Elizabeth Gaskell’s House 10 Year Anniversary

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

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Elizabeth Gaskell's House 10 Year Anniversary

Until 4 October 2025

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Drawing Room with 10 year anniversary branding
Elizabeth Gaskell's House
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Throughout 2025, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is celebrating its tenth anniversary, having first opened to the public a decade ago. From a close brush with dereliction to being awarded official accredited museum status in August 2024, it’s been an important decade in the building’s almost 200-year history.

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House has to be on the must-see list of every discerning literary tourist exploring the UNESCO City of Literature (indeed it features prominently on the new Manchester City of Literature Map) and was home to the famous Victorian writer and her husband from 1850 until her death in 1865. A Grade II*-listed neoclassical Regency-style villa on Plymouth Grove in Ardwick, just one mile from Manchester City centre, it’s where Elizabeth wrote some of her most famous novels, including North and South.

The journey to becoming a visitor attraction and museum took several years of tenacity and some serious fundraising from a dedicated group of volunteers, who have been gradually bringing the house and garden back to life – Elizabeth’s bedroom is the most recent space to have been lovingly restored and the garden has won several Britain in Bloom accolades. They have created new permanent and temporary exhibition spaces and welcomed more than 50,000 visitors, and they have launched a rich events programme that allows local school children as well as fans all over the world to participate in the conversation around Elizabeth, her writing and more.

If you can’t make it to Plymouth Grove to celebrate with the Gaskell’s House team in person, do check out the series of online events which beam out regularly – this year, some will be looking at homes and houses in Elizabeth’s life and works, while another strand will be concentrating on her novel Ruth, first published in three volumes in 1853. We’ll be posting details of some of these very soon.

To celebrate this milestone, and document its restoration, the exhibition ‘The story of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House from dereliction to delight’ runs until 6 July 2025, on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays (admission to the exhibition is included in admission to the house). From Janet Allan, who led the campaign to save Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, to Frank Galvin, the self dubbed ‘House Detective’, this exhibition has been created using oral history interviews from some of the people involved and delves into the personal stories and memories of those who played a vital part in saving this piece of literary history. The centrepiece to the exhibition is an anniversary quilt created by textile artist Dr Sarah-Joy Ford, who has been inspired by the stories and recollections shared through the project.

Admission to the house costs £8.50/£7.50 concessions (students/NHS Staff/visitors with disabilities/registered unemployed), and tickets are valid for 12 months – so once you have a ticket, you can keep coming back free for a year. The monthly book sale (2025 dates just in!) is included in the admission fee. And we haven’t even mentioned the cake…

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Where to go near Elizabeth Gaskell’s House 10 Year Anniversary

Manchester
Library
Gaskell Society

These regular talks in both Manchester and Knutsford unpack the meaning and significance of Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing.

Manchester
Gallery
Chuck Gallery

Chuck Gallery is the first private art space in North West England dedicated to the promotion of contemporary African art in Manchester and beyond. Our focus is the provision of a varied collection of high quality, original and exceptional artwork

Pankhurst Centre
Manchester
Museum
The Pankhurst Centre

The Pankhurst Centre houses a small museum and heritage centre that remains as a legacy to the Pankhurst family and the Suffragette movement born in this city.

Much Ado About Nothing at Victoria Baths
Manchester
Event venue
Victoria Baths

Victoria Baths no longer functions as a ‘water palace’ and Turkish Baths, but the Grade II-listed building hosts regular events and is a stunning visit, with stained glass, terracotta tiles and mosaic floors.

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.

The Whitworth
Manchester
Gallery
The Whitworth

This much-loved gallery-in-a-park is open for business, showcasing some of the city’s finest contemporary and historic exhibitions.

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.

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Roy McFarlane
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Roy Macfarlane at Manchester Poetry Library

As part of the Poetry Reading Series at Manchester Poetry Library, Canal Laureate Roy Macfarlane will be in conversation with the series curator and award-winning poet Helen Mort.

Free entry
Luke Samuel Yates
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Chemistry at The Chemic

Leeds live literature regular Chemistry offers an exciting mix of open mic acts and invited poets – this month the headliners are Helen Ivory and Luke Samuel Yates.

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Tom Branfoot. Photo Eleanor Hall, Museum of the Home
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Poetry at the Dusty Miller

Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now regular night with invited readers, organised by Carcanet-published Carola Luther and Judith Willson in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub.

Free entry

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Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
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portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
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Sextile
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Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

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Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.