Over 70 events and activities are taking place across Halifax to celebrate the birthday of one of the town’s most famous residents.
The famous landowner, entrepreneur, mountaineer, scholar, traveller, and lesbian, Anne Lister was born in Halifax on 3 April 1791.
To celebrate what would have been Anne’s 234th birthday, Calderdale Council is supporting a packed programme of events and activities from Saturday 29 March to Sunday 6 April 2025, as part of the fourth annual Anne Lister Birthday Festival.
Anne’s story will be brought to life, with opportunities to walk in her footsteps, exploring some of Halifax’s finest heritage buildings. This includes her family home of Shibden Hall, with special private tours featuring areas usually not accessible to the public.
Events are taking place throughout the week, with many walks, talks and art and craft activities. The Calderdale archives will also be open at Halifax Central Library, offering the chance to see Anne’s famous diaries in person.
Outside of the private tour times, Shibden Hall will be open as usual and will be hosting a number of costumes from the BBC/HBO series Gentleman Jack, exclusively for the duration of the Anne Lister Birthday Festival. Nearby Bankfield Museum will also be displaying outfits from the series as part of its Costume Drama exhibition.
On Thursday 3 April, the anniversary of Anne’s birth date, there will be the usual flower laying at the Anne Lister sculpture in the Piece Hall in the morning, with an Anne Lister Birthday Bash event at the Arches in Dean Clough, on the evening.
Friday 4 April will see the return of the Candlelit Concert, an emotionally charged event at Halifax Minster featuring renowned harpist, Fiona Katie Widdop and ‘The Square Pianist’ Lisa Timbs with her 1812 Clementi square piano. The concert will also feature local trio The Greyhounds, performing from their unique canon of original narrative songs.
For the first time, the festival will also include new events outside of Halifax. This includes a lesbian community film afternoon at Hebden Bridge Picture House, including the Yorkshire premiere of a new film, Lesvia, featuring an exclusive Q+A with the director. An Anne Lister Festival Community Regency Tea Dance is also set to take place at Todmorden College. Both events are being held on the first weekend of the festival.
The Council works closely with the wider Anne Lister community, and the festival also incorporates the Anne Lister Birthday Week (ALBW),(external link) and the Anne Lister Society’s academic conference.
The ALBW is a community-led series of events which started life in 2019 and is the brainchild of US-based Pat Esgate, who discovered Anne Lister’s story through Gentleman Jack. The Anne Lister Society aims to foster knowledge of Lister’s extraordinary life and writings and to interpret her legacy and their conference will once again welcome academics from across the world to Calderdale.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, Cllr Danielle Durrans, said:
“The annual Anne Lister birthday festival is getting bigger each year, with the 2025 edition featuring as part of our CultureDale programme and including over 70 incredible events. People are invited to Calderdale to celebrate the life and legacy of this courageous woman and appreciate the heritage and nature of the borough.
“February is LGBTQ+ History Month and we’re very proud of Anne’s extraordinary story. We continue to see how it inspires people from all over the world and it’s quite incredible that someone who lived over 200 years ago is still having an impact on people’s lives today.
“The Birthday Festival offers something for everyone, whether you know Anne’s story inside out, or if you just want to find out more about her amazing life or Calderdale’s fascinating culture and heritage. It’s wonderful that we’re able to offer so many opportunities for people to come together in Anne’s hometown and birthplace.
“I can safely say that anyone attending the festival will be warmly welcomed, with both free and paid-for events to inspire and entertain visitors from near and far.”
Visit www.annelisterofhalifax.co.uk(external link), the home of all things Anne Lister, for more information and details of the festival.
As part of the borough’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Calderdale is hosting a Year of Culture, with a diverse programme of events and activities into 2025, catering to all ages and interests. Find out more at www.culturedale.co.uk(external link)