The Society is delighted to have played its part in the beautiful restoration of 84 Plymouth Grove, the Manchester home of the Gaskell family from 1850 until Meta Gaskell’s death in 1913. It was here that Elizabeth wrote most of her novels (at a small table in the dining room) and received celebrated personalities (including Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, John Ruskin and Sir Charles Hallé). This was a happy  and welcoming family home and we’d like to think the restoration upholds that same spirit. We’d love to see you there!

Please check the Gaskell House’s website for updates on opening days and times.

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, 84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester, M13 9LW

 

More about the house

On Thursday 5 October 2014, after a £2.5M restoration, 84 Plymouth Grove was formally opened by Sarah Prince, the great-great-great granddaughter of Elizabeth and William Gaskell. In the North West of England, outside the Lake District, it is a building of literary significance second only to the Brontë Parsonage at Haworth . Built in the 1830s, the house is a Grade II* detached Regency-style villa. It is a rare survivor of its type, being complete in nearly all its internal features in the main rooms, with an exterior which has seen few changes. Every object’s place in the house – from the teaspoons to the books in the study – is the result of careful research. The main reception rooms – Morning Room, Drawing Room, Dining Room and William’s study and library – have been fully restored to how they would have looked when the Gaskell family was in residence.

One upstairs bedrooms is used as an exhibition room, another is a room for lectures and other events, and the remaining rooms may be let. The old kitchen in the basement houses a tearoom, and the former Servants’ Hall, also in the basement, can be used as a meeting room or for lectures and other events. The garden has also been lovely restored by a team of volunteers to reflect what would have been grown in Victorian Manchester.

Volunteers

Now that the house is open three days a week, volunteers are needed to help in the tearoom, talk to visitors in the period rooms and help with many other backstage tasks. If you can help, please click contact the house or call 0161 273 2215.

Manchester Historic Buildings Trust
, the charitable trust which owns the house, has worked with others on the restoration of the building. Company Number 3578992 Charity Number 1080606

The Friends of Plymouth Grove is a charitable organisation which raises funds to preserve and restore the house and hosts a number of events.