Shibden Hall
Calderdale Heritage Walks winter newsletter, Jan 2023
Happy New Year! Here is our winter newsletter with an update on what’s happening at Calderdale Heritage Walks until the end of March.
Did you know that there are fifteen Grade 1 listed buildings in Calderdale? How many can you name? During 2023 we will be visiting several. (https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/calderdale/grade-i#.Y68bJxXP2kM) may help you!
Our very popular walk to Dobroyd Castle in March has now sold out, but we plan to repeat the walk in the summer programme. We have added two more walks. The Coiners in Halifax on 12th March; and Halifax Murders, sudden deaths and other events on the evening of 27th March. You will need to book for these late additions on https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/calderdale-heritage-walks.
Sunday 15th January : ‘Cornholme Cornucopia’, meeting Anne Mealia at 1.30pm outside the Waggon & Horses OL14 8NQ. You’ll have the chance to learn more about the village’s industrial, literary and supernatural past.
29th January : Join Anne Kirker on a wander round Ripponden looking at its fine buildings, textile history and much more. Meet at Ripponden Parish Church gates HX6 4DG at 1.30pm.
For these and all our remaining winter walks there is no need to book – just turn up and pay the guide £4.
The Winter Programme, available on https://calderdaleheritagewalks.org.uk/winter.html shows what is to come in February and March including Shibden Hall parkland; northern Elland; a new walk around Dean Clough and Bowling Dyke; pubs and beer houses in Norwood Green; and buildings around Arden Road, Halifax.
We expect to publish our summer programme in late February or early March. It will be emailed to all our members and will also be available as a printed programme in local libraries, The Hub and various other outlets; on our own website, and Calderdale What’s On.
https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/leisure-and-culture/whatson
We hope that you find something of interest over the next few months, and we look forward to seeing you on one or more of our walks. Remember to wrap up warm and to come prepared for seasonal wet, cold and windy weather! It’s also a good idea to check our facebook page for updates on what’s happening, and in case a walk has to be unexpectedly cancelled at short notice.
Take a virtual walk to Aachen and support Happy Days homeless charity
It is 520 miles to Aachen, Halifax’s twin town and we think that together we are up for the challenge! In addition to the walks below, team Full Circle will add up our additional miles walked but we really need your help to get there!
The proceedings of this fundraiser are for the homeless charity Happy Days.
The walks will be at a gentle pace and about 5 km long. Please wear suitable clothing and sturdy footwear. Everyone is welcome to join.
This is a great opportunity to meet with friends, connect with new people, learn about Happy Days and spend some time appreciating the beautiful Calderdale countryside.
For more information on the project and for the individual walks, please visit FCF Virtual walk to Aachen – supporting Happy Days | Localgiving
Anne Lister Birthday week 1st-10th of April
“What a dynamo of a character! A Nineteenth Century land-owning, business-operating, mountain- and social-climbing genius who didn’t take any guff from any man. A woman who wanted a wife! A woman who recorded every bit of her interior and exterior world, leaving us a written record of her life and times, unmatched by anyone, ever.” — https://www.annelisterbirthdayweek.com/ Why, What Who
The festival will bring Anne Lister’s story to life through tours, talks, gatherings and the distinctiveness of Halifax’s stunning heritage sites, including Anne’s historic home, Shibden Hall, plus Halifax Minster, The Piece Hall, Dean Clough, The Victoria Theatre, Bankfield museum and many more.
Libraries across Calderdale will mark Anne’s birthday with displays, writing workshops, drawing corners, themed kids’ activity sheets and more.
More information and visiting / booking details for events can be found at the Visit Calderdale website:
www.visitcalderdale.com/anne-lister-birthday-festival-2022
Further read
Visit Calderdale: Events information and things Anne Lister related
Anne Lister Birthday Week festival
Anne Lister’s birthday celebration goes global
Happy 230th Birthday Anne Lister! April 3rd
This year marks the 230th anniversary of the birthday of Anne Lister of Shibden Hall. We’d like to join together and wish her a happy birthday and remember all the wonderful things her life meant not just for little old Halifax but far and beyond Calderdale.
The lady herself
Anne Lister was a remarkable, pioneering woman, ahead of her time. She had the courage to live an unapologetic life according to her choices, away from society’s expectations.
Her persona has received recognition due to the HBO acclaimed series Gentleman Jack based on her character and life.
Journalist
Anne Lister was a prolific journalist. She had been keeping detailed diaries since very early in her life, a lot of it written in code. Those diaries provide valuable insight of life during her time in Halifax and places she visited, highlighting some of the issues around travelling, especially for women not escorted by male companions.
Lesbian
Most of her coded entries express her thoughts about her lesbianism, which she wholly accepts, even though she kept discreet. To this day, her journals are the source of much of the modern UK Gender Studies and Women’s History.
Anne Lister has the first confirmed same sex marriage. She had wed her wife, Ann Walker and had taken the sacrament with her in Yorkminster. An honourary blue plaque commemorating this is erected in her name in the Holy Trinity Church in York.
Financial enterpreneur
At a time when women had a secondary role in society, before they even had a vote, Anne Lister managed her own estate of Shibden Hall. She maintained the grounds and the buildings and financed them by running her own business.
Anne Lister held investments in the then singularly man-controlled markets of mining, canals and rail roads. A lot of her income came from rent from tenants of the Shibden estate and properties she held in Halifax.
Traveller / blogger
Anne Lister was also well known for her travels, far and wide in Europe and beyond. Her expeditions ranged from cosmopolitan cities of Europe to the challenging mountain ranges of the Pyrinees. She wrote extensive accounts of her travels, making her one of the earliest bloggers, long before the web or Youtube.
Some of her entries speak of profound loneliness and it may be believed that she felt alone and unappreciated. Perhaps she was disliked for her lifestyle choices or perhaps she was frowned upon as one of her lovers ended up becoming committed to a mental asylum, citing Anne Lister as the reason.
We must still acknowledge that she was a woman of formidable intellect, courageous and brave, who set the benchmark.
Though she may not have intentionally chosen to challenge the world, by being true to herself, she has paved the way forward instigating improvements and changes that we now take for granted.
One of her journal’s entries reads “How sweet the thought that there is (still) another & better & happier world than this.”
I wonder what would she think of our world, knowing that she has helped shaped it. In this day and age, she probably wouldn’t turn as many heads or raise as many eyebrows but if she had a Facebook page and a Youtube channel with her thoughts and travels, I expect she’d have a lot of subscribers.
Sources:
― Quote: The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister
― Anne Lister The first modern Lesbian
― Anne Lister and Shibden Hall – Historic England
― Anne Lister Wikipedia entry
Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack) of Shibden Hall
The wait is almost over! Gentleman Jack will be on BBC1 this Sunday 19 May, 9:00pm – the story of our very own Anne Lister from Shibden Hall.
Find out more about this extraordinary woman and the fantastic place in which she lived.
It’s 1832 in West Yorkshire, England — the cradle of the evolving Industrial Revolution — where landowner Anne Lister is determined to save her faded ancestral home, Shibden Hall, even if it means bucking society’s expectations. In addition to reopening the coal mines, a part of Lister’s plan to help her family is to marry well. But the charismatic, single-minded Lister — who dresses head-to-toe in black and charms her way into high society — has no intention of marrying a man.
“Gentleman Jack” examines Lister’s relationships with her family, servants, tenants and industrial rivals, and would-be wife. The real-life Anne Lister’s story was recorded in her diaries, and the most intimate details of her life are revealed for the series.
Friends of Shibden Park AGM
The Friends of Shibden Park and Estate invite you to the AGM on Monday 8 April, 1:30pm at Shibden Hall to find out what being in a Friends Group at Shibden involves.
Find out what they have been up to and hear about the funding and their plans.
All friends are welcome to attend, so please share with your fellow friends.
Unveiling Blue Plaque in Tribute to Anne Lister
The fascinating life of Anne Lister will be honoured by a blue plaque at Shibden Hall, Halifax.
The plaque will be unveiled on a very special day – Wednesday 3 April 2019 – which is the diarist’s 229th birthday.
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between the location and a famous person, event or former building on the site.
Anne Lister (1791 – 1840) lived at and eventually owned and managed Shibden Hall and Estate. She recorded her life in great detail from 1806 to 1840 in diaries consisting of over five million words, some of which are in secret code.
The story of this remarkable scholar, traveller, business woman, landowner and lesbian, along with the distinctive Shibden Hall and surrounding areas, will be showcased in the BBC and HBO drama, Gentleman Jack, which is coming soon.
Calderdale Council will jointly host a blue plaque unveiling and celebration event with Halifax Civic Trust, who organised the plaque and its wording. Everyone is welcome and attendees will include the Mayor of Calderdale, the Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and biographers Helena Whitbread and Jill Liddington.
Helena Whitbread – historian, biographer and editor of Anne Lister’s diaries – began studying the journals over 30 years ago. She published the first volume in 1988 and the second volume in 1993. Jill Liddington, Honorary Research Fellow at Leeds University, wrote the books Female Fortune and Nature’s Domain, which inspired the Gentleman Jack series.
On Wednesday 3 April, 3:30pm the event will start with a free talk by Helena and Jill in Shibden Hall’s Aisled Barn. Places are limited so advance booking is essential through Eventbrite.
At 4.30pm the blue plaque unveiling will take place outside the front entrance to the Hall by the lawn. This is also free to attend. The Mayor of Calderdale, Cllr Marcus Thompson, will officially unveil the plaque.
Richard Macfarlane, Calderdale Council’s Museums Manager, said:
“Anne Lister left a remarkable legacy and played a key role in shaping the Shibden Hall and Estate that we know and love today. Having a blue plaque there is a fitting tribute. It’s especially poignant that the unveiling takes place on Anne’s birthday and in the run-up to the new Gentleman Jack series going on air. We look forward to welcoming people to this exciting event, and it’s also the perfect chance to visit the museum before it appears on our TV screens.”
Halifax Civic Trust’s blue plaques co-ordinator, David Hanson, said:
“The Trust was delighted to promote a blue plaque commemorating Anne Lister in her home town. As businesswoman, landowner, international traveller and famously as ‘the first modern lesbian’, Anne Lister was ahead of her time. With the rediscovery of her diaries and current interest, home and abroad, she is set to become perhaps Halifax’s best known personality.”
Shibden Hall will be open as normal on Wednesday 3 April, from 10am to 5pm, and the usual entry charges apply.
The Hall hosts regular Anne Lister based tours and for the third year, will hold private guided tours of Shibden Hall on Anne’s birthday. Always popular, this year’s birthday tours are now fully booked, but look out for more events at www.calderdale.gov.uk/museums
Shibden Hall Re-opens on the 2nd March 2019
Shibden Hall is the focus of a new BBC drama series written by Sally Wainwright, ‘Gentleman Jack’ exploring the life of Anne Lister (1791 – 1840) and those who lived in the Hall and Estate. The series, entitled ‘Gentleman Jack’ is currently being filmed and will be aired on BBC and HBO in 2019.
Set in the picturesque Shibden valley, a mile from Halifax, Shibden Hall dates back to 1420 and offers visitors a fascinating journey through the lives of the people who lived and worked here, including the noted diarist Anne Lister (1791 – 1840).
Shibden Hall’s architecture is a mix of styles reflecting its interesting and varied history. The adjacent 17th century aisled barn and workshops house a carriage collection and displays relating to different crafts, including a blacksmiths, coopers, wheelwrights and saddlers. Shibden even has a recreated brewhouse and inn.
The Hall is surrounded by the beautifully restored gardens and estate that forms Shibden Park. There are a range of features and attractions, including a cafe and visitor facilities, miniature railway, boating lake, pitch & putt course as well as trails, play area, orienteering course and woodland in which to roam. The surrounding park is open as usual during 2018.
Follow @ShibdenHall on Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about both Shibden Hall and Estate, and Anne Lister on our Anne Lister page.
Cinderella Magic Wand Workshop at Shibden Hall
On Saturday 15 December meet Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother at Shibden Hall in this magical costumed workshop.
Help Cinderella with her chores and discover old toys. Create your magic wand and cast a spell to send Cinderella to the ball.
Adults £3.50, Children £7. Includes admission to the hall. Time slots available:
- 11:15am-1:00pm
- 1:30pm-3:15pm
Booking is essential. You can book online at the Calderdale museums website.
For more information email shibden.hall@calderdale.gov.uk or call 01422 352246
Anne Lister Day at Shibden Hall
Anne Lister’s birthday falls on 3 April.
There will be a celebration of Anne’s life (1791-1840) on Tuesday 3 April, 10am to 5pm at Shibden Hall.
Hear from biographer Helena Whitbread and writer Sally Wainwright about her forthcoming TV series ‘Gentleman Jack.’
The day will include a guided tour and behind the scenes access to the Hall and collections relating to Anne, and a guided walk around the estate.
£35 per person. Includes lunch and birthday cake.
Please book in advance as places are limited by calling 01422 352334 during museum opening hours or book online at Eventbrite.
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