Blogs & News

: Summer Family Fun

Rain or shine, indoor or outdoor, we have a summer of trails and games for all the family when you visit Elizabeth Gaskell's House. Outdoor Fun & Games Explore our historic garden on the garden trail by scanning the QR codes to learn fun facts, play games, tell jokes and find out ways you can help to support wildlife and reduce your carbon emission at home. (We also have a paper version of the garden trail so don't

: Family Fun – February Half-Term at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

Step inside a Victorian family home this February half-term for time out with family and friends. Try something a bit different with a visit to Manchester's very own hands-on literary house. Try our popular Cranford the Cat kids trail and talk to our friendly volunteers around the House. Then let the kids use their imaginations with Valentine-inspired creative craft in our Servants' Hall. Plus there is dressing-up, colouring and hands-on activities. You could always treat everyone to a

: M13 Residents visit for Free

To coincide with the Swinton Grove Park Community Christmas light switch on, local residents with a M13 postcode can gain free entry to Elizabeth Gaskell's House on Wednesday 4 December. No need to book - just come to the house with proof of your address between 11am-3pm and experience the House dressed for Christmas. Pick up Christmas gifts from our shop and try festive treats in our Tea Room. The Swinton Grove Community Christmas Light Switch will be

: February Half-term Family Crafts: Making Origami Cats

And do you know we are to have a kitten all the way from Paris, called Cranford; with very long hair and soft pretty eyes? Elizabeth Gaskell, from a letter, 1854 Cats! Cats! Cats! Feline friends are a firm feature in Elizabeth Gaskell's life and writing! From her own cats, Cranford and Mimi, to the unfortunate cat who swallowed a fine lace collar in her novel Cranford, and the crafty cat who stole the Christmas sausages in her short

: Piano Recital: Constance Harper’s ‘The Magic Casements’

Come and join us for a very special piano recital of children's songs, composed by a former resident of Elizabeth Gaskell's House! The Magic Casements, written by talented harpist Constance Harper in the 1920s, will be performed on our beautiful boudoir grand piano in the gorgeous drawing room here at 84 Plymouth Grove on Sunday 20 October. The Harper family lived in the House from 1913, and Constance, one of the daughters of the family and a member of