The Gaskell Society Conference 2019

Elizabeth Gaskell: Working-Class Politics and Culture

at

  The  Tankersley Manor Hotel

which is situated between Sheffield and Barnsley.

Set in modest grounds, with full leisure facilities, including a pool, it offers ample parking and easy access to the M1 motorway.

As is usual, our Friday evening speakers will talk about the industrial and literary aspects of the area.  On Saturday and Sunday mornings, we have five speakers-

Professor Francis O’Gorman: John Ruskin and the Working-Class

Professor Robert Poole: Elizabeth Gaskell and Peterloo

 Dr Mike Sanders: Chartism in ‘Mary Barton’ 

Dr Elizabeth Ludlow Elizabeth Gaskell: Gender and Class issues in Non-Conformist Religion

PhD student Georgia Thurston: What Elizabeth Gaskell knew about Working-Class life

 Elizabeth Williams will   hold one of her popular study sessions on Saturday afternoon as an alternative to one of the two trips, which are:

Sheffield and the Ruskin Exhibition at the Millenium Gallery

Oakwell Hall with its Bronte connections.

 We are planning entertainment on both Saturday and Sunday evenings.

For those wishing to travel by coach to Tankersley from the North West, we will be making a stop at Cannon Hall, a Georgian Country House which has a fine collection of William De Morgan ceramics and a similarly fine collection of furniture and paintings. Entry is free and lunch can be purchased at the shops on site.

On the return to trip on Monday, which is also available to non-coach participants, we are offering an opportunity to visit Wentworth Woodhouse where we have organised a talk covering the period of the Conference.

It is the largest privately owned house in Britain and is Grade 1 listed. It was also the subject of Catherine Bailey’s excellent book, Black Diamonds. It is currently undergoing restoration in conjunction with The National Trust. Our visit will be an opportunity to see the restoration in progress. The house’s East front is twice as long as that at Buckingham Palace and has been referred to as “the forgotten palace.” In the 2016 budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer awarded the trustees 7.6 million pounds towards the restoration. It was formerly the home of the Fitzwilliam family. At the time of Peterloo, Lord Fitzwilliam held the post of Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire. After the event, he supported the reformists and led a group of landowners who protested at the way in which the demonstrators had been treated. He subsequently resigned his post.

Lunch can be purchased at the Garden Centre which encompasses much of the earlier Wentworth Woodhouse Gardens.

N.B. The Conference is now fully booked so we are unable to offer any places to non-members.