Whether you are looking for a Victorian themed school trip or a chance to learn about an important Manchester woman, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House can offer a school visit to meet the learning needs of your school group.

Described 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. Elizabeth Gaskell was a celebrated Victorian author and social activist best known for writing Cranford, North and South and the biography of her friend Charlotte Bronte. Elizabeth welcomed other Victorians such as Charles Dickens and Charlotte Bronte to her House.

Her family mixed with a range of Victorian society from the poor of the workhouse to the likes of Florence Nightingale and Charles Darwin. Elizabeth and her family did a great deal to help the working people of Manchester including supporting and delivering education to the Victorian working classes. They ran early forms of food-banks, supported unmarried mothers and were actively involved in the anti-slavery movement.

Building on the legacy of Elizabeth Gaskell and her family, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House offers a hands-on approach and relaxing environment mean for an inspiring, sensory and creative space for school children of all ages.