Gentleman Jack: The house on the Shibden Hall estate renovated by Anne Lister as a 'doer-upper'

Anne, played by Suranne Jones in the TV adaptation, was an astute businesswoman who took charge of her family's ancestral home near Halifax and ran the estate.

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While the new series will explore her same-sex relationship with partner Ann Walker, it's unlikely to focus on one of her lesser-known interests - property development.

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Anne was an enthusiastic 'doer-upper' who supervised the Georgian renovation of Nether Brea, a house on the Shibden estate that dates from the 1500s and which is still occupied today.

Anne inherited Shibden in 1836. At the time, nearby Nether Brea was owned by the Listers and rented out to a family friend called George Robinson.

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Anne was a regular visitor to the property, and was responsible for its first major makeover and its Georgian frontage. She also restored and extended Shibden Hall itself.

In 2011, Nether Brea was purchased by Michael and Josephine Geraghty, who planned to turn it into a boutique B&B. They restored it to its 19th-century glory, and were commended by the Halifax Civic Trust for their work.

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Michael said:-

“The house needed complete renovation and, as well as uncovering and preserving what was there, we put a lot of effort into putting features back in. Both eras in its history, the 1500s when it was built and the early 1800s when it was modernised, are represented. The idea was that one of our daughters would run it as guest house but she decided that she didn’t want to go down that route."

Situated in the Shibden Valley, Nether Brea has 4,000sq ft of space. It has an entrance hall, kitchen, two reception rooms, a garden room and a cloakroom. On the first floor, there are three double bedrooms, two with en-suites, and a bathroom. On the second floor are a further three bedrooms, two with en-suites, and a bathroom. Outside, there is a garage, parking area and grounds with access to Shibden Park.

The Geraghtys put the property on the market for £690,000 in April 2017 when their B&B plans fell through.

Gentleman Jack airs this Sunday (May 19) on BBC One.