Keighley people do not have to pay to see a famous letter written by Charlotte Bront and recently bought by the Bront Society.

The Dreadful Dream letter goes on display tomorrow for a short period at the free-entry Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley.

The society has loaned the letter so local people who supported the fund-raising campaign do not have to travel to Haworth to see it.

The Bront Society raised £50,000 in a short time to buy the letter from its American owner.

Donations were received from local people and Bront lovers worldwide, as well as the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Society itself.

In the letter, Charlotte describes the deaths of her brother Branwell and sister Emily and the sickness affecting her sister Anne.

The letter has already been on display for a month at the Bront Parsonage Museum in Haworth, its permanent home.

Museum director Mike Hill says the society was overwhelmed by the response from the people of Keighley for funds.

He says: "So many wrote with contributions, ranging from a few pounds to a hundred, and their letters made it clear how strongly they felt that the letter belonged back in this part of the world.

"It was very important for us, and it enabled us to show the Heritage Lottery Fund that saving the letter was a genuinely popular cause."

"This is our way of saying 'thank you' to everyone involved. Cliffe Castle is in easy reach so people can pop in at any time."

The letter will be on display from tomorrow until October 10. The museum is open daily except Mondays, and is closed on Sunday mornings.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.