Top Withins or Withens?
The earliest record of the name goes back to the 14th century and it is named as Withins, at about the 17th century it becomes Withens. A family friend of the Brontes, Ellen Nussey, explained that Emily had had Top Withens in mind when she described the position of Wuthering Heights with its "pure, bracing ventilation".
Although there are differences in the architecture of the two buildings, Withens remains a point of pilgrimage for Bronte enthusiasts from around the world.
"Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr Heathcliff's dwelling. `Wuthering' being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed; one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun."
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
Quote from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr. Tony Banks) July 1997 in response to a motion to grant Top Withins a listed building - "I will take up my hon. Friend's kind invitation to come to see the site. There is good reason for doing so. It will be a walk in the country. She described it as a vigorous walk, but I am not a vigorous walker. If she wants a vigorous walker, I suggest that she extends an invitation to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. I am more of an ambler. I should be more than happy to amble with her through the beautiful countryside and look at Top Withens. My hon. Friend has made a good case, and I want to see what she has described for myself before taking any further decisions."
Cache is to be found under a large rock about 50 yards above Top Withins. There are about 10 large rocks in the cluster, only one has an overlap suitable for tucking a box under...