Chatsworth House pilots ‘community membership’ free entry scheme

Chatsworth House, where groups of up to eight can visit at no cost using a community membership pass under a new pilot scheme. Photograph: David Clare/Alamy

When Kate, a 47-year-old contract worker came face to face with Charlotte Brontë’s handwriting while visiting Chatsworth House, the avid reader, who counts Jane Eyre as her favourite book, struggled to contain her excitement.

“I had a little bit of a moment,” she said. “I just thought: ‘Wow, that was actually Charlotte Brontë’s writing there on that page.’ That was pretty special.”