At Home with the Pankhurst Family at the Pankhurst Centre

Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor
At Home with the Pankhurst Family at the Pankhurst Centre
Courtesy of the Pankhurst Centre

At Home with the Pankhurst Family at The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester Until 29 August 2024 Entrance is free — Visit now

Tucked away amidst the sprawling modern development of the Manchester Royal Infirmary is the Grade II listed former home of Emmeline Pankhurst, in whose parlour the first meeting of the suffragettes was held in 1903 and the worldwide movement began. Today the activist’s home is the country’s only museum dedicated to female suffrage and exploring what the legacy of this means; past, present and future. After a period of closure for partial restoration, the museum is reopening its doors with a new permanent exhibition, At Home with the Pankhurst Family, which offers an intimate portrait of the people behind the iconic Pankhurst name; their ambitions, influences, tragedies, resourcefulness and the factors (including the city of Manchester, itself) that shaped them.

Courtesy of The Pankhurst Centre

The first room is dedicated to domesticity, revealing more about the Pankhursts as a whole family than has ever been previously explored in an exhibition. Through strong graphical imagery, photographs, artefacts and other objects, the display recounts the impact of the death of Emmeline’s son, Frank, followed by her husband, Dr Richard Pankhurst, as well as the reduction in circumstances that brought Emmeline and her children (including Christabel, Sylvia, and Adela Pankhurst) to live at 62 Nelson Street. The second room is given over to an immersive audio-visual experience that recreates the Votes for Women campaign and the shockwaves it generated in vivid detail.

Courtesy of The Pankhurst Centre

From these two rooms, visitors will emerge into the Edwardian parlour where suffragette meetings were held and Emmeline first uttered the immortal phrase, ‘Deeds not words’, which became the movement’s motto and encapsulated the philosophy behind its powerful campaign of disobedience and vandalism. Take a seat at the table and pour through letters, photographs and accounts relating to the group’s activities, then learn about Emmeline’s role as a Registrar of Births and Deaths in Chorlton, which gave her a deeper insight into the conditions of women in the region and reinforced her conviction that women needed the right to vote before their conditions could improve.

Courtesy of The Pankhurst Centre

The opening of At Home with the Pankhurst Family is just the first step towards the overall restoration of The Pankhurst Centre, which runs largely on crowdfunding, charity donations and voluntary support. Head along to (re)discover the home that, for many years, acted as the hub for what would become one of history’s most renowned political movements, and gain a deeper insight into the incredible women who lived and gathered there.

This exhibition was designed by specialist museum consultancy Mather & Co., working closely alongside the Pankhurst Centre’s team and a panel of volunteers who form the Pankhurst Committee.

At Home with the Pankhurst Family at The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester Until 29 August 2024 Entrance is free Visit now

Where to go near At Home with the Pankhurst Family at the Pankhurst Centre

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Big Hands

Big Hands is the one-time haunt of legendary Manchester band Elbow; it’s shabby, loud and dark, with a jukebox and excellent roof terrace.

Cafe at the Museum
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
The Cafe
at the Museum

Manchester Museum’s cafe is run by the people behind award-winning cafe Teacup Kitchen. The menu features home-baked cakes, the finest loose leaf teas and breakfast, as well as a wide selection of mains and meals for kids.

Manchester
Music venue
Manchester Academy 3

Brilliant venue for catching a touring band on the rise. The boringly titled Academy 3 or more interesting Hop and Grape, as it was once known, is a self contained…

Manchester Academy music venue on Oxford Road Manchester.
Manchester
Music venue
Manchester Academy

The Manchester Academy is a mid size, modern warehouse venue adjacent to the University of Manchester Students’ Union. It lacks any architectural merit and has always been a difficult place…

Christie’s Bistro, Manchester. Courtesy Christie’s Bistro
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Christie’s Bistro

This wood-panelled former science library – part of a cluster of neo-Gothic buildings designed for the University of Manchester by Alfred Waterhouse (he of Manchester Town Hall and London’s Natural History Museum fame) – has a wonderfully bookish interior that turns lunch into something of an event.

Whitworth Park, Manchester
Manchester
Park
Whitworth Park

This 18-acre park opposite the Manchester Royal Infirmary provides a welcome patch of green in an otherwise densely populated and heavily used part of the city.

Manchester
Shop
Want Not Waste

Want Not Waste is a student-run, not-for-profit zero waste shop operating out of Academy 1 at the University of Manchester Students’ Union.

What's on: Exhibitions

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in Manchester and the North

Affecting contemporary performances and fresh, relevant takes on enduring classics, we pick out shows that help us scrutinise the world we live in.

Teenage Dads
Music in Manchester and the North

Fresh concert seasons, forward-thinking festivals and a revolving door of amazing gigs. Things are looking bright as spring comes into view.