A short stroll from Manchester train station will take visitors to 84 Plymouth Grove, most famous for one particular resident: the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell. The author lived in the house from 1850 to 1865 and she is best known for her novels Cranford, Ruth, North and South and Wives and Daughters, as well as the biography of her friend Charlotte Brontë.
The house is a rare example of Regency-style villas that were popular in this area of Manchester and the rooms have been restored to reflect how they might have looked and felt in Gaskell’s time. The garden has also been restored – and won awards – providing a beautiful oasis amidst the urban sprawl.
In the basement of the house (formerly the kitchen) there is a cosy tearoom and gift shop.
Booking is required for those wishing to visit the house. It is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 11am until 4.30pm, with timed entries (last entry 3pm). Tickets are released a month in advance – visit the website for more: https://elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/
There is free parking on the roads near the house and a bicycle rack for those cycling. Manchester Piccadilly station is 1.2 miles away and bus route 197 drops visitors on the correct road.