Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Mrs Gaskell’s husband, and a Unitarian minister at Cross St. Chapel in Manchester. Apart from a description of him as “a good and kind man” he seems to have made little impression on Charlotte. He was, however, a notable figure in Manchester life, with charitable and far-sighted initiatives in education, in bettering the working and living conditions of the poor, and in religious life. He had a lifelong interest in dialect study, and he taught both at Manchester New College (where he was Professor of English History and Literature) and at Owens College, which was to develop into Manchester University. He was a humane, scholarly man whose influence in the Lancashire area was immense. ... log in or subscribe to read full text