Legend has it that the Reverend Patrick Bronte, father to the three famous literary sisters, frequently let blast with a flintlock pistol at the church tower opposite Haworth parsonage.

He had taken to carrying this lethal weapon ever since working in the Hartshead area at the time of the Luddite revolution, when textile workers rebelled against new technology in the early 19th century.

His bizarre habit must have been witnessed by his daughter Emily, because, when she came to write her best seller, Wuthering Heights, she describes the pistol,which had a double-edged spring knife, as the weapon Hindley Earnshaw brandishes in his threat to kill Heathcliffe.

Now, after more than 170 years it is back at the Parsonage Museum, only coming to light last autumn as part of a private collection.

Staff at the Bronte shrine are amazed at the weapon's appearance and thrilled to have it again on show at the museum - until March 27.

Librarian Ann Dinsdale said: "People have always wondered how Emily could possible have described such a pistol.

"We know that Patrick had a pistol and used to fire it out of the window at the church tower, to keep it in working order. They say the tower is peppered with holes. He carried it in the Hartshead area where there were problems with the Luddites and a mill owner had been murdered."

She said the pistol's authenticity could be proved because it was among other items which belonged to the Bronte family.

"We had an expert from the Leeds Armouries to look at it and he was absolutely convinced it is the same pistol as described in the book," she said.

It was even out-of-date when Patrick owned it and could only fire one shot at a time.

"It was a nasty weapon because it also had this knife which could be used like a bayonet," she added.

The flintlock pistol was popular in the late 18th century, the period in which Wuthering Heights was set. This particular example was manufactured by Aston of Manchester.

Parsonage Museum curator Rachel Terry is pictured with the pistol.