The Gaskell Memorial Service
Every year, on a Sunday, close to what would have been Elizabeth Gaskell’s birthday, Gaskell Society members assemble at Brook Street Chapel in Knutsford. We lay flowers on Elizabeth’s grave […]
Tea at Cranford II – Our Daily Bread
Following my last ‘Tea at Cranford’ post, I will now consider the dangers which may have been lurking in those dainty sandwiches, ‘cut to the imaginary pattern of excellence that […]
Tea at Cranford I – Charlotte Brontë and the Great Victorian Tea Fraud
Tea plays an integral role in Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel Cranford. Grown in India, a British colony, and imported by the East India Company, it became a national beverage found in […]
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House – the final chapter
Meta and Julia Gaskell purchased 84 Plymouth Grove 16 years after their father’s death [see my previous blog] and remained there until their own deaths Julia in 1908 and Meta […]
To Buy or Not to Buy?
That is the question! Volunteers at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House are often asked whether Elizabeth ever bought 84 Plymouth Grove. The answer is definitely not, but her daughters, Meta and Julia, […]
Locations in ‘The Sexton’s Hero’
In January 2021, Dr Diane Duffy ran a discussion session on the short story, ‘The Sexton’s Hero’ about a daring rescue on Morecambe Bay. You can read her blog post […]
Mental Illness and the Victorians – the Case of Alice Hadfield Petschler
In March 2021, we were delighted to welcome the historian, biographer and retired teacher, Joanna Williams. Alice Hadfield Petschler (1830-1897) was the photographer, poet and “lunatic” whose case helped […]
Meet the Neighbours
After moving into a new house, it is always useful to know your neighbours. I am sure Elizabeth would have already known many of her new neighbours in Plymouth Grove, […]