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Sunday 30th March 2025. Morning
Anne Lister's Shibden: what she inherited and what she bequeathed.
A short, morning walk round the Shibden estate nearest the Hall. Judge for yourself how Anne Lister transformed her inheritance – and how her legacy later benefited Calderdale.
Meet Jill Liddington at the front entrance to Shibden Hall (by the blue plaque) at 10.30. The circular walk ends about noon. At this point, you are offered a choice: either browse the Shibden shop, have a cup of tea and Q&A or explore inside the magnificent Hall (for which you are advised to pre-book your ticket.)
Your guide: Jill Liddington, local historian and author of Female Fortune and As Good as a Marriage.
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Tuesday 1st April 2025. Afternoon
Anne Lister Funeral Walk
Retracing the likely route of Anne Lister's funeral procession in April 1841. Strolling between Shibden Hall Gatehouse and Halifax Minster we reference the buildings and sites which she would have known and attempt to work out the path the cortege took. There will be readings about the funerals of other Lister family members, which took a similar route, several of which Anne organised.
Meet at 1.30pm by 1837 Shibden Gatehouse on Godley Lane (inside gate)
- finish at south entrance to Halifax Minster - walk should be suitable for scooters and dogs on leads.
Your guide: David Glover, President, Halifax Antiquarian Society
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Thursday 3rd April 2025. Afternoon
Ann Walker's Lightcliffe
This is a 2 hour circular walk
In 1830 Elizabeth & Ann Walker inherited much of Lightcliffe and became very wealthy. Within two years Ann had become the companion of Anne Lister. We walk round part of the estate passing where Ann lived, including Lidgate and the opportunity to walk up the drive to Cliffe Hill to look at the outside of the house where she was born and died. We finish in the churchyard where she is buried together with other members of her family, employees and tenants. The tower will be open. This is a 2 hour circular walk, mainly on pavements with just a short walk along a footpath.
Meet at 2pm at the tower, opposite to the Sun Country Inn on Wakefield Road. HX3 8TH. It is on the 255 bus from Halifax to Leeds leaving the bus station at 25 minutes past the hour and arriving about 9.45. The taxi ride is about 3 miles. There are places in Lightcliffe for a snacked lunch. This walk is £7.
Your guide: Ian Philp, local historian, Friends of St Matthew's Churchyard
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Friday 4th April 2025. Afternoon
Georgian Halifax
This is a 2 hour circular walk
Halifax has a rich architectural heritage of buildings dating from the mid-1700s until the reign of Queen Victoria. Three or four are well known, but many others are far less familiar. This walk takes us through a hundred years of history, to both the most ordinary and the grandest buildings of Georgian Halifax. What they have in common is that Anne Lister would have known them all during her lifetime - some more intimately than others! [ We will also be taking in some of the more significant Victorian public buildings along our route ].
Meet at the top of Woolshops, near the Duke of Wellington Regimental Memorial at 2pm.
Your guide: Anne Kirker, local historian, Calderdale Industrial Museum
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We are advertising the following opportunity alongside our walks. There is no need to book for this.
The Tower at St Matthew's churchyard will be open on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th from 10.30 to 12.30.
The tower is opposite to the Sun Country Inn on Wakefield Road. HX3 8TH.
It is on the 255 bus from Halifax to Leeds leaving the bus station at 25 minutes past the hour and arriving about a quarter to the hour. The taxi ride is about three miles. There are places in Lightcliffe for a snack lunch.
The tower, all that remains of the church that Ann would have known, contains three Walker family memorials rescued when the church was demolished fifty years ago. The churchyard has Walker family graves and several people that Ann would have known and who appeared in Gentleman Jack. Your guides are Dorothy Barker and Ian Philp who help to look after the churchyard and have done a lot of research into our residents.
Donations for the maintenance of the churchyard and the tower will be gratefully received.
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Easter Monday 21st April 2025.
FORGOTTEN HEART OF HALIFAX
Walking through history in the lower part of town: once the heart of Halifax. We’ll find industry and mills, slums and pubs, graft & charity: all life was there!
Dogs on leads. Suitable for scooters.
Meet Anne Kirker at 2pm at the Parish Church Gates, Causeway, HX1 1QR
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Sunday 27th April 2025.
LOST HALIFAX: CATTLE MARKET, WORKHOUSE, GAOL – AND CEMETERY
Starting at the site of Halifax’s cattle market, hear about a black lion-tamer, find out about lost St Augustine’s Church, and the Kumficar firm at Hanson Lane Mill. Where was the Gaol in which Branwell Bronte’s closest friend died? We walk through the former Workhouse site and seriously consider its purpose. We view two lost pubs and arrive at Lister Lane Cemetery to see relevant graves. The walk is suitable for mobility scooters. Dogs on leads. Good walking shoes or boots are advised. This is a linear walk.
Meet David Glover at 2pm at Victoria Road / Hanson Lane corner HX1 5PT. The walk finishes at Lister Lane Cemetery HX1 5JL
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Saturday 17th May 2025.
SUFFRAGETTES and SLAVES
A 3½ hour walk from Skircoat Green across Savile Park, visiting the homes of Halifax's own nest of suffragettes. Our route goes along Queens Road and down Pellon Lane to the Mechanics' Institute where in 1911, Emmeline Pankhurst urged women to boycott the census.
Please bring a packed lunch and drink. Walk ends in Temperance café with tea, cake & Q&A.
Meet Jill Liddington and David Glover at 12 noon by the Standard of Freedom, New Lane. HX3 0TE. The walk is not suitable for mobility scooters. No dogs. This walk is £6 per head. Pre-booking is essential and it will not be possible to just turn up on the day! Details and directions are sent out with the tickets.
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Sunday 25th May 2025.
A STROLL ROUND THE MIDDLE OF RASTRICK
We will look at the development of this part of Rastrick during the 19th and 20th centuries. Featuring industry, education and places of worship. A sad story of children’s murder and a reformed priest.
Suitable for mobility scooters. Dogs on leads.
Meet Ian Philp at 2pm by Rastrick High School’s top car park, Field Top Road, Rastrick, Brighouse HD6 3XB.
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Sunday 1st June 2025.
PEPPER & GINGER
Explore a corner of Shelf away from the main road which is full of history. A fourteenth-century cattle thief, the ‘Man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo,’ a Chartist Unitarian preacher and one of the last potteries in Calderdale were all to be found here. Good footwear is required. The walk is not suitable for wheelchairs/mobility scooters. Dogs on leads are welcome.
Meet Ben Stables at 2pm outside Pepper Hill Unitarian Chapel off Brighouse and Denholme Gate Road in Shelf, HX3 7TH
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Sunday 8th June 2025.
OLD TOWN, ABOVE AND BEYOND
The hilltop settlements of the upper Calder Valley historically and economically looked to each other rather than to the valley settlements. We look at some of Old Town's history, and look outwards to histories from the surrounding landscape.
Some slopes, muddy and uneven terrain. Dogs on leads. Not suitable for mobility scooters.
Meet John Billingsley at 2pm outside Old Town School, HX7 8RY
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Sunday 22nd June 2025.
NORTHOWRAM CENTRAL VILLAGE walk
This walk explores the older parts of central Northowram. Taking a route along Towngate to find out about historical houses and non-conformist activities from the diaries of Oliver Heywood, it continues with a lost house and its links to the first American settlers and the construction of the new turnpike road in the 1830s. Hear social and remembered stories of village life at the final part of the walk at Lydgate/Westercroft junction.
Meet Mike Beecham at 2pm at the bottom of Baxter Lane car park HX3 7EF. Mainly on roadside paths with one steep downhill section. Mobility scooters should be ok. Dogs welcome.
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SATURDAY & SUNDAY 28th & 29th June 2025
OUTLAWS & NUNS
These walks are on the private Kirklees Estate near Clifton, by kind permission of the owners. They include the former Nunnery site, Gatehouse, 15th to 18th century farm buildings, the Robin Hood connection and his grave there, plus other features of the estate. This is a working farm and dogs are not allowed. Minimum age (for insurance purposes) is 13.
The guides are David Cant, John Billingsley, David Glover and Ian Philp. The walk is 1½ miles, partly on woodland paths, and strong shoes are advised. Unsuitable for mobility scooters. The walk will be repeated several times over the 2 days. There are no buses to the Estate on Sundays.
These walks are £6 per head. Pre-booking is essential and it will not be possible to just turn up on the day! Details and directions are sent out with the tickets.
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Sunday 6th July 2025.
BIG 'C's IN RIPPONDEN
Ripponden's history since medieval times is bound up with places and events which begin with 'C'. Church, catastrophe, conflict, cooperation, Chartism and more. Ripponden had them all! Riverside footpath can be muddy. Strong footwear advised. Dogs on leads. Not suitable for scooters.
Meet Anne Kirker at 2pm at St Bartholomew's Church, HX6 4DF
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Sunday 13th July 2025.
Dobroyd Castle
By kind permission of the owners, this afternoon walk goes to, around and inside the striking ‘Brass Castle’ built above Todmorden by John Fielden in 1869. It includes the house and walled garden with details of their history and the family. Timing and meeting point details are issued with the tickets. The Guide is Anne Mealia.
Pre-booking is essential and it will not be possible to just turn up on the day.
This walk is £6 per head. This walk is 1½ miles, part on woodland paths and strong shoes are advised. Ticket-holders should meet the Guide in Todmorden at 2.15 pm (full details supplied with tickets) for a ½ mile walk up the wooded hillside to the Castle. No dogs allowed. Access to the Castle by car is difficult but if you need to go by car, route information will be supplied when booking.
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Sunday 27th July 2025.
ANNE LISTER PARKLAND AND MYTHOLME WALK
Walking in the footsteps of Anne Lister to relate to the places mentioned in her diary. Find out how the landscape has changed and connected events that happened in her lifetime. Exploring the old routes and lost settlements, as well as stories of her pistol shooting exploits at the hall. Down to Mytholme and the Stag Inn, returning by Lower Brear and the Mere that Anne had constructed.
Meet Mike Beecham at 2pm in the Shibden Park middle overflow car park opposite Godley Lane BP petrol station when turning into the parkland. Walking boots advised. Dogs welcome. Not suitable for mobility scooters. The route is mainly rough surface pathways.
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Sunday 3rd August 2025.
THE COINERS IN HALIFAX– THE TRUE STORY OF THE GALLOWS POLE
A three hour walk.
The Coiners came from the upper Calder Valley, but many events in their story took place in Halifax. We visit the location of ‘King’ David Hartley’s arrest, discover the site of the Exciseman’s murder, hear the amusing tale of the arrested Constable, learn of the last coiner buried in Halifax, and consider the bodies which hung on a gallows on Beacon Hill - for years! But what about the bones?
The walk is suitable for mobility scooters. Dogs on leads.
Pre-booking is essential and it will not be possible to just turn up on the day.
The guide is David Glover. This is a linear walk which starts at 2pm outside Toyland 18-20 Woolshops, Halifax HX1 1RJ and finishes at Matalan Car Park, Berry Lane, HX1 1RD
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Sunday 10th August 2025.
HEPTONSTALL SHADOWS
You can expect a medieval village to hold memories that you might not find in standard local histories. With John Billingsley you'll meet wart-curers, protective charms, rural gangsters, ghosts, mummified cats and more. Churchyard may be slippery. Quiet dogs on leads. Not suitable for mobility scooters.
Meet John Billingsley at 2pm at Heptonstall Bowling Club Car Park, HX7 7LT
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Sunday 17th August 2025.
Todmurdern
A new walk.
This walk explores some of the well-known murders committed in our town as well as some less well-known cases. Discover a grisly murder with a hatchet and pistols which kept the nation talking, a serial killer, crimes of passion, and tales of revenge and insanity. Dogs on leads.
Meet Anne Mealia at 2pm outside Christ Church graveyard, OL14 5AN
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Bank Holiday Monday 25th August 2025.
MIDGLEY MOOR
A three hour walk.
More than a moor, this extended walk with John Billingsley takes in archaeology, folklore, customs, economics, geography and climate. Paths on rough moorland terrain, around 3 miles. Good walking ability, weatherproof shoes and clothing, and snacks recommended for comfort. Quiet dogs strictly on lead. Bring a small coin or two... Not suitable for mobility scooters.
Meet John Billingsley at 2pm at crossroads by Hare & Hounds Inn, Old Town, HX7 8TN
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Sunday 7th September 2025.
EXPLORING HOVE EDGE
Now (almost) a Brighouse suburb but was an isolated hamlet in earlier times. The special features of the walk include a former private railway system, stone mines and quarries, WW2 sites, a house from the 1500s and a General buried in Westminster Abbey. Unsuitable for mobility scooters. Dogs on leads.
Meet Ian Philp at 2pm by the Dusty Miller on A644 in Hove Edge. HD6 2PB
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Sunday 28th September 2025.
COKE, COAL and CORVES
A new walk.
A trip through time looking at how coal was mined and moved about the area until NCB Norwood Green closed in 1959. Walking shoes are recommended as it might be muddy. This walk is not suitable for mobility scooters. Dogs on leads. Bringing a pick and shovel is optional!
Meet Mary Twentyman at 2pm at the War Memorial at Village Street, Norwood Green. HX3 8QD
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Sunday 5th October 2025.
LOST CHURCHES AND CHAPELS OF HALIFAX
Find out what links Square Chapel with Holy Trinity Church, as we walk around town noting how many places of worship have gone, some over 100 years ago, others recently. Who paid for Square Church spire? Discover who the Unitarians were, and what was their focus. Hear about lost Methodist and Baptist Chapels, a Mission Church, the Salvation Army and Anne Lister’s ‘New Church’.
The walk is suitable for mobility scooters. Dogs on leads.
Meet David Glover at 2pm at Square Road BELOW Central Library steps HX1 1QG
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Sunday 12th October 2025.
ANOTHER SIDE OF SKIRCOAT: THE HEATH
A new walk.
This circular walk looks at ‘the other’ part of the township of Skircoat. Stretching from Manor Heath to Free School Lane, this area developed as Halifax itself expanded in the later 19th century. Hear about grand mansions, charity homes, healthcare and learning as we look at the evidence of Halifax’s growth. Dogs on leads. Suitable for scooters.
Meet Anne Kirker at 2pm at the upper entrance to Manor Heath Park, off Manor Heath Rd. HX3 0EB
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Sunday 26th October 2025.
Todmorden folk
Who knew Todmorden had Nobel prize winners, world renowned musicians and someone with a moss named after them! Come along and find out about the people who have made Todmorden such a great place. The town can boast scientists, inventors, musicians, artists, and an award-winning nurse who all have a connection with Todmorden. We'll explore the places connected with them and find out more about their lives and achievements. The walk is suitable for mobility scooters. Dogs on leads.
Meet Anne Mealia at 2pm in Fielden Square OL14 6LZ
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