Plymouth Grove isn’t necessarily a street where you’d expect to find one of the most important literary sites in the country.
At first glance, this part of Longsight appears to consist of typical terrace housing in a standard neighbourhood. Yet, an extraordinary building stands amid these ordinary surroundings.
Sitting across from a row of terraces with a bold blue plaque, Elizabeth Gaskell House is a rare remaining example of a suburban regency villa in Manchester.
Painted pink for a time, over the years its number has changed from 42 to 84 as more properties have squeezed in around it.
The villa was purchased by the University of Manchester in 1969 and it was used by the International Society until the late 1990s. During this time, it housed a nightclub in its basement.
Home to local author Elizabeth Gaskell from 1850 to her death in 1865, this was where the majority of her critically significant novels were written, including the most famous, Cranford.
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It’s said that Cranford was her favourite book, with Gaskell even naming her cat after it.
Ahead of its time, the story has never been out of print in its 170-year history. Throughout the pages, Gaskell champions feminist values: breaking away from period norms to focus her tale on a group of self-reliant unmarried women.
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The world of Cranford has been popularised since the BBC adapted the world of Matty and Deborah Jenykns for television in 2007.
When the hit BBC1 series first aired it put Knutsford decidedly on the map, even if the town was, as Cheshire Life reported at the time, snubbed in favour of Wiltshire for filming.
Manchester’s part in the story, meanwhile, often gets overlooked.
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Dame Judi Dench as Miss Matty Jenkyns, the younger sister of Cranford’s moral guardian Miss Deborah. This costume is currently on show at the villa as part of new exhibit A Love Affair with Cranford / Image : BBC
Many will be aware of the popular TV series. But few are aware that, despite the title, it is actually a combination of three of Gaskell’s novels – Cranford, My Lady Ludlow,Mr. Harrison’s Confessions – all written during her time living in the house.
Today, the villa looks the same as it did when she was penning some of her most important work, right down to the quill and paper cast askew at her writing desk.
A rare first edition copy of Cranford is on display at the house outside the author’s newly-refurbished bedroom
Whilst Gaskell lived at Plymouth Grove, she received some notable visitors, and it’s easy to imagine the likes of Charles Dickens, John Ruskin, and Harriet Beecher-Stow reclining on the chintz settees in the plus drawing room.
You can also picture Gaskell’s good friend Charlotte Bronte shyly hiding behind the drapes to avoid an over-eager caller (which we have on good authority she definitely did during one stay).
Lovingly restored by some incredibly knowledgeable volunteers from the Manchester Historic Buildings Trust, you can still step in off the street today and feel like its famous former tenant has just popped out.
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They’ve painstakingly sourced every item inside using the house’s 1914 auction catalogue to make sure everything is as historically accurate as possible.
Inside Elizabeth Gaskell’s bedroom, restored by volunteers to look just as it did during the author’s lifetime
The detail is all there. And you can even ring the bells in the servant’s quarter, thanks to the efforts of one dedicated volunteer who rewired all the original bell pulls by hand.
The Study, Morning Room, Drawing Room and Dining Room have all been restored to how they were pre-1857, but the latest and most exciting new addition to the house is Gaskell’s bedroom – a project that kept the volunteers going through the past year’s successive lockdowns.
The focus of their energies during Covid, the restoration of Elizabeth Gaskell’s most private space was not easy to pull off – especially with borders and shops firmly closed. Still, they managed it, drawing on contacts and friends to help work around the issues 2020 threw at them.
The end result is something really special: a near-perfect recreation of the room in which Elizabeth would’ve dressed her children, written her personal letters, and maybe even parts of her iconic novels.
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It’s open to visit now every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 11am-4.30pm.
Tickets for a year’s admission are priced at just £5.50 for adults and £4.50 for senior citizens and students – and are well worth hanging on to for book lovers, who won’t want to miss the second-hand book sale that takes place here every month.
30 years ago, the IRA detonated a 1,500kg lorry bomb on Corporation Street in the heart of Manchester – here’s the story
Georgina Pellant
Today marks three whole decades since an explosion from the inside of a lorry parked on Corporation Street shattered windows and destroyed buildings across the city centre.
Causing an evisceration that stretched for miles, when the 1,500 kilogram IRA bomb went off in 1996, it was the biggest detonation in Great Britain since the Second World War.
Following the explosion, the city fell silent – leaving rack, rubble and ruin in its wake. Famously, one red post box was left standing – today fitted with a memorial plaque in remembrance of the tragedy.
It seems scary to think that back then, most people could only stand there, watch on and worry.
The bomb caused an estimated £700 million worth of damage to Manchester’s infrastructure and economy, and over a quarter of a century later, locals still tell the stories of where they were when it went off – and of the devastation it left behind.
Notably, one resident of the Cromford Court maisonettes on top of the Arndale – a 77-year-old RAF veteran suffering from the flu – didn’t even bother to get up when the telephone warning to evacuate hit, considering himself to have survived much worse feats during his time in military service.
Having been a rear gunner in a Lancaster in the war, he reportedly told police and authorities “he was buggered if he was going to let a small bomb affect him.”
In subsequent years, Danny O’Neill has become a part of an urban legend surrounding the bomb as his staggering story has been told time and time again.
Around 90 minutes prior to the detonation, the Provisional Irish Republican Army had telephoned in warnings – meaning that around 75,000 people were able to be evacuated from the area before the bomb went off from the back of a van.
However, the bomb squad were unable to defuse it in time, leading to over 200 injuries from people still left in the area.
Thankfully, despite those injuries, there were no fatalities, and many of those reported traumas came from the shattering of thousands of windows and other damage to buildings in which unsuspecting people were getting on with their days.
Several buildings near the explosion were damaged beyond repair and had to be demolished, while many more were closed for months for structural repairs, and this prompted the biggest regeneration of Manchester city centre ever – something that is still continuing to this day, arguably at a more rapid rate than ever.
The city lay dormant for days after the explosion, as people came to terms with what had happened and kept their distance. Many moved out of the centre for a period of time, while many more simply decided not to visit for fear of another incident.
It was a desolate place, eerily quiet, and in need of some serious TLC.
According to Home Office statistics, an estimated 400 businesses within half a mile (0.8 km) of the 1996 blast were affected, 40% of which did not recover.
Credit: Manchester Libraries
Market Street – near the explosion and at that time the second-busiest shopping street in the UK – was considered by some a “fearful” place, and one that was to be “avoided like the plague”.
The prospect of pulling Manchester’s bustling city centre out of its darkest depression was not casually approached by those in charge.
It was acknowledged as a mammoth task from the get-go, but Greater Manchester has never let anything get in its way. Despite how steep the hill is that we’re standing at the base of, we always manage to reach the peak, ready to go again.
Gig review | Lola Young’s Manchester comeback – A joyous return to stage at the O2 Apollo Manchester
Kristen MacGregor-Houlston
The excitement in the air is palpable in the O2 Apollo Manchester, the crowd is itching for her to make her way onto stage and is chanting her name – Manchester has missed you, Lola Young.
After an extended hiatus since she collapsed at the All Things Go festival in New York last September, Lola is back on a short tour to find her feet again. Whilst Manchester isn’t officially the first show, it is the headline performance for her comeback.
Lola’s break had come at a pivotal moment, with her third studio album, I’m Only F***ing Myself (2025), earning huge acclaim, performances across the globe, and endorsements from the likes of Elton John for her talent.
After cancelling all of her shows ‘for the foreseeable future’, Lola asked fans for their forgiveness, writing in an emotional statement: “I really hope you’ll give me a second chance once I’ve had some time to work on myself and come back stronger.”
Tough to handle for anyone, let alone a young rising artist.
It was clear to everyone that her hard work on herself had paid off, as this was a different Lola Young from the one I saw at Glastonbury last year: there was a calmness to her – she seemed more centred and more confident.
That calmness, however, did not mean a lacklustre performance: she is still a powerhouse; her stage presence is just magnetic, and it is clear to see how loved she is by her fans. The energy in the room didn’t falter the entire time she was on stage.
She kicked things off with ‘Sad Sob Story’, a song about moving on from a toxic relationship, which seemed fitting as she steps away from the drama and difficulties of last year into a fresh start. A wall-shaking opening number that set the scene for what was to follow with the rest of the show.
As part of her healing journey, Young stated that she has decided to write something special and specific for each show to tell herself if she’s worried or doubting her ability.
She shared her Manchester mantra with us: “When you are connected, when you express what you feel is true to you, when you open yourself up and share your very unique experience, remember you are electric… Those who want to listen will lean in, no matter your volume.”
Although she was clearly introspecting, she was also speaking to her audience, her fans, and expressing gratitude for them still being there. Shouts of support echoed out through the venue, her fans truly loving and supporting her as they have since day one, perhaps more so than ever.
Her performances of songs like ‘Big Brown Eyes’, ‘Not Like That Anymore’ and ‘Conceited’, showed just how much fun Lola was having on stage, being back and being surrounded by people who truly loved her.
At times, the crowd were singing along so loudly and passionately that she laughed and told the audience, “I can’t even hear myself in my own ears.” She had to occasionally take moments to step back and take it all in, seemingly overwhelmed with joy at the outpouring of love being reflected back to her.
Her band were also a stand-out, sharing in her energy and passion. It is clear that Young and her band could easily fill huge arenas with their talent and fervour, but this more intimate venue just seemed correct.
Lola continued to prove throughout the night why she was so deserving of her BRIT Award for ‘Breakthrough Artist of the Year’, and her Grammy nominations for ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Best Pop Solo Performance’.
Her vocal talent, emotional depth and electric stage presence were showcased in songs like ‘why do i feel better when i hurt you?’, ‘Post Sex Clarity’ and the incredible ‘You Noticed’, showing an extremely vulnerable side to her that had many audience members tearing up.
We saw all sides of Young during this show, with her iconic songs ‘One Thing’, ‘d£aler’ and ‘Messy’ practically blasting the roof off of the O2 Apollo Manchester.
The fans could hardly contain themselves, screaming the lyrics back at her – it was truly a night to remember for everyone.
With another night in Manchester due to popular demand, Lola promised to be back soon. Could it be a bigger tour, bigger venues, new music?
Who knows, but for now we’re just glad to see her healthy and have her back in our lives again.
Georgina Pellant -
18th June 2021 
