Blogs & News

blog : A Testament to an American Soldier

From 1861 to 1865 the American Civil war raged and has since been described as one of the most destructive wars of all time. It is now estimated that 2% of the population – over 620,000 men – lost their lives in the conflict. One of those men was Robert Gould Shaw. His untimely death moved Elizabeth Gaskell to write to his mother in August 1863, 'My Dear, Dear Mrs Shaw – You cannot think how our hearts

Blogs & News : Your Invitation to Celebrate Ten Years of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

“Oh, I can’t describe my home. It is home, and I can’t put its charm into words.” Margaret Hale, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, 1855 Elizabeth Gaskell’s House has welcomed more than 50,000 visitors since its doors first opened in October 2014. Now in our 10th anniversary year, we are celebrating the decade since the beautiful restoration with a range of online events all about house and home… and you are cordially invited! Kick the season off with

Blogs & News : 2025 Events Season: Exploring the impact of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Ruth

‘Nay, Ruth, you are not going to have secrets from me, are you?’ Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is delighted to be celebrating a new 10-year anniversary season of events dedicated to the most controversial of all Elizabeth Gaskell’s novels, Ruth. This infamous book was ‘banned, burned and denounced from the pulpit’ when it was published in 1853. A ground-breaking work, it is now recognised as the first mainstream novel to tell the story of a ‘fallen woman’ sympathetically. The

Blogs & News : A Man’s World – New Online Course for Spring 2025

In our 10th anniversary year, Elizabeth Gaskell's House is delighted to announce a new online course with the ever-popular Dr Sherry Ashworth. This spring we take a look at literary men and masculinity. Join Sherry to ask what do Victorian novelists have to say about men as fathers, lovers, activists, wealth creators – and kings? In this new course, we will be looking at Elizabeth Gaskell’s John Barton in Mary Barton (father), John Thornton in North and South

news : Elizabeth Gaskell’s House Awarded Official Museum Status

Elizabeth Gaskell's House is delighted to announce that it has been awarded full museum accreditation from Arts Council England. This announcement is particularly special as the House will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary of opening to the public in October this year. The Accreditation Scheme is the UK industry standard for museums and galleries. As well as recognising the cultural and historical importance of an organisation and its collections, the accreditation standard helps the people involved with a museum to do the right
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