Gaskell House Blogs

Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

October 2024 marks 10 years since Elizabeth Gaskell’s House was first opened to the public.

The last decade has been one of the most important in the building’s almost 200-year history. The journey to becoming a visitor attraction and museum took several years of tenacity and some serious fundraising from a dedicated group of volunteers who brought the House back to life. Generous grants, donations, and the hard work of several staff and volunteers have all made this very special milestone possible.

A decade of firsts

Since it first opened its doors to the public on 5 October 2014, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House has welcomed more than 50,000 visitors – including literary fans, wedding guests and local school children, who now learn about the writer in their history lessons.

Over the past 10 years the team has continued to work hard to develop the House, restoring Elizabeth’s bedroom, creating new permanent and temporary exhibition spaces and launching a rich and varied online events programme that allows thousands of fans all over the world to participate in the conversation around Elizabeth, her writing and more.

This hard work has not gone unrecognised: in 2019, the volunteer team received the Queen’s Award for voluntary service and the garden has won several Britian in Bloom accolades. And in August 2024, the House was awarded official accredited museum status: a huge achievement that will open up further development opportunities in the future.

Celebrate with us

We will be holding several in-person and online events to mark our milestone over the next year:

The story of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House from dereliction to delight

From 6 October 2024 – 6 July 2025, the brand-new exhibition ‘The story of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House from dereliction to delight’ will explore the building’s restoration and launch as a cultural attraction. This exhibition delves into the personal stories and memories of the passionate volunteers who came together to fight, against the odds, for the House’s survival, taking visitors on a journey from the building’s close brush with dereliction to its rebirth as the elegant museum it is today.

‘People kept telling us we were on to a complete loser because this was a very deprived area,’ remembers volunteer Elizabeth Williams. ‘We were told repeatedly that if we did restore it, it would be vandalised and everything would be stolen. But we had a local Councillor, Tom O’Callaghan, on the Board of Trustees, and he was desperate to get the House restored. He said, if we restore the House, it will show that somebody has faith in this area and the area will improve.’

Meanwhile, another volunteer, Helen Smith, recalles ‘one loo, crumbling cornices and rickety steps,’ as well as ‘a wonderful sense of camaraderie.’

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a quilt created by textile artist Dr Sarah-Joy Ford, inspired by the stories and recollections shared through the project.

Entrance to the exhibition is included in admission. Click here for more information

At Home with Elizabeth Gaskell: online events season

If you can’t make it to celebrate with us in person, check out the series of online events which will look at homes and houses in Elizabeth’s life and works. Details of these and all events can be found here.

Manchester Metropolitan University Student filmmaking project

During November third year filmmaking students at MMU will be doing a documentary-in-a-week project at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House as part of their Research and Innovation module. Students will be asked to produce a short documentary about Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and we look forward to sharing their films later in the year.

Help us to write our next chapter

Despite our team’s incredible efforts, keeping Elizabeth Gaskell’s House open to the public remains a real financial challenge. It costs approximately £14,000 a month to run the museum, and as an independent trust, we do not receive regular council or government funding. Instead, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House relies on the generosity of its visitors, donors, funders and partners to keep its doors open.

To commemorate the House’s milestone anniversary, we are asking visitors and supporters to donate £10 to celebrate 10 years. Click here If you would like to donate £10 (or more)