2025 Fundraising for Local Foodbank
Every year In Search of Ann Walker fundraises for the local foodbank. We do this to carry on Ann's wishes to give money to feed the people of Lightcliffe at Christmas in her will.
Ann Walker’s Fundraising Appeal 2024
Continuing the charitable tradition begun by William & Ann Walker Every year since 2020, In Search of Ann Walker has fundraised annually for a local foodbank in Ann Walker’s name because of the legacy she left in her will. This was similar to the one her uncle William left in his. In 2020 we raised £1300 for Wyke Foodbank In 2021 we raised £1686 for Brighouse Central Foodbank In 2022 we raised £2661 for Brighouse Central Foodbank In 2023 we raised £3050 for Brighouse Central Foodbank In 2024 we raised £2566 for Brighouse Central Foodbank Read on for more information about Ann’s will and charity and why we do this…
(Aunt) Mary Walker
A look into the life of the lesser known of Ann Walker’s paternal unmarried aunts, Mary Walker. She spent her life living at Crownest and Cliff Hill. In this blog, we separate the two Ann Walker’s (niece and aunt) by using the names Ann Walker and Aunt Ann Walker. Family Mary was the oldest child of William & Elizabeth Walker, born in 1747. Her siblings were :1 Her brother, John, was Ann Walker’s father. She was baptized 17 September 1747 at St Matthew’s Church in Lightcliffe.2. The Walker family were wealthy wool merchants and owned a vast amount of property. Elizabeth, Mary’s mother, was born a Caygill. Her brother…
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Elizabeth Mackay Sinclair Wemyss (née Sutherland)
Ann Walker’s Fundraising Appeal 2023
Continuing the charitable tradition begun by William & Ann Walker Every year since 2020, In Search of Ann Walker has fundraised annually for a local foodbank in Ann Walker’s name because of the legacy she left in her will. This was similar to the one her uncle William left in his. In 2020 we raised £1300 for Wyke Foodbank In 2021 we raised £1686 for Brighouse Central Foodbank in 2022 we raised £2661 for Brighouse Central Foodbank Read on for more information about Ann’s will and charity. Ann Walker’s Will Ann wrote her final will in 1841[1]. It was proved in May 1854, shortly after she died. Apart from several…
Ann’s Mourning of Anne
This blog seeks to show the ways in which Ann Walker explicitly and implicitly mourned her wife after her death in 1840. She would not have been able to grieve in the way we would expect a widow to do so due to the lack of acknowledgment and acceptance of the true nature of their relationship within wider society. These facts are based on primary resources found in the archives. Anne’s Death and Ann’s Return Anne Lister died in September 1840 while travelling with Ann Walker in Kutaisi, Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire. Although it is not known exactly what Anne Lister died of, letters found by a…
Elizabeth Sutherland’s Will
Elizabeth Sunderland, née Walker wrote her will in 1842; it can be found in her son-in-law’s (Stansfeld) family archive in Wakefield.1 Elizabeth Sutherland died on December 28, 1844, leaving husband George Mackay Sutherland and four surviving children: Mary (who would die the following year), Elizabeth (1832-1872), Ann Walker “Annie” (1837-1917), and Evan Charles (1835-1913), the eventual heir to the Walker Estates.She was buried on January 5, 1845 in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church in Wimbledon, then in Surrey, now in the London Borough of Merton. The church at St Mary’s was completed in 1843, and is the fourth to stand on the site; there has been a church there…
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ANN’S LEGACY AUCTION 2022
In order to raise money for Brighouse Central Foodbank for our annual fundraising to continue the legacy left in Ann Walker’s will, there are two unique items on auction. See the bottom of the blog for how the auction will run. ANNE LISTER QUILT This is a handmade quilt (with pole sleeve for wall hanging) called “Miss Lister of Shibden Hall” made in California by Gen McGarvey, a member of the Gentleman Jack fandom. It is 180cm x 180cm. This is an ideal gift for a fan of Anne Lister and Gentleman Jack. WALKER TAVERN “PUB SIGN” This is a professionally printed square sign (70cm x 70cm on 4mm Correx…
The Inquisition of Ann Walker
By Ian Philp (Friends of St Matthew’s Churchyard) It is well known that Ann Walker was found to be of unsound mind in 1843. This short article looks only at who were the jurors at the hearing, and then what we know of how much it cost to look after her. The hearings were called “Inquisitions” meaning an enquiry, rather than an imitation of an earlier religious institution. The process began with a petition to the Lord High Chancellor. When this was granted, a jury would be required, and solicitors briefed. From records in West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale, we do know Ann Walker attended the hearing , along with…
Ann Walker’s Fundraising Appeal 2022
Continuing the charitable tradition begun by William & Ann Walker Ann Walker’s Will Ann wrote her final will in 1841[1]. It was proved in May 1854, shortly after she died. Apart from several specific bequests and legacies, her entire estate was left to her nephew Evan Charles Sutherland. Evan was, in fact, the secondary beneficiary: in the will Ann specified her eldest nephew, George Sackville Sutherland, as the primary beneficiary. But as “little Sackville” had died in 1843 (between the date of Ann’s will and her death) the estate passed to Evan. The will was worded as follows: “To the use of my nephew George Sackville Sutherland and his assigns…
Ann’s Aunts, Uncles and Cousins
By Martin Walker [This page will be continuously updated as more is discovered about this family] Ann had numerous aunts, uncles and cousins and many are mentioned in her own diary, Anne Lister’s diaries and archive documents. This blog seeks to briefly introduce these family members so that the documents we are finding can be placed in Ann’s life more accurately. Ann’s parents were John Walker (1753-1823) and Mary Edwards (1763-1823); they were married on 18 June 1795 at Halifax Minster. Ann’s father had four brothers and sisters: Mary, William, Elizabeth and Ann (Aunt Ann of Cliff Hill). Only Elizabeth married – a Priestley – and had children. Of Ann’s…
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