Manchester Meeting – George Buckland, Elizabeth Gaskell, and the Reports of the Unitarian Ministry to the Poor

“The peculiar, and in some respects distressing, condition in which we are now placed as a manufacturing people”: George Buckland, Elizabeth Gaskell, and the Reports of the Unitarian Ministry to the Poor

The Unitarian Reports of the Ministry to the Poor confronted readers, in harrowing detail, with the grim reality of the living conditions of the working class in Manchester. Such findings prompted George Buckland, the second Minister to the Poor, to reflect on the peculiar position of a manufacturing people. Buckland’s reports were a source of inspiration for Elizabeth Gaskell’s first novel, Mary Barton. This talk will discuss some findings from my research into George Buckland, his work for the Ministry to the Poor and its relation to Mary Barton. In their writings on Manchester life in the 1830s and 40s, both Buckland and Gaskell consider Manchester’s place in relation to wider ideas of English identity; yet it seems that many roads may, in fact, lead to Canada.

Joshua Povall is a PhD candidate at the University of York, researching understandings of Englishness and the industrial North West in the mid-nineteenth century periodical press.

Everyone is most welcome to come along, members and non-members alike. Doors open at 1pm (feel free to bring a packed lunch) and the talk will begin at 1.30pm.

Tickets are £5 for members, £6 for non-members. Simply pay on the door or book online here (no booking fee).

We’ll also make a recording available. A link and password will be sent to all ticket holders after the event.