*Brontë home fails at auction

The four-bedroom birthplace home of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë in Thornton, Yorkshire went up for auction (see 22/6 report below) but failed to sell. Bidding stopped well short of the £200,000 reserve for the stone-built terrace house in the Yorkshire village of Thornton.

A jinx is believed to have settled over 72 Market Street, which has seen successive failures as a butcher's shop, tourist centre and restaurant.

After the auction, a private offer for £178,000 was accepted.