The Pankhurst Centre

Emmeline Pankhurst (née Emmeline Goulden) is remembered as one of the many women who fought hard to help women gain the right to vote. Her 40-year campaign achieved success in 1928, the year of her death, when British women finally gained full equality when it came to voting in political elections. 

Pankhurst was born in Manchester and she and her family lived at number 62 Nelson Street from 1898 until 1907. The first meeting of the movement that became known as the suffragettes took place in the parlour of this house. Today, the house has been transformed into a museum where visitors can learn the story of women’s fight for the right to vote. 

The Pankhurst Centre sits in the Oxford Road Campus of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, it is the only place where members of the public can visit a former home of the Pankhurst family, and is the only museum in the world dedicated to the suffragette movement. 

Discover the home lives of Emmeline Pankhurst and her family and discover how Emmeline’s experience of radical politics in Manchester led her to begin her fight for equality. Follow the timeline of women’s activism in the city – from Edwardian parlour to contemporary Manchester – and discover the modern legacy of this historically significant building. 

After exploring the museum, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the crowd-funded suffragette garden, where you can take a seat on one of the suffragette-themed benches and reflect on what you have learnt — or perhaps discuss plans for a campaign of your own. 

The Pankhurst Centre continues to be a hub for the fight for women’s equality today. It acts as the headquarters of Manchester Women’s Aid, providing confidential services to victims of domestic abuse, as well as supporting women’s activism in Manchester and the local community. 

The heritage centre is open to the general public on Thursdays and Sundays from 11am until 4pm. Entry is free, with a suggested donation of £5 to help keep the centre up and running.