Ann's Places
Research on places Ann Walker visited or would have known in Lightcliffe, Halifax and beyond
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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
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Young Ann’s Note
Ann Walker knew Anne Lister from long before they reconnected and began a relationship in 1832. The Lister and Walker families had known each other for many years even before Ann or Anne were born. A Lister family history notebook states that one of the Listers (John) had died while riding his horse alongside William Walker of Crownest in 1759, suggesting the families had been known to each other for over 50 years before Anne Lister mentions the Walkers in her diaries. (1) Fast forward several years to August 1820, when Ann Walker was 17 years old and living with her parents and siblings at Crownest on the family estate.…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
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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
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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
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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
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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
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The Piece Hall – Halifax Landmark
A short blog on the events at the Piece Hall in Halifax and the connection to Ann Walker and Anne Lister. In 1779, the Piece Hall in Halifax was built on land donated by John Caygill, a wealthy merchant, replacing the original Cloth Hall of 1572. It was designed by Thomas Bradley with a large courtyard surrounded by over 315 small rooms on three sides, north, south and west. Due to the slope of the ground, there were three levels on the eastern side that taper to two levels to the west. Cloth piece trading, 30-yard length fabric, would take place every Saturday for two hours of each week. Ann…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
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William Rawson & Co. and the Birth of Rawson’s Bank
By Martin Walkerhttps://twitter.com/ListeriaUKlisteria.uk Christopher Rawson really was Ann Walker’s cousin: Ann’s cousin Mary Priestley (daughter of Ann’s aunt Elizabeth Walker) married Christopher’s brother William in 1806. The “strategic marriages” of both the Rawson and Walker families meant that by the turn of the 19th century, both were very powerful and influential in Halifax. With the rise of the banking business in the first decade of the century, it seems that the Rawsons were able to consolidate their influence – perhaps becoming the dominant family in the Halifax area. Certainly, their business interests became more concentrated in Rawson hands as the inter-familial partnerships were disbanded. Could the 1806 return of Christopher…
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
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Slavery and Shibden Hall
Has Shibden Hall in Halifax any links with slavery?
