The felling of the historic tree. Courtesy, Bronte Parsonage Museum

It was the end of a very long chapter on Monday 27 January 2008 when a tree said to have been planted by Charlotte Brontë was felled at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.

The Cyprus pine, one of two planted by the famous author and her husband as part of their wedding celebrations, had been slowly deteriorating over recent years and needed to be removed.

However, the historic tree is now set to live on in two ways. A sapling grown from the tree will replace the original and the wood from the felled tree is to be used to create a piece of art as part of the Brontë Society’s contemporary arts programme.

The Brontë Parsonage Museum. Courtesy, Bronte Parsonage Museum

“It is with deep regret that we have had to remove the tree but we have taken expert advice and the roots are dying meaning that the tree has become dangerous," said Museum Director, Alan Bentley.

“Thankfully, some years ago the Brontë Society gathered seeds from the tree and a sapling was grown ready to replace the tree in this eventuality. It is also good to know that the wood from the tree will live on as part of a Brontë-inspired work of art.”

Charlotte Brontë married Arthur Bell Nicholls in Haworth Church on 29th June 1854. Only a few guests attended the ceremony and the couple travelled to Ireland for their honeymoon after the wedding breakfast.

The marriage was happy but tragically short-lived: Charlotte died on 31 March 1855, aged 38. She had been in the early stages of pregnancy.