Blogs & News

: Temporary Exhibition: 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. Three young writers (all aged under 30) were invited to spend time immersing themselves in Elizabeth’s world and responding to her legacy in their words. Georgia Affonso, Princess Arinola Adegbite and Guruleen Kahlo who are all connected to Manchester through their life, education and creative work, sought to explore not only Elizabeth Gaskell

: Textile Art Celebrating Trailblazing Women

Elizabeth Gaskell's House is delighted to host an exhibition of textile work created by the Trailblazing Stitching group. The work on display was created for International Women’s Day projects in 2025, 2024 and 2023, and includes banners and tapestry hoops that celebrate trailblazing women connected with Greater Manchester. The group received funding from Manchester City Council and held several of the workshops at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. The textiles are on display in the Brontë Room. Trailblazers! Women of

: 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