Ann's Places
Research on places Ann Walker visited or would have known in Lightcliffe, Halifax and beyond
Ann’s Early Travels
It has been thought that Ann Walker never travelled, that she never left her home. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Scarborough The earliest mention of Ann taking a trip is 12 July 1821 in Anne Lister’s diary. She wrote that the Walker family was going to Scarborough for three weeks. Unfortunately, this entry is the only record found to date of this trip. Learn more about Scarborough here. “Between 12 and 1 Miss Anne Walker and her brother (of Crownest) called and staid 1/2 hour they are all going to Scarborogh [sic] for 3 weeks on Saturday” West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale SH:7/ML/E/5/0042 Trip to Weymouth On 4…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
Ann’s Shibden in the News
It’s unknown exactly what it was like for Ann Walker to live in her matrimonial home after losing her wife, Anne Lister. The memories of their years together at Shibden Hall were probably ever present on her mind. Anyone who has been widowed, knows that feeling of deep emptiness and hopefully, over time, the eventual comfort of those precious memories. For Ann, the loss happened on foreign soil and it took months for her wife’s body to return to Halifax. Author’s Note, this blog will cover some events surrounding Shibden Hall during Ann’s time there after Anne’s death that can be traced through newspaper articles. Crime was not an unusual…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
The Inman Family
Marian Lister was close to her Inman cousins. Here’s more information on them. Lister Inman Connection Marian & Anne Lister’s aunt Fanny (their mother Rebecca’s sister) married William Appleton in 1795.1 Their daughter, Marian’s cousin Mary Anne, was born in 17952 and married John Inman, a surgeon, in 1813.3 The Inmans had at least 3 children: Sarah (1820)4 Mary Ferreman (1824)5 and Eskricke John (1828).6 The Inman children were second cousins to Marian and played an important role in her life through the years. They would visit Marian and she them, travelled together and after she left Shibden Hall, their presence was a constant. Inman Cousins Sarah Inman Sarah is…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
Ann Walker in Paris
By Julie Gonnet During her 1834 honeymoon trip with Anne Lister, Ann Walker discovered Paris. Through her diary and her letters, we can follow in her footsteps and get her first impressions of a foreign capital. As she prepared to leave on her honeymoon trip with Anne Lister in June 1834, Ann Walker merely told her relatives she was “going to Paris for a few weeks”1. Her journey took her far beyond, across the whole of France and as far as Italy and Switzerland, but she did stay in the French capital from 17th to 23rd of June, and from 21st to 24th of August, on her way back to…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
Ann’s Ledger Stone & Update
A blog by In Search of Ann Walker (ISAW), Friends of St Matthew’s Churchyard (FoSMC) and Anne Lister Birthday Week (ALBW) to record the process of obtaining a ledger stone for Ann Walker and her two aunts buried with her. Ann’s burial Ann Walker died on 25th February 1854 after a short illness. More information on the death of Ann Walker can be found here – The Last Days of Ann Walker She was buried in a vault inside Old St Matthew’s Church on 3 March 1854, with Rev. Charles Musgrave conducting the service. Her aunts Mary Walker and Ann Walker predeceased Ann and are also buried in the same…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
An Overview of Asylums in England to 1850 and the Connection with Ann Walker
Contents Preface To better understand Ann Walker’s mental health journey in the first half of the 19thCentury, it is helpful to consider the era and societal attitudes to see what asylums andrelated systems were not and to avoid framing her experience by modern standards.This piece will provide an overview of the growth of asylums from the early 18th CenturyEnglish history until she died in 1854. It will also examine the role of the LunacyCommission in managing the care and property of mentally ill people. Because AnnWalker was a part of society’s upper class, and that will be the primary focus.Colloquially, the terms ‘mad’, ‘madhouse’, and ‘mad doctor’ were used interchangeablywith…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
A Short History of Heworth Grange
Ann Walker famously stayed at Heworth Grange in 1834 while under Dr Belcombe’s care just before and after sealing her union with Anne Lister. Definitions of grange1: Early History The site of Heworth Grange house lies to the north of a road called Heworth Green, which itself lies to the west of the village of Heworth. Heworth village, now a suburb of York, is about a mile from York Minster: through Monk Bar and over the river Foss at Monk Bridge. Anne Lister could easily walk from the Belcombes’ or the Black Swan to Heworth Green in less than 25 minutes. The village was settled during the Roman period, and…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
Hipperholme Grammar School Clock & the Shibden Hall Connection
Did you know that Ann Walker & Anne Lister subscribed toward the Hipperholme Grammar School clock in 1835? According to Anne Lister’s diary entry of 31 July 1835, both women contributed to the new clock. “…then A- off to Cliff Hill – I wrote the last 2 lines of page 129, the whole of the last page and so far of this – then had Messrs. Charles Robinson and Henry to solicit subscriptions to the Hipperholm school clock – the trustees put down £10 and Mr Warburton £5 and A- desired that I should put down her name for £10 – I said I was glad they had gained her…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
Kirkstall Abbey
One of the best preserved 12th-century monastic sites in England. Visited by Ann Walker and Anne Lister in 1835. Gentleman Jack Anne, of course, describes the visit in her journal[1], mentioning that “A[nn] and he set off for the abbey about ¼ hour before me – I there at 10 55/..” (adding that “A[nn] & Mr B[rown] had not chosen their station“). Anne’s narration starts off with “Three very good kisses last night” – although actually, the day’s diary entry opens with “\5|4?” – “no kiss“. Anne also describes her route to the Abbey from their inn, the Star & Garter. It’s no longer an inn, but the building that…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
Adney Bridge, Shibden Park
Adney Bridge, a small bridge that leads from Shibden Hall to the Gatehouse in Shibden Park, was so named by Anne Lister. Anne had this bridge built in 1835 as she renovated her home, Shibden Hall, employing the services of John Harper, an architect from York. Adney was the nickname that Anne gave her wife, Ann Walker and mentioned this name throughout her diary entries which cover their relationship. It is sometimes spelled with an ”e” (Adney) and sometimes without (Adny). Anne and Ann took the sacrament together on Easter day in 1834 at Holy Trinity Goodramgate, York and considered themselves married. Their union is widely considered to be the…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall