Minutes of the 40th Gaskell Society Annual General Meeting held at Cross Street Chapel Manchester and via Zoom on Saturday 12th April 2025.
President: Shirley Foster
Chair: Diane Duffy
Diane welcomed everyone to the 40th Annual General Meeting and introduced Shirley Foster. Shirley said she was pleased to be here to chair the meeting.
1) Apologies
Libby Tempest, Val Chamberlain, Rebecca Styler, Ben Moore, Albert Crew and Jackie Tucker.
2) Minutes of the 39th Annual General Meeting
Circulated to the members.
3) Matters Arising
As there were no matters arising the minutes were accepted and signed as correct by Diane Duffy.
4) Secretary’s Report, Pam Griffiths
The 39th Annual General Meeting of The Gaskell Society was held on Saturday 20th April 2024, in person and by Zoom.
- Shirley Foster was re-elected as President.
- Francesco Marroni and Jenny Uglow were re-elected as Vice-Presidents.
- Dr Diane Duffy was re-elected as Chair and Libby Tempest, was re- elected as Vice-Chair.
- The Officers and committee members were re-elected en bloc.
- Secretary – Pam Griffiths Treasurer – Clive Heath
- Minutes Secretary – Celia Crew Membership Secretary-Jackie Tucker
- Committee members re-elected en bloc were Linsey Parkinson, John Greenwood, Anthony Burton, Rosemary Donaldson, and Christine Willgoose
- Grahame Nairn was re-elected as Independent Examiner of Accounts.
The Daphne Carrick lecture was delivered by Dr Emma Probett, a writer, researcher and podcaster, currently writing a book on Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell and the novel of manners.
The first event of the New Year of course, was our ever popular lunch at Cottons Hotel, Knutsford. We awoke to snow, which caused problems for some of our members but the event was able to go ahead and an enjoyable lunch was much appreciated by all.
We were delighted to welcome our friend, the delightful operatic soprano, Rosie Lomas to entertain us after lunch with a varied programme of Burns songs which would have been familiar to Mrs Gaskell.
The Knutsford Meetings held at Brook Street Chapel, led by Dr. Diane Duffy, were successfully restarted in January in person and Zoom. Sylvia’s Lovers was the chosen book for these sessions, which would conclude in April. The Manchester Meetings at Cross St Chapel were also successfully attended.
In February,Anthony Burton spoke on “The Victorian House: Elizabeth Gaskell’s House in Context”, looking at various aspects of Victorian domestic architecture, showing where Gaskell’s house fits within it.
Our last session in March was taken by Jessica Smith, Creative Arts Archivist at the John Ryland Library who looked at the library’s Gaskell and Dickens Collection and the potential for digital scholarship and visualisation.
The highlight of the year was our Conference, held at Sketchley Grange Hotel, Hinckley in Leicestershire. 56 members attended, not only from England but also from Paris, Toronto, Brussels, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The theme was “ A Passport to Freedom : Women travellers in the 19th Century”. Members enjoyed excellent talks, informative trips and amusing entertainment and catching up with old friends. The hotel was excellent and all in all, a very good time was had. We look forward to the next one.
The Autumn Meeting was held at Knutsford Methodist Church when Dr Ingrid Hanson delivered the Joan Leach Memorial lecture on Moss and Mosses in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Worlds.It was a different and interesting theme to consider.
The Gaskell Memorial Service was held at Brook Street Chapel, falling, this year, on September 29th, the 214th anniversary of Gaskell’s birth.. Flowers were laid on both Elizabeth Gaskell’s grave and on Joan Leach’s grave before the service.
Back in Manchester in October, at Cross Street Chapel, Kate Raine gave us a brief survey of the life of Edmund Potter, calico printer and philanthropist. He had an illustrious career and was the grandfather of Beatrix and a lifelong friend of William Gaskell.
In November, Author, Sherry Ashworth, looked at how Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and Charles Dickens used biblical heroines to develop their characters.
In December, Anthony Burton looked at how Elizabeth Gaskell, already enjoying a certain status as the wife of a prominent clergyman, coped with her fame when she became known for her novels and stories.
The Knutsford study sessions reconvened in October with Dr Diane Duffy comparing George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell.
In October and November, we compared The Mill on the Floss and The Moorland Cottage. The question is, did Gaskell influence Eliot?
The London and South East group met in May, September and November. In May, Amanda Ford, looked at Wives and Daughters, drawing on her new book The Significance of Fabrics in the writings of Elizabeth Gaskell.
In September, Hannah Palmer, a PhD student spoke about her research into abortion and maternal histories in 19th Century literature and culture, exploring these issues in Gaskell’s letters and looked more generally at Gaskell’s role within her community.
In November, writer, researcher and podcaster, Dr Emma Probett spoke on Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell’s 19th Century Novels of Manners:Narrative Experiments and Developments with the community setting.
The South-West group continues to run a discussion group, open to all and appropriately named The Phoenix.
Carolyn Lambert, our letters coordinator, has been busy discovering new letters and we thank her for that,
2024 was another busy year for The Gaskell Society, fulfilling its remit to foster and stimulate an understanding of Elizabeth Gaskell’s life and work.
Many thanks as always should go to the members for their support, enthusiasm and friendship, on which this Society thrives Shirley thanked Pam for all her hard work.
5) Treasurer’s Report, Clive Heath
The accounts for 2024 have been examined and approved.
Copies of the annual accounts are available here, but I have extracted the summary of Income and Expenditure section – they include the data for 2023 for comparison.
There are a few general comments about the 2023 and 2024 figures:
The Subscriptions shown as USA (payments in US dollars), Japan (payments via the Gaskell Society of Japan) and Italy (payments in Euros) are listed separately because they are managed by a member in each of those countries (as stated at the back of the annual Gaskell Society Journal). The USA subscriptions shown in 2023 also included the USA subscriptions for 2022, so the income for 2024 is the more normal amount.
“Other Overseas Subscriptions” are mainly paid via Paypal. Most of these members have joined via the online membership option introduced in 2021, which has proved very successful. A substantial number of new UK members are also now joining this way as well, although we hope that some will convert to paying by annual standing order, which is easier to manage and avoids transaction charges. Paypal renewals are set to either 1 January or 1 July depending on the date of joining.
“Other Income” – In 2024 we received £1,352 Royalties from JSTOR, the remainder is mostly sale of our special publications.
The use of Zoom for our meetings in Knutsford and Manchester continues to add to the wider attendance and income at the Society’s NW meetings.
The Journal costs in 2023 were about £1,000 higher than normal because they incuded a late payment for the 2022 Journal costs.
After taking account of Gift Aid income for 2024 (claimed in 2025) and all outstanding liabilities there was a significant drop in “Net Available Assets” of about £3,200 over the year which has required attention.
Firstly there was a problem with collecting some of the UK subscriptions which is the main reason for the significant drop of income in 2024. Most of the members involved are registered with our Mailchimp information system so these have been contacted and a significant number of these payments for 2025 have now been received. The membership of those not responding will be reviewed in the next few months and they may be removed from the mailing list.
Secondly the Spring Newsletter in 2024 weighed over the standard 100g limit and this caused a massive increase in the postage costs, especially with overseas postage. We had become aware that the Journal printer, who also handles the Journal postage, has dramatically lower postage rates, especially for overseas postage. This year Linsey obtained a quote from them for the Spring Newsletter including postage and this was taken up. Printing costs were higher than previously but remarkably the overall costs are quite a bit lower than if we had posted them out via Royal Mail ourselves and it saves us a significant amount or work!
Thirdly we have been getting a relatively low rate of interest on our old Savings Account. Over the last few years the checking system introduced by the Banks has caused problems because our old account cannot be recognised for online payments. Postal delays with paper statements and lack of a Branch in Knutsford were also a nuisance. In August 2024 I set up a Treasurers Business Account with our Bank which overcomes this problem and has allowed the opening of a much higher interest 95 day Notice Savings account earlier this year. It has also enabled online access to the account which makes it much easier to confirm incoming payments and manage the account. The old account will however be kept open for receiving subscriptions via existing Standing Orders.
The existing subscription rates have applied since 2015 and will remain unchanged for the rest of 2025. The situation will be kept under review but it seems likely that because of all the increasing costs we may need to raise our subscription rates next year. Philip Watts asked how we could boost membership. Diane said that we have Mailchimp which is a useful tool to promote meetings and activities and the website is constantly updated with articles and activities. Shirley asked about having bank details on the website but it is already possible to join on line and use Paypal. People are encouraged to pay by bank draft. Acceptance of the treasurer’s report was proposed by Christine Willgoose and seconded by Pam Griffiths and accepted unanimously. Shirley thanked Clive for his invaluable work.
6) Membership Report This is included in the treasurer’s report.
7) Journal Editor’s Report, Rebecca Styler and Ben More
We are pleased to report that the 2024 publication of the journal went smoothly, with four full-length articles and the same number of reviews, as well as the usual branch reports.
For the 2025 issue we hope to have a part-focus on travel, mobility and the international, which draws on the idea, and some of the talks, from last year’s Society conference, along with additional submissions that address topics such as translation and empire. We again have a full slate of book reviews confirmed.
Looking ahead to next year, we have recently advertised the 2026 Graduate Essay Prize widely, and are in the process of seeking a new guest judge after Prof. Kate Flint’s stint in the role (which covered the last three competitions). The Prize continues to draw interest from across the world and generates a substantial proportion of the submissions to the journal.
All in all, things are running well and we have no concerns to report.
8) Newsletter Editor’s Report, Anthony Burton
In 2024 two issues of the Newsletter duly appeared, nos 77 and 78. The most noteworthy development, from the Newsletter’s point of view, was the retirement, after no.78, of the editor John Greenwood. He had taken over the editorship from Helen Smith in 2017 (no. 63), and went on to edit 14 issues over eight years. We will all be familiar with the feast of Gaskell news and views which he served up to us. And many of us will have known him as a constant presence at Cross Street meetings. Mobility problems are one of the factors which led him to step down from the editorship, but we hope that he is following the Society’s activity via Zoom and the website. John is an admirably well-rounded personality with a broad cultural and intellectual hinterland. His career as a teacher of English as an international language was pursued as a lecturer at Manchester University, and in various foreign countries, including a spell with the British Council in Rome. He has an interesting and talented family. Evidence of his well-stocked mind used to emerge at Cross Street meetings when the time came for audience questions. Almost always John would be ready with an apt and unexpected comment. This mental versatlity stood him in good stead as he gathered material for the Newsletter. So thank you John for giving us a twice-yearly stimulus.
I have taken over as editor on a temporary basis, and helped to produce no.79. I am really too old for the job, and we are hoping that some younger person may emerge, who can devote some years to the pleasurable editorial task. If you think this might be you, bear in mind this: the secret weapon of a Newsletter editor is the person generally described as ‘Production Editor’. This is Linsey Parkinson, who is the Society’s communications supremo. Her technical expertise and talent for design are an enormous benefit to the Society, and are only exceeded by her inexhaustible helpfulness and efficiency. If you are thinking of volunteering as editor, you could not have a better colleague.
This leads me on to add a little mention (because there is no special slot on the Agenda for this) on the Society’s occasional publications. In recent years the Society has published half a dozen booklets on Gaskell topics. I have been involved in most of them as writer or editor, and I think I can safely say that they have given me and Linsey a lot of fun. People say that publications printed on paper are a thing of the past, and that in future we shall communicate electronically via IT and AI through computers and smartphones. Both the Society and the House have not failed to take advantage of this looming change, and the ‘Queen of the Blog’ in the Gaskell community is undoubtedly our chair, Diane Duffy. But there is something satisfying in holding in one’s hand a bunch of colourful printed pages, so we think there is still scope for publications. We don’t have a special organisation or budget for producing them: we try to sell each at a price that just covers its cost. Anyway, they make nice Christmas presents. We have some ideas for future publications up our sleeves, but if you have proposals please put them forward, they will be welcomed.
9) Website Manager’s Report, Linsey Parkinson
This year, our website had 30,100 views and 14,500 visitors, which is very similar to last year’s figures, though we did have a slightly quieter year in terms of content. Our most popular individual page continues to be the Elizabeth Gaskell Biography, with over 5,500 views. Interestingly, the site was viewed in by people in 120 different countries, including Kazakhstan, Nepal, El Salvador and many more. The geographic spread of viewers is as follows
- United Kingdom – 15,308
- United States – 6,603
- Europe (mainly Spain, Italy, France, Germany) – 4,516
- Asia (including Japan) – 1,779
- Canada and South America (excluding the USA) – 981
- Australia and New Zealand – 647
- Africa – 266
We published 13 blog posts in 2024, again including excellent posts by Diane, plus a new contributor, David Barnes. 28 people (plus two additional joint members) joined the society or renewed their membership online during the year. We also sold 35 copies of our publications online, in addition to those sold at events.
We’ve emailed updates and bulletins at least once a month over the year and our subscriber list is now 800-strong. We have had to start paying for the Mailchimp service, which had been free of charge for mailing lists of less than 500. It’s been an extremely useful tool to promote meetings and activities and keep our audience across the world up-to-date.
While Diane continued to run simultaneous zoom and in-person discussions in Knutsford, we did not livestream our talks in Cross Street Chapel. Instead, we offered access to recordings for ticket holders for time-limited viewing after the event. We’d like to thank every speaker who allowed us to share recordings and who recorded their talks to enable this. We continue to use Ticketsource, our online box office, making booking for Gaskell Society events straightforward, no matter where in the world the viewer may be.
And, as ever, we always welcome Gaskell-related blog posts, ideas and help on the digital side of the society, so if you have anything you’d like to share, please do get in touch.
or through our website, gaskellsociety.co.uk
10) Report on Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, Diane Duffy
Fund Raising and financial issues are the big problems of the moment to enable the House to stay open. The House is always looking for new ideas and more things to do. Visitor numbers are up which is very positive. At the moment there are three new writers in residence. On 8th May Sarah Prince is visiting the House. Shirley said that friends of hers had visited the House and were bowled over by it.
11) Election of President
Shirley handed over to Diane Duffy. Helen Smith proposed and Christine Willgoose seconded that Shirley Foster should continue as President. Agreed.
12) Election of Vice- Presidents
Professor F. Marroni and Jenny Uglow are prepared to stand again. Proposed by Diane Duffy and seconded by Christine Willgoose. All agreed.
13) Election of Chair
Kate Raine proposed and Pat Heath seconded that Dr. Diane Duffy should continue as our Chair. All agreed.
14) Election of Vice-Chair
Libby Tempest was elected as Vice- Chair. Proposed by Pam Griffiths and seconded by Carolyn McCreesh. All in agreement.
15) Elections of Officers and Committee
The officers were elected en bloc. Proposed by Helen Smith and seconded by Kate Raine. Agreed Pam Griffiths – Secretary Clive Heath – Treasurer Celia Crew – Minutes Secretary Jackie Tucker – Membership Secretary The committee were elected en bloc. Proposed by Clive Heath and seconded by Diane Duffy. Agreed. Anthony Burton Rosemary Donaldson Linsey Parkinson Christine Willgoose
16) Election of Independent Examiner
It was proposed by Pat Heath and seconded by Christine Willgoose that Grahame Nairn should be re-elected as Independent Examiner. All agreed.
17) Any Other Business
i) Helen Smith thanked everyone for their hard work in the Society.
ii) Diane thanked Anthony for the excellent Newsletter; it was a joy to read.
iii) Anthony Burton suggested we mention the 2026 Conference. The title is to be Literary Links. We are struggling to find affordable hotels and it has been suggested we have two nights instead of three to cut down costs but this has its own complications. It could be put to the membership via Mailchimp for their thoughts. This was left to be sorted by the committee. Helen Smith said the best place we could chose was the Lake District but this would prove to be very expensive for hotels. Pat Heath suggested Lancaster University but there are mixed feelings about university accommodation.
Shirley thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the 40th AGM.