A MUSEUM has won praise from the other side of the world.
A leading Australian museum magazine has described Red House at Gomersal as one of the "best historic houses associated with literary figures in the UK".
Museum Australia magazine gave Red House the accolade after a group of Australians studying abroad visited it last September.
They were accompanied by the editor of the magazine, Roselyn Russell, whose report of the visit has been featured in the publication.
The museum is the former home of the Taylor family, woollen cloth manufacturers and merchants.
Author Charlotte Bronte, a close friend of Mary Taylor, was a frequent visitor to Red House in the early 19th century.
She later used it as inspiration for Briarmains in her novel Shirley.
Mary Taylor, who was born in 1817, was an early feminist and writer, for whom financial security and independence were important. She believed that women should take action to gain this for themselves.
That attitude led her to emigrate to New Zealand, where she established a very successful shop, which later became a Woolworths.
Museums Australia singled out Red House's The Secret's Out Exhibition - an exhibition about Mary Taylor and Charlotte Bronte - as a particular highlight.
The magazine also used photos from exhibitions at Red House, including the parlour and a board game, Women's Life Chances And Choices.
Museum officer Helga Hughes said: "We are delighted. It is a very special place to visit."
