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Friends of Gaskell House
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Community
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Links & Acknowledgements
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The writer Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-65) lived in this Manchester house from 1850, and it is here that all but the first of her books were written. 84 Plymouth Grove is a detached Regency-style villa, which originally stood in the leafy outskirts of Manchester, ‘quite outside the smoke’. Elizabeth and William Gaskell and their four daughters loved its generous atmosphere, its spacious rooms and its walled garden. Many guests enjoyed their hospitality, including Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, John Ruskin and Harriet Beecher Stowe, When Elizabeth died William and their two unmarried daughters lived on in the house until the death of last survivor, Meta Gaskell, in 1913.
Elizabeth Gaskell’s books
Cranford, is the most popular of her books and has never been out of print, and was televised in 2007. Mary Barton, is a tale of Manchester in the hungry forties, her Life of Charlotte Brontë is the first biography of modern times, Ruth deals with illegitimacy, North and South about the old and new values in an industrial age, Cousin Phillis set in the Cheshire countryside and her last work, Wives and Daughters, which was successfully televised in 1999. She also wrote many vivid letters. Her books are all available today, in many different editions.
84 Plymouth Grove today
Is on the Buildings at Risk Register because of its sad condition. It was saved from demolition in the 1960s by being listed as Grade II*, and in 2004 was acquired by the Manchester Historic Buildings Trust for restoration. It is a building of literary significance rivalling the Brontë Parsonage at Haworth; and as one of the very few surviving nineteenth century women writers homes it is of local, national and international importance.
The cost of restoration is over two million pounds, of which approximately one quarter has already been raised.
Visit us!
Until restoration starts, the house is open the first Sunday of the month from 12-4 (except January and February) and at other times by appointment.
Join the Friends!
We need help with the house, with our plans for the future and with fundraising. You will get news of progress and special events. To become a Friend and help with a donation click here to download a form in Adobe pdf format. Print it off, fill it in and send it to us. Help us do something special!
Manchester Historic Buildings Trust
Company Number 3578992
Charity Number 1080606
Chairman: Janet Allan
10 Dale Road, New Mills, High Peak, Derbyshire SK22 4NW
Telephone/fax 01663 744233
Email: chairman@elizabethgaskellhouse.org
