Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Home to Mrs Gaskell, an English novelist, biographer and short story writer.
84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester, M13 9LW
Facilities
-
Accessible loos
-
Accessible parking
-
Bike storage facilities
-
Cafe / restaurant
-
Easily accessible without car
-
Facilities for children
-
Mostly wheelchair accessible
-
Shop
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House welcomes visitors with physical, sensory and learning disabilities. The team will do all they can to ensure that your visit is both comfortable and enjoyable.
If you have questions regarding your visit or would like more specific information please email [email protected]
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and Garden has step-free access throughout with full access for wheelchair users. There is a lift to all floors and access ramp at the side of the House to avoid the front stepped entrance.
Wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other walking aids can be used within the building and in the Garden
Accessible toilets on the lower ground and first floor. If you require a Changing Places toilet during your visit, the nearest one to us is in Manchester Museum, which is 0.57 miles away from Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. (Their address is Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL.)
There are two bookable accessible parking spaces available on-site for Blue Badge holders. Please phone 0161 273 2215 or email [email protected] to book a space. If you do not book we cannot guarantee there will be a space available during your visit.
Registered careers may visit free of charge with a paying visitor
Only trained assistance dogs, including guide dogs, are permitted inside the House, including in the Tea Room. Emotional support animals including dogs are not permitted inside the House.(Drinking water for assistant dogs isn’t supplied as standard so please ask if any is required)
Braille copy of the House guide book is available on request at the welcome desk and we can also provide large print copies of most of the reading material – please ask on arrival. Recommended quiet times to visit are Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, outside of school holidays
The majority of the collection and furnishings in the House can be touched and chairs sat on – our volunteers will advise.
Volunteers provide verbal interpretation in most of the rooms. Please let them know if you need any special accommodations (e.g. if you would like them to speak louder/quieter, more slowly or if you would like them to describe objects visually.)
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is a hands-on Victorian house experience that will introduce you to the world of the writer Elizabeth Gaskell and her family through historically restored rooms, Victorian style garden, expert guides and changing exhibitions.
Described by the press after her death as ‘one of the greatest female novelists of all time’ Elizabeth Gaskell was born in 1810 and lived at 84 Plymouth Grove in Manchester with her family from 1850 until her death in 1865. She is best known for writing Cranford, North and South and the biography of her friend Charlotte Bronte.
Elizabeth welcomed guests such as Charles Dickens and Charlotte Bronte to her House and mixed with a cross section of Victorian society from the poor of the workhouse to the likes of Florence Nightingale and Charles Darwin.
Today you can browse the books in William’s Study and sit where Elizabeth sat to write her famous novels and short stories. take a seat in the Drawing Room and ring the servants’ bell or simply be inspired by the stories and the atmosphere of this exceptional literary house.
Young and old will find plenty to keep them entertained with: dressing up, activity baskets, family trails led by Cranford the Cat and family activities during school holidays. Very few objects are out of bounds and there’s always a seat to rest weary legs.
At the end of your visit you can enjoy tea and cake on beautiful vintage mismatched china. Choose from a selection of books and literary gifts in the shop and don’t miss the legendary second-hand book sale every second Sunday of the month.
From mid Nov until mid Dec the House is dressed for a Victorian Christmas Experience.
The House is owned and operated by the charity Manchester Historic Buildings Trust.
Important information: opening info is generated by artificial intelligence; check specific attraction details before travelling.
The indicator above will show ‘open’ when the public have any kind of access to any part of this property. That could be the park, a shop, or a special event, and may not reflect regular admission times to the main attraction. Always consult the website of the house or garden you intend to visit before travelling to check that the attraction you are interested in is open.
Opening Hours
Elizabeth Gaskell's House is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 11:00am to 4:30pm, with last admission at 3:00pm. Entry is by timed booking. Please note that on days when volunteer numbers are low, entry may be by guided tour only.
For a quieter visit, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons outside of school holidays are the least busy times.
Regular Events
Second-Hand Book Sale: Held on the second Sunday of each month from January to October.
Elizabeth Gaskell's House Online Book Group: Meets on the third Thursday of each month from January to December.
Exhibitions
Textile Art Celebrating Trailblazing Women runs from 4th January to 31st October.
Guided Tours
Charlotte Brontë & Elizabeth Gaskell Tours are available on 4th September and 2nd October.
Charlotte Brontë & Elizabeth Gaskell Twilight Tour: 29th October.
Women of Oxford Road Walking Tour: 8th October.
Online Talks and Events
A series of online talks and events runs throughout autumn, exploring Gothic literature and the works of celebrated women writers:
- Elizabeth Gaskell's Gothic Fiction: An Introduction – Wednesday 16 September, 7–8pm
- Mothers of the Gothic – Writing the Supernatural – Wednesday 30 September, 7–8pm
- Mary Shelley Beyond Frankenstein – Wednesday 7 October, 7–8pm
- The Shadows of Salem – Myth V Reality in Lois the Witch and Other Tales – Wednesday 14 October, 7–8pm
- Elizabeth Gaskell V Anne Brontë – Monsters and Madmen – Wednesday 21 October, 7–8pm
- Victorian Gothic – Haunted Houses and Night-time Terrors – Wednesday 28 October, 7–8pm
- Elizabeth Gaskell V George Eliot – The Moorland Cottage V The Mill on the Floss – Wednesday 18 November, 7–8pm
- A Victorian Christmas with Lucinda Dickens Hawksley – Wednesday 2 December, 7–8pm
Special Events
The Cultural Welcome: 7–11 October.
Christmas at Elizabeth Gaskell's House: Dates to be confirmed.
Digital Resources
A Digital Guide is available via Bloomberg Connects, which you can access before your arrival and during your visit.
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House offers private and bespoke group tours (10-50 people) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays – this must be booked in advance.
£17 per person which includes a guided tour, a hot drink and slice of cake in the tearoom.
See website or contact [email protected]
Groups of 10 or less people are welcome to visit on any public open days – Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sunday – but they must be pre-booked via the website.
Schools visits and tours available on Mondays, Tuesday and Fridays and must be pre-booked.
Primary School Visits
£4.50 per child (£3.75+VAT). Visit lasts 1.5 – 2 hours.
KS1/KS2: Victorians / Then & now
Who lived in a Victorian house like this? Through a variety of playful and hands-on activities, we will discover more about Elizabeth Gaskell’s Victorian home. Pupils will compare life in Victorian times to life today through three activities during their visit. These are usually;
A tour and exploration of the four Victorian rooms (can include a focus on the role of Victorian women)
Handling and talking about Victorian household objects and a chance to dress up
A craft activity making a Victorian toy (KS1) or a literacy activity (KS2) using chalks and ink
Curriculum areas: History, Literacy, Drama and Science.
Secondary, Higher and Further Education groups
From £10 per student. Refreshments also available for additional cost. 2 hours maximum.
We offer:
A private tour with our experienced guides (typically these last an hour).
A range of specialist talks/discussions on topics including:
– An introduction to Elizabeth Gaskell: writer and woman
– The Gaskells: a Victorian Manchester family
– Elizabeth Gaskell’s Novels
– Mary Barton and Manchester
Other bespoke talks can also be arranged with sufficient notice.
Email [email protected]
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House welcomes visitors with physical, sensory and learning disabilities. The team will do all they can to ensure that your visit is both comfortable and enjoyable.
If you have questions regarding your visit or would like more specific information please email [email protected]
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and Garden has step-free access throughout with full access for wheelchair users. There is a lift to all floors and access ramp at the side of the House to avoid the front stepped entrance.
Wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other walking aids can be used within the building and in the Garden
Accessible toilets on the lower ground and first floor. If you require a Changing Places toilet during your visit, the nearest one to us is in Manchester Museum, which is 0.57 miles away from Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. (Their address is Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL.)
There are two bookable accessible parking spaces available on-site for Blue Badge holders. Please phone 0161 273 2215 or email [email protected] to book a space. If you do not book we cannot guarantee there will be a space available during your visit.
Registered careers may visit free of charge with a paying visitor
Only trained assistance dogs, including guide dogs, are permitted inside the House, including in the Tea Room. Emotional support animals including dogs are not permitted inside the House.(Drinking water for assistant dogs isn’t supplied as standard so please ask if any is required)
Braille copy of the House guide book is available on request at the welcome desk and we can also provide large print copies of most of the reading material – please ask on arrival. Recommended quiet times to visit are Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, outside of school holidays
The majority of the collection and furnishings in the House can be touched and chairs sat on – our volunteers will advise.
Volunteers provide verbal interpretation in most of the rooms. Please let them know if you need any special accommodations (e.g. if you would like them to speak louder/quieter, more slowly or if you would like them to describe objects visually.)
Getting here
84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester, M13 9LW
Situated 1.5 miles from Manchester City Centre.
Several buses pass by the House (197, 191), or within a short walk. Oxford Road and Piccadilly Railway stations are both 1.5 miles away. Direct buses run from each.
Forthcoming events
Online Talk: The Shadows of Salem – Myth V Reality in Lois the Witch and Other Tales
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Online Event: Elizabeth Gaskell V Anne Brontë – Monsters and Madmen
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Online Talk: Victorian Gothic – Haunted Houses and Night-time Terrors
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Charlotte Brontë & Elizabeth Gaskell Twilight Tour
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Victorian Christmas Experience at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Online Event: Elizabeth Gaskell V George Eliot – The Moorland Cottage V The Mill on the Floss
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Online Event: A Victorian Christmas with Lucinda Dickens Hawksley
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Become a Historic Houses member
Explore the nation’s heritage for just £71 per year.
Hundreds of the most beautiful historic houses, castles, and gardens across Britain offer our members free entry.
Also: receive a quarterly magazine, enjoy monthly online lectures, get exclusive invitations to buy tickets for behind-the-scenes tours, and take up a range of special offers on holidays, books, and other products you might like.
