What’s On

  Whilst we knew of some of her books, Cranford, North and South etc., our knowledge of the author was somewhat limited so that the discovery of the wide range of... read more her literary works and social activity was a revelation and quite fascinating. Our visit was...More

  I had a pleasure to visit the Elizabeth Gaskell's House on my short trip to the northern England few weeks ago. As I wanted to catch a break from the... read more noise of the city, I decided to take a walk to the outskirts of Manchester....More

  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

  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.

  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)

  My daughter and I visited the house on Sunday. The rooms are nicely laid out with period pieces and the volunteers were so helpful and knowledgeable. There is an excellent... read more interactive map which points out places of interest known to the Gaskell family. The garden...More