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Shibden Hall is a
Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
historic house located in a public park at
Shibden Shibden is a small dispersed community in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. Shibden Hall has a north-west driveway to its lake, café and miniature railway; an adjoining driveway runs up a landscaped garden to the hall which hosts the West ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England. The building has been extensively modified from its original design by generations of residents, although its Tudor half-timbered frontage remains its most recognisable feature. One of its most notable residents was
Anne Lister Anne Lister (3 April 1791 – 22 September 1840) was an English diarist, famous for revelations for which she was dubbed "the first modern lesbian". Lister was from a minor landowning family at Shibden in Calderdale, West Riding of Yorkshir ...
who inherited the hall from a relative. Lister has been described as being the "first modern lesbian" due to her "love... fthe fairer sex" that she documented in her diaries.


History

The hall dates back to around 1420, when it was recorded as being inhabited by one William Otes. Prior to 1619, the estate was owned by the Savile and Waterhouse families. The three families' armorial symbols are recorded in a stone-
mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
ed 20-light window at the hall. For more than 300 years (c. 1615–1926) the Shibden estate was in the hands of the Lister family, wealthy mill-owners and cloth merchants, the most famous resident being
Anne Lister Anne Lister (3 April 1791 – 22 September 1840) was an English diarist, famous for revelations for which she was dubbed "the first modern lesbian". Lister was from a minor landowning family at Shibden in Calderdale, West Riding of Yorkshir ...
(1791–1840), who became sole owner of the hall after the death of her aunt. She commissioned York architect John Harper and landscape gardener Samuel Gray in 1830 to make extensive improvements to the house and grounds. A gothic tower was added to the building for use as a library and the major features of the park created, including terraced gardens, rock gardens, cascades and a boating lake. A "
Paisley shawl Paisley shawls were a fashionable item of women's clothing in the 19th century made of intricately woven and delicate wool. Although known as the Paisley pattern, the teardrop motif originated in Persia and India, becoming popular in Europe—and ...
" garden designed for the terrace by Joshua Major was added in the 1850s. After Anne Lister's death in 1840 in the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...
, the estate passed to her partner, Ann Walker, who died in 1854. Possession then returned to the Lister family, who donated it to Halifax Corporation in 1933. In 1934 the Corporation opened it as a museum. The estate became a public park in 1926 and the hall a museum in 1934. The property has been a
Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
since 3 November 1954. The park and gardens were restored between 2007 and 2008 with almost £3.9 million from the
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
and £1.2 million from
Calderdale Council Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. The council styles itself Calderdale Council. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshir ...
. The gardens were listed Grade II on 27 June 2000. The hall is currently open to the public, the "West Yorkshire Folk Museum" being housed in an adjoining barn and farm buildings. The hall has a variety of restored workshops, including a
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
, a basket-weaving shop, a
tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
, a
stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
and an extensive collection of horse-drawn
carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping ...
s. The park also contains a
dry stone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction me ...
walling exhibition, children's play area and miniature steam railway. The hall has been used for filming the movie ''
Peterloo The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Fifteen people died when cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliame ...
'', and the 2019 and 2022 BBC/HBO television series '' Gentleman Jack'' about its former owner Anne Lister. As a result of the television series, watched by almost six million people each week, the hall saw a trebling of visitors, leading Calderdale Council to plan an extension of the opening times. The oak-panelled music room contains a square piano, dated 1769, by John Pohlman, one of his oldest. The piano has never been restored, although the oak stand is not original.


See also

* Grade II* listed buildings in Calderdale * Listed buildings in Northowram


References


Bibliography

*


External links


The Restoration and Enhancement of Shibden Park
at
Landscape Institute The Landscape Institute (LI) is a UK based professional body for the landscape profession. Its membership includes landscape architects, urban designers, landscape planners, landscape scientists and landscape managers. The LI also has a categ ...
Yorkshire & Humber Branch {{West Yorkshire museums 1420s establishments in England Buildings and structures in Halifax, West Yorkshire Country houses in West Yorkshire Gardens in West Yorkshire Grade II* listed buildings in West Yorkshire Grade II listed parks and gardens in West Yorkshire Historic house museums in West Yorkshire LGBT history in England Museums in Halifax, West Yorkshire Timber framed buildings in Yorkshire