Blogs & News

blog : Knowing John Ruskin

This is Charles Eliot Norton writing to his mother, Mrs Andrews Norton, on July 2 1857 'One day as we were travelling in Italy, Mrs Gaskell and her daughters and I were talking about the books we would choose if we were shut up in a prison or on a desolate island. At last we agreed to choose one book by a living author, and when it came to Mrs Gaskell's turn to tell us what she had...

news : Signed copy of Cranford Returns to Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

A signed copy of Cranford once gifted by Elizabeth Gaskell to a friend has been returned to her Manchester home after over 110 years. Purchased by the Gaskell Society, this signed first edition is now on display in the author’s House, alongside the fascinating story of the book’s four owners. Despite Cranford being the most gentle, domestic and non-political of all Gaskell’s writing, research into the various owners of the volume reveals their involvement in important issues from...

news : Creating Successful Interiors: Interpretation, Audiences and Authenticity 

A one-day, interdisciplinary conference exploring how historic house museums present and interpret interior spaces for contemporary museum visitors, and what they might learn from other industries. Presented by Jane Austen’s House Museum in partnership with The Charleston Trust Monday 4 March, 2019 10:00am to 4:30pm £30 adults/£20 students Venue: Charleston, Firle, East Sussex Join us for an exciting day of talks and discussion, presented by two of the South East’s great house museums: Jane Austen’s House Museum and Charleston. Historic...

blog : 10 things you might not know about Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

1.    Elizabeth lived at the house from 1850-1865 with her husband, William, and four daughters. William and their two unmarried daughters, Meta and Julia, continued to live in the house after Elizabeth’s death.  When Meta died in 1913 the house and its contents were sold. 2.    In 1914 the Harper family bought the house. One the of Harper daughters was an actress and the other was a harpist with the Hallé orchestra. The morning room was used as...

blog : Walter Savage Landor and Elizabeth Gaskell

We have a new sundial in place at the back of the House which was put up last December with funding support from Viridor Credits. The sundial features an interesting quote - 'If you but follow the sun all day ' And while it's  perfect for a sundial, does it have any connection with Elizabeth Gaskell? And the answer is, yes it certainly does! The quote is used by Gaskell as the epigraph to Chapter 13 of Mary...
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