Rose & Co. Apothecary was created in 1987 when my Mum and I bought the original druggist’s house and shop in the village of Haworth, Yorkshire. The desire to incorporate the history of the building combined with a love of all things vintage inspired us to restore it back to its Victorian splendour and a charming beauty apothecary was born.
Haworth is renowned the World over as the location where the Bronte sisters; Charlotte, Emily and Anne, wrote the majority of their novels which include Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Grey whilst their brother, Branwell Bronte was infamous for his bad behaviour. The pharmacist in our shop at the time was Betty Hardacre, and it was she who dispensed laudanum, an opium derived drug to Branwell in the years leading up to his death in September 1848, aged 31.
After all these years our Haworth shop goes from strength to strength with visitors returning time and time again for the Rose & Co. experience: an apothecary warmly lit by glass globes, fragranced with exotic oils, and packed floor to ceiling with rich mahogany and glass display cases.
Old enamelled signs advertise products from a bygone age, huge grocery bins display aromatic bath mixtures and bowed glass counters house extensive collections of antique chemist bottles evoking a feeling of stepping back in time and entering a Victorian dispensary.
Look closer and discover that many of the old-world remedies and household products that have long since disappeared from our homes are still available here, with many of the ointments, mixtures, and embrocations manufactured to original formulations.
In March, our new Ladies Outfitters department will open, stocking beautiful vintage-styled dresses, vintage compacts and accessories to the discerning fashionista.
If you’ve never visited our original shop, I promise you it’s well worth the visit. Haworth is a perfect destination to enjoy the beauty of an historic Victorian village and to discover the life stories of the talented Bronte sisters.
I’ve long been a fan of your Leeds store and my family know immediately where to go for presents for me. I know I can order online but I do love browsing through the shop. I hope you will reopen in Leeds very soon.
Hello Liz, why not have a day out and visit us in Haworth? We’ll be posting information about some lovely events the Worth Valley Railway are holding. I hope they’ll tempt to you to come and visit.