'A Large, cheerful, airy house, quite out of the Manchester smoke.'

Charlotte Brontë on visiting the House, 1851

The Manchester Historic Buildings Trust

Manchester Historic Buildings Trust was established in 1998 with the main aim of saving this Grade II* listed building.  In 2004, after a long campaign, the Trust acquired the freehold.  Their first priority was to make the house safe, by repairing the exterior and replacing the roof. 

The theft of the lead from the roof was a big setback, but in 2012 the Trust was given a substantial Heritage Lottery Fund grant. This, with other generous donations, enabled them to complete the restoration and to re-roof the House using steel.

Thanks to all the funders and supporters

The restoration of Elizabeth Gaskellʼs House was made possible by support and funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Bowland Charitable Trust, Cross Street Chapel, English Heritage, The Foyle Foundation, The Gaskell Society, J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust, Manchester City Council, Oglesby Charitable Trust, The Pilgrim Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Wolfson Foundation and numerous individuals. Our thanks to them all, and to the many dedicated people, specialists and volunteers, who have made the transformation possible.