Historical Context in Wuthering Heights

A common feature of upper class and upper middle class houses was a display of pewter and silver serving ware, a sign of the owner's wealth.

It is common in this part of northern England to see plaques on important houses memorializing the date of construction and the builder(s).  In many cases, substantial remodelings or reconstructions are also recorded.

Although the location of Thrushcross Grange has never been discovered with any certainty, a large manor house called Shibden Hall, located near the school where Emily Bronte worked, may have served as Bronte's model.

By likening Heathcliff to a "gipsy," Lockwood implies that Heathcliff is not a normal Englishman. Gypsies were considered outcasts—untrustworthy and violent.