Anne Lister: Festival planned to mark Yorkshire's celebrated LGBT pioneer's 233rd birthday

While her diaries have been long studied in academic circles, even Halifax residents – where Lister lived – would have been forgiven for knowing little about the 19th century landowner.

How different it is now as Lister’s legacy as a pioneering figure in LGBT history has enjoyed a resurgence turbo-charged by Sally Wainwright’s TV hit Gentleman Jack.

And a series of events planned to mark Lister’s birthday later this Spring will bring her story to life once more, according to Calderdale Council.

Lister was born on April 3 1791 in Halifax, and in the course of her 49 years wrote some four million words in a coded diary full of detail of her sexual exploits with other women.

While the code was initially broken by her descendent John Lister in the 1890s, his desire for his own sexuality to remain secret meant he hid the diaries behind a panel at Shibden Hall, which had been Anne Lister’s home.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that academics retranslated the code in Lister’s diaries, and her status as one of the most historically important lesbians in British history was cemented.

Events marking Anne Lister Birthday Festival from April 1 to 8 include a Q&A session with Sally Wainwright, the creator of Gentleman Jack as well as other TV powerhouses including Last Tango in Halifax and Happy Valley.

And a special birthday bash is planned for April 6 at Halifax’s Dean Clough Mill, with attendees encouraged to dress either as Lister or one of her lovers, including Ann Walker, who Lister symbolically ‘married’ at Holy Trinity Church in York in 1834 by taking communion together.

Tours will also take place of Shibden Hall, including a rare opportunity to visit the Library Tower, which Lister designed before taking her last trip to Georgia, where she died in 1840.

The festival is run by Calderdale Council in conjunction with organisations Anne Lister Birthday Week and the Anne Lister Society, which also runs an academic conference.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Towns, Tourism and Voluntary Sector, Coun Sarah Courtney, said: “The Anne Lister Birthday Festival is back for 2024 and it’s already proving as popular as ever, both locally and further afield.

“In previous years, the festival has welcomed visitors from as far away as America and Australia, demonstrating the worldwide appeal of Anne Lister.

“Events as part of the festival are already selling out, but with such a packed programme including around 70 events, there’s still so much to experience, with something for everyone.”

This year’s festival is taking place just ahead of the official launch of the Calderdale Year of Culture, which takes place on Saturday April 13.