Good News
We are delighted to announce the award of a grant of £150,000 by the Heritage Lotttery Fund. This is a “ First Stage Grant “ to enable us to draw up plans for the eventual complete restoration of the building. If these plans are passed, by the H.L.F. we will then receive the remainder of the £1M lottery grant towards the full £2M cost The work goes on to raise the other £1M !
Introduction
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.
To celebrate the Gaskell bi-centenary Naxos Audio Books are adding to their Gaskell titles. The complete recording of Cranford is already available. Wives and Daughters will follow in March and Cousin Phillis in May. Listen to a sample on their website. You can order on line or by post. www.naxosaudiobooks.com
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 Latest News
Progress with the House
‘The Pink House’ is now swathed in its enormous white box of scaffolding and sheeting from which it will emerge transformed. Our excellent builders, Mather & Ellis, started work on 7 September 2009. They have stripped down the whole of the outside of the house to the raw brick and rafters.
Authentic lime plaster is replacing the 1960s cement render, and the damaged capitals are being copied and replaced. The windows and shutters, most of which have survived since 1838, are being repaired by skilled joiners in pitch pine and sapele wood.
Problems – For the first time it has been possible to investigate fully some parts of the building. We have discovered dry rot in the roof, and more in the cellar. This has been treated. The huge stone pediment at the top of the building was teetering on a single row of bricks and some timbers, but is now secure.
Discoveries – The beautiful flagged floors of the ground floor hall, hidden under 1970s carpeting, can now be revealed. At a higher level, you can glimpse the remains of the old servants’ quarters, overlaid by the university’s alterations in the 1970s.
When will it be open again?
The ground floor will reopen for the public in April or May after work on the exterior and essential work to the services are completed. You will then see the finished work and how much still needs to be done.
The final £2 million
Our application to the Heritage Lottery for a million pounds, half the cost of the rest of the work, has been sent. A response is due in March. This is a two-stage process and we must find the other million...
Pre-restoration work
Since the Trust came into possession of Elizabeth Gaskell House, many visitors have come through its doors. There have been Open Days on the first Sunday of each month (except the coldest months of January and February) and many groups have visited at other times, by special arrangement; these have included local history groups, "Friends" of other organisations and from Unitarian Chapels around the country; there has even a party of visitors from the U.S.A. All have been impressed by the fine architectural features of the house, which shine through, despite its rather sad state of disrepair. They have appreciated the displays and enjoyed our home-made cakes and scones. They have also spent generously in the bookshop, which was situated, appropriately enough, in William Gaskell's study.
Many events have taken place at the house - talks, dramatic presentations and art exhibitions, to name but a few. And who will forget our memorable "Cranford Day", when people were queuing up at the door when we opened, one cold January day in 2008, soon after "Cranford" had been shown on T.V.
The final, extremely successful, open day of 2008 took place on Sunday December 7th, followed by a very enjoyable carol concert by the Grace Darling Singers. The festivities over, the house closed its doors to the general public for the last time, in its present unrestored form. When we open the doors again we hope to re-create the ground floor of the house as much as we can, as it was in the time of the Gaskells. The lower ground floor will refurbished for community use and the first floor will be conference rooms.
The first stage of the restoration has already begun, with the removal of the dry rot; this rather mundane work has, however, resulted in some exciting finds. When the book shelves in William Gaskell's study were removed, six layers of wallpaper were revealed (see picture of one) Also revealed, in the outer hall. was a stone flagged floor As work progresses we hope many more clues may emerge to help in the task of recreating the rooms as authentically as possible. Of course all this depends on continued success in fundraising. See below how you can help, by becoming a Friend of Plymouth Grove.
For recent press coverage regarding the grant of £260,000 by the English Heritage please click here.
The Gaskell Society
Although a completely separate organisation, the Friends of Plymouth Grove maintains close links with the Gaskell Society; indeed many are members of both associations. Founded in Knutsford in 1985, after events to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Elizabeth Gaskell's birth, the society has become a world-wide organisation, with members in the United States, Japan and in most European countries. Regular meetings take place in Knutsford, Manchester, London, York and the South West. As well as the biennial conference there are visits to places associated with Elizabeth Gaskell, in Britain and Europe. The Society aims to promote and encourage the study and appreciation of the work and life of Elizabeth Gaskell. As the 200th anniversary of her birth approaches, in 2010, the Society and the Friends are co-operating in the planning of a number special events to mark this momentous occasion
We are delighted to announce the award of a grant of £150,000 by the Heritage Lotttery Fund. This is a “ First Stage Grant “ to enable us to draw up plans for the eventual complete restoration of the building. If these plans are passed, by the H.L.F. we will then receive the remainder of the £1M lottery grant towards the full £2M cost The work goes on to raise the other £1M !
Introduction
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.
To celebrate the Gaskell bi-centenary Naxos Audio Books are adding to their Gaskell titles. The complete recording of Cranford is already available. Wives and Daughters will follow in March and Cousin Phillis in May. Listen to a sample on their website. You can order on line or by post. www.naxosaudiobooks.com
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 Latest News
Progress with the House
‘The Pink House’ is now swathed in its enormous white box of scaffolding and sheeting from which it will emerge transformed. Our excellent builders, Mather & Ellis, started work on 7 September 2009. They have stripped down the whole of the outside of the house to the raw brick and rafters.
Authentic lime plaster is replacing the 1960s cement render, and the damaged capitals are being copied and replaced. The windows and shutters, most of which have survived since 1838, are being repaired by skilled joiners in pitch pine and sapele wood.
Problems – For the first time it has been possible to investigate fully some parts of the building. We have discovered dry rot in the roof, and more in the cellar. This has been treated. The huge stone pediment at the top of the building was teetering on a single row of bricks and some timbers, but is now secure.
Discoveries – The beautiful flagged floors of the ground floor hall, hidden under 1970s carpeting, can now be revealed. At a higher level, you can glimpse the remains of the old servants’ quarters, overlaid by the university’s alterations in the 1970s.
When will it be open again?
The ground floor will reopen for the public in April or May after work on the exterior and essential work to the services are completed. You will then see the finished work and how much still needs to be done.
The final £2 million
Our application to the Heritage Lottery for a million pounds, half the cost of the rest of the work, has been sent. A response is due in March. This is a two-stage process and we must find the other million...
Pre-restoration work
Since the Trust came into possession of Elizabeth Gaskell House, many visitors have come through its doors. There have been Open Days on the first Sunday of each month (except the coldest months of January and February) and many groups have visited at other times, by special arrangement; these have included local history groups, "Friends" of other organisations and from Unitarian Chapels around the country; there has even a party of visitors from the U.S.A. All have been impressed by the fine architectural features of the house, which shine through, despite its rather sad state of disrepair. They have appreciated the displays and enjoyed our home-made cakes and scones. They have also spent generously in the bookshop, which was situated, appropriately enough, in William Gaskell's study.
Many events have taken place at the house - talks, dramatic presentations and art exhibitions, to name but a few. And who will forget our memorable "Cranford Day", when people were queuing up at the door when we opened, one cold January day in 2008, soon after "Cranford" had been shown on T.V.
The final, extremely successful, open day of 2008 took place on Sunday December 7th, followed by a very enjoyable carol concert by the Grace Darling Singers. The festivities over, the house closed its doors to the general public for the last time, in its present unrestored form. When we open the doors again we hope to re-create the ground floor of the house as much as we can, as it was in the time of the Gaskells. The lower ground floor will refurbished for community use and the first floor will be conference rooms.
The first stage of the restoration has already begun, with the removal of the dry rot; this rather mundane work has, however, resulted in some exciting finds. When the book shelves in William Gaskell's study were removed, six layers of wallpaper were revealed (see picture of one) Also revealed, in the outer hall. was a stone flagged floor As work progresses we hope many more clues may emerge to help in the task of recreating the rooms as authentically as possible. Of course all this depends on continued success in fundraising. See below how you can help, by becoming a Friend of Plymouth Grove.
For recent press coverage regarding the grant of £260,000 by the English Heritage please click here.
The Gaskell Society
Although a completely separate organisation, the Friends of Plymouth Grove maintains close links with the Gaskell Society; indeed many are members of both associations. Founded in Knutsford in 1985, after events to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Elizabeth Gaskell's birth, the society has become a world-wide organisation, with members in the United States, Japan and in most European countries. Regular meetings take place in Knutsford, Manchester, London, York and the South West. As well as the biennial conference there are visits to places associated with Elizabeth Gaskell, in Britain and Europe. The Society aims to promote and encourage the study and appreciation of the work and life of Elizabeth Gaskell. As the 200th anniversary of her birth approaches, in 2010, the Society and the Friends are co-operating in the planning of a number special events to mark this momentous occasion
Knutsford
Elizabeth Gaskell spent most of her childhood in Knutsford, which appears as Cranford in her most famous book and Hollingford in Wives and Daughters. There are still many buildings and landmarks associated with her in the town, inluding the parish church in which she was married, and the three hundred year old Brook Street Unitarian Chapel where she was buried, along side her husband, William, and their two unmarried daughters
Poets' Corner - Westminster Abbey
The Committee of The Gaskell Society is delighted to announce that the Dean of Westminster, The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, has agreed to the honour of the memorialisation of Elizabeth Gaskell in the Stained Glass Window overlooking Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.
This will take place in 2010 and form part of the celebrations to mark the bi-Centenary of the birth of Elizabeth Gaskell. Further details will be provided when these are finalised
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
A number of images appearing on the website are courtesy of English Heritage
and are marked EH
84 Plymouth Grove
Plaque from 84 Plymouth Grove
The Dining Room 1897
Last updated 21/08/2010
For general enquiries click below
The house under restoration
The stairs (EH)
Close inspection 2009
Gaskell by Samuel Lawrence, 1854
Plaque from 84 Plymouth Grove
The exterior being revealed
The cleaned exterior
The cleaned exterior
The cleaned front