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The Home Life of Elizabeth Gaskell – four week course

Join us for a four week course that explores the home life of Elizabeth Gaskell, covering her house, her beloved garden, the Gaskell Family and the servants who kept the house running.

Tickets £8 and each session will run from 1-3pm on Thursdays and includes entrance to the house and tea room.

1. The House (28/9/2017)

Check out the financial basis of life at 84 Plymouth Grove.  Appreciate Victorian taste in interior decoration, and Elizabeth’s own taste.  Find out how the bedrooms were arranged.  Follow Elizabeth in her shopping expeditions for the house in Manchester and London.

2. The Garden (5/10/2017)

Learn how the Gaskells developed their garden, and how it relates to domestic horticulture in Victorian Manchester.  Enjoy a tour of the garden and its plants.

3. The Gaskell Family (12/10/2017)

Consider the roles of Elizabeth and William as wife and husband, mother and father.  Find out how the four daughters were educated.  Enjoy a dramatic presentation of the dynamics of family life among the Gaskells.

4. The Servants (19/10/2017)

Discover the daily routines of Victorian servants, and find out who the Gaskells’ servants were.  Focus on Will Preston and his family: a letter to him was recently discovered in the old stable block.  Smile at some jokes about the Victorian ‘servant problem’.

The cost per session is £8 or £30 for all four.

28th Sep 2017

1pm - 3pm

Workshops

The guides brought the home alive. It was inspiring to hear about this woman and extraordinary family

Visitor to the House in 2021