Blogs & News

  This is a wonderful house. My friend and I visited today and had a really enjoyable afternoon. Great staff and guides with such an obvious affection for their subject and... read more very friendly and welcoming. I learnt so much from them. Also a lovely tea room with excellent cake! Well worth

  This is a wonderful house. My friend and I visited today and had a really enjoyable afternoon. Great staff and guides with such an obvious affection for their subject and... read more very friendly and welcoming. I learnt so much from them. Also a lovely tea room with excellent cake! Well worth a visit.

  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.

  What an amazingly well-preserved, restored, and clean place to visit. Highly recommended, either for a tea, or while away an afternoon, with a friend.
The volunteers were courteous, friendly, and... read more they displayed a welcome which showed in their attitude of service.
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  Despite arriving at 3 pm, and the signboard outside saying open until 4:30 pm, as did the website, we were told they had just closed. It’s not until you get... read more outside that you see the sign saying “booking essential“, this is not the place for a casual passerby to call in. While we understand the need for safety procedures, there is little point in a signboard saying museum open if

  Despite arriving at 3 pm, and the signboard outside saying open until 4:30 pm, as did the website, we were told they had just closed. It’s not until you get... read more outside that you see the sign saying “booking essential“, this is not the place for a casual passerby to call in. While we understand the need for safety procedures, there is little point in a signboard saying museum open if it isn’t.