10 Year Anniversary of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is the former home of the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865), who lived here with her family from 1850 until her death in 1865. Elizabeth wrote nearly all her best-loved works while living here, including Cranford, North and South and the biography of her friend The Life of Charlotte Brontë.

The House was built around 1838, as part of a new development in a leafy suburb on the edge of Manchester, away from the noise and pollution of the factories and mills yet within easy reach of the city centre. Elizabeth and her husband William, along with their four daughters, moved into the House. It was their third Manchester home, and the rent was considered expensive at £150 a year. After Elizabeth’s death in 1865, members of her family continued to live in the House until 1913. The contents were auctioned in 1914 and the House was sold to the Harper family, who lived here until the late 1960s. Manchester University then bought it to use it as the home of their International Society.

Through her involvement with the Gaskell Society, Janet Allan visited the House in the mid-1990s, when it still belonged to The University of Manchester. By this time, it most certainly wasn’t the beauty it had been when the Gaskell family had lived there. The first thing she saw was a large crack running through the Georgian fanlight, above the door in the hall, and remembered asking the person in charge what they were going to do about the condition of the house. Little could she have known this was the start of a momentous journey.

In 1998 and led by Janet, Manchester Historic Buildings Trust was established with the main aim of saving this Grade II* listed building. After a long campaign, the Trust acquired the freehold in 2004 and their first priority was to make the House safe.

Elizabeth Williams, who was on the Board at the time, remembers; ‘People kept telling us we were on to a complete loser because this was a very deprived area,’ We were told repeatedly that if we did restore it, it would be vandalised and everything would be stolen. But we had a local Councillor on the Board of Trustees, and he was desperate to get the House restored. I remember he said, if we restore the House, it will show that somebody has faith in this area and the area will improve.’

Another volunteer, Helen Smith, recalls ‘one loo, crumbling cornices and rickety steps,’ as well as ‘a wonderful sense of camaraderie.’ A feeling echoed by Louanne Collins who recollected; ‘It was a group of people from very different backgrounds getting together and the common thread was saving the House and developing it’.

In 2012 the Trust was given a substantial National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, which together with other generous donations, enabled the Trust to complete the restoration and open to the public in October 2014.

Over the past 10 years, the team of staff and volunteers have continued to develop the House, restoring Elizabeth’s bedroom during the pandemic, creating new permanent and temporary exhibition spaces and launching a rich and varied online events programme that brings together thousands of fans from all over the world.

As part of the anniversary celebrations a brand-new temporary exhibition ‘The story of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House from dereliction to delight’ delves into the personal stories and memories of those who came together to fight, against the odds, for the House’s survival. The stories of those involved are celebrated through an incredible quilt created by textile artist Dr Sarah-Joy Ford for the House.

The House is open to the public every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. See website for details- elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk.