Blogs & News

: I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell

Early in 2025 Elizabeth Gaskell's House announced its inaugural Writers Residency funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to celebrate the House's 10-year anniversary of opening to the public. ‘I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell’ features work by three young writers Georgia Affonso, Princess Arinola Adegbite and Guruleen Kahlo, who completed a spring residency at the House. The immersive exhibition flows throughout the House and includes Guruleen’s short stories, Georgia’s play available in audio format, and poems by Princess,

: Textile Art Celebrating Trailblazing Women

Elizabeth Gaskell's House is delighted to host a small exhibition of textile work created by the Trailblazing Stitching group. The work on display in The Bronte Room has been created over several years for International Women’s Day projects, and includes banners and tapestry hoops that celebrate trailblazing women connected with Greater Manchester. Please note that some elements of the textile collection may be removed from display for short periods of time to allow them to be taken to

: Temporary Exhibition: The Story of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House from Dereliction to Delight

October 2024 was the 10-year anniversary of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House being opened to the public following its restoration. It took many years of fundraising and determination from a dedicated group of volunteers to get to where we are today. To celebrate this milestone, a new exhibition has been created using oral history interviews from some of the people involved. From Janet Allan, who led the campaign, to Frank Galvin, the self-dubbed 'House detective', this new exhibition delves into

: Exhibition: Tales of Manchester Life – Elizabeth Gaskell’s Manchester

A new exhibition exploring how Elizabeth Gaskell presented Manchester and its people through her novels and short stories, and the impact she had through her writing. Elizabeth was a true radical of her time, but as a woman, the influence and importance of her writing has not been recognised by history in the way that it has for her contemporaries such as Charles Dickens.  Elizabeth’s writings about the industrial North made a huge impression to her contemporaries, not just

: “My Dear Mr Ruskin….” Friendship, Inspiration and Scandal.

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House explores the friendship between the Gaskell family and John Ruskin in this exhibition as part of The Ruskin Bicentenary on 2019. Often at odds with their contemporaries, John Ruskin and Elizabeth Gaskell were controversial writers, often sharing the same ideals. Elizabeth openly took sides when Ruskin’s wife, Effie, left him, commenting in a letter that “…She really is very close to a charming character; if she had had the small pox she would have been