Halifax: 'Gentleman Jack' town to celebrate Lister legacy

A series of events to celebrate the life and legacy of Halifax's Anne Lister will begin in the town on the anniversary of her death.

Ms Lister, who died aged 49 on 22 September 1840, was a landowner, entrepreneur and celebrated diarist.

Those diaries, written in code, detailed her love affairs with women and inspired the Gentlemen Jack TV series.

Calderdale Council said her story was "woven into the fabric of Halifax".

Tours are available of Ms Lister's Shibden Hall home, external while Bankfield Museum hosts exhibitions featuring costumes from the TV series and fashion from the Georgian age.

Halifax Central Library and Archive is due to host two free exhibitions that link Ms Lister to other aspects of 19th Century life in the town.

Heritage walks, including a special visit to Lower Brear and a chance to see inside Lightcliffe Tower and the memorials it contains, including Ann Walker's newly restored plaque, will also take place.

Halifax Minster is due to host a formal memorial service on Friday from 19:00 BST as well as themed tours across the weekend, external.

On 24 September, Calderdale Industrial Museum will host historian and the editor of Ms Lister's diaries, Helena Whitbread.

Her lecture, which requires pre-booking, will focus on Eliza Raine, Ms Lister's first girlfriend.

Full details of the weekend are available on a special section of the council's website, external.

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