Shibden Hall and Anne Lister
A new BBC drama series 'Gentleman Jack' is currently being filmed at Shibden Hall. It has been written by the Yorkshire writer, Sally Wainwright, who has crafted a string of excellent TV dramas including 'Last Tango in Halifax', 'Happy Valley' and the Brontë bio-pic 'To Walk Invisible'.
'Gentleman Jack' tells the story of Anne Lister (1791-1840), who inherited Shibden Hall from her aunt and lived there until her death in 1840. We know a lot about her because she kept extensive diaries detailing her life, her travels, the renovations and alterations she made to Shibden Hall (including the addition of a gothic tower to house her library) and commentary on the social, political and economic events of the time. Parts of the diaries are encrypted and chronicle her lesbian affairs. The code was deciphered by the last inhabitant of Shibden Hall, John Lister (1847-1933) and his friend Arthur Burrell. Arthur advised John to burn the diaries but he did not, fortunately hiding them behind some panelling so that they have survived.
Unusually for the time, Anne Lister lived openly as a lesbian and shared her home with her lover, the heiress Ann Walker, from 1832. Sadly, Anne died from a tick bite infection while travelling in Georgia in 1840. Her body was embalmed and brought back to Yorkshire by Ann Walker, and she was buried in Halifax Parish Church. Her will gave Ann Walker the right to continue living at Shibden Hall but the Lister family had her declared insane and removed to an asylum. The Hall reverted to the care of the Lister family.
Many of the rooms in the Hall are displayed as they would have looked when Anne Lister lived there. Some of the furnishings are original and some are 'props' introduced by the BBC for their drama. Some fireplaces have been given false fronts and pantings replaced by tapestries. Most of the changes are noted on information boards in each room.
The Great Hall is the central reception room.
The dining room has original panelling and chairs but the table and curtains are 'props'.
A small room is laid out as a study and library.
The kitchen is mostly original, though the hallway seen through the door, which is the entrance and visitor information point, becomes a scullery in the TV drama.
The bedroom below is Anne's aunt's room in the TV drama. Anne's own bedroom in the Hall was too small for filming so a replica has apparently been built in a studio. Isn't it amazing the lengths they go to to make films and TV series?
That sounds like it will be an interesting series and I love the light on those interiors.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine worked as a carpenter for the BBC and was involved in all kinds of crazy scenery building. He worked for a week building an elaborate staircase for the Morecambe and Wise Show. It featured for a few seconds at the beginning of one programme as Eric and Ernie made their entrance by skipping down it. However it made a more famous appearance in a later programme when they left at the end of an episode by dancing up the stairs, with Eric, predictably but nevertheless hilariously, falling over the back.
Beautiful interior shots, and quite a story to Anne. I imagine the series will end up airing here at some point.
ReplyDeleteI will have to watch for that show here. It will probably screen on the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) the serves Buffalo new York and Toronto. I have enjoyed Wainwright's other shows!
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