Blogs & News

  I visited this house again last week, my second within the year and so I was able to use my return visitor pass. The house remains a gem with... read more such knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers who are able to enhance any visitor’s experience. Exhibits have been...More

  Went with my daughter on a very wet and windy day, so unusually quiet. The house is beautiful and being sensitively restored. The welcome and warmth from the knowledgeable guides... read more more than compensated for the weather outside. We, especially my daughter, enjoyed the book sale and our only regret was not having some of the lovely homemade cake!

I would love to go back, especially to some of the very interesting workshops and events. And we are inspired to extend our reading of Mrs Gaskell! Highly recommended.

(If you like Korean food, pop round the corner to Seoul Kimchi, great food and value)

  Visited as part of a Literary England tour. As a literary landmark, the House is somewhat of a bust, as it has very few furnishings or writings that belonged... read more to the Gaskells. However it is a wonderfully restored Regency suburban tract house, built for the pleasure of the well-to-do, but not aristocratic client. It does give a good feeling of Gaskell's perspective when writing her novels that dealt with cities rather than small towns.

For this visitor, the highlight was the gardens that have been reconstructed with plants that were common when Gaskell was in residence (1850-1865) or which are mentioned in her writing.

  My wife and I have visited many houses which were inhabited by famous authors and this one ranks up there with the best of them. And right on our doorstep!.... read more A tidy property on the outside but when you enter you are transported back 200 years into the early 1800s. A really well presented house with many interesting things to look at & read about. However the place really comes to life when the enthusiastic & friendly staff tell you things in the different rooms. We spent approx 90 mins on our visit for a nominal entrance fee. Out

  It was a drizzly day in Manchester. I sent my two young adult children and their southern visitor to the museum. They returned saying that they'd had a great time:... read more they'd learnt lots of interesting things and found all the guides incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. They were encouraged to play the piano at the house and ask lots of questions. (The cakes in the café got a 5-star rating too.) All three came home and started reading Mrs Gaskell.

  Elizabeth Gaskell's house would be lovely to live in ! It has a real feel to it and really preserves what it woould have been like when Mrs Gaskell herself... read more lived there