr. Rochester often spoke of it, and sometimes went there. His father had purchased the estate for the sake of the game covers. He would have let the house; but could find no tenant, in consequence of its ineligible and insalubrious site. Fern dean then remained uninhabited and unfurnished; with the exception of some two or three rooms fitted up for the accommodation of the squire when he went there in the season to shoot." Jane Eyre, Chapter 37 It is at Fern dean they are reunited and spend their early married life. The details given by Charlotte Bronte in the novel are not enough to give a positive identification of the site if any Bronte had in mind when writing Jane Eyre .It possible there was no actual physical location and the description of both house and its surroundings were lifted from Charlotte’s earlier Angrian writings. Ferndean has usually been identified with Wycoller Hall especially as one of the Halls previous residents married an woman Called Eyre. The case for wycoller Hall is extremely strong and dates back to Victorian times .The location of the hall itself however does not correspond with the books description of a remote hunting lodge.Wycoller Hall is in the centre of the small Hamlet of WycollerWhile Wycoller has never been large its population was at its peak in 1820s and 1830s which would have been in the Bronte youth when it is mostly likely they would have had time and leisure to visit the site. Jane Eyre was published in 1847 and at this point the Hamlet was still a small but busy place. It has also never been merely a hunting lodge and while its suggested the Bronte’s may have walked to the hall on their rambles across the moors it is unlikely Wycoller is approx 7 miles from the centre of Haworth making it a 14 miles round trip .In addition the walk is quite challenging and takes between 8 and 9 hours to complete. It would be hard to complete in one day and certainly impossible in an afternoon In recent years Moor Lodge has been suggested as the actual inspiration for Ferndean.Moor Lodge is situated on the moors outside of Stanbury.It is certainly remote and was used for a hunting lodge. It does not in the present day display signs of "great Antiquity” as it was substantially renovated and is now used as a furniture showrooms for Scar Top Pine. There are outbuildings not holiday cottages and some woodland, in recent months there was been much research conducted into the possible links between Moor Lodge and Ferndean and debate continues. Sources Research by Abigail Bell Jane Eyre (Penguin) Ferndean Manor website