NEED TO KNOW
NOT long ago, few people would have heard of Anne Lister, let alone Shibden Hall where she lived. But the BBC drama Gentleman Jack – which charted Anne’s colourful life – changed all that.
Anne was a shrewd 18th-century businesswoman and landowner who left meticulously kept diaries. In a bid to conceal her lesbian affairs, some passages were coded. Later cracked, they were used as a basis for Gentleman Jack. After the show – starring Suranne Jones – was televised, visitor numbers to the stately home trebled, creating a mini tourist boom in Halifax, West Yorkshire, where’s it’s located. Used as a set for some of the series, Shibden Hall is now Grade II-listed and a must-see for visitors to Halifax.
Dating back to 1420, it’s beautifully preserved and contains much original furniture including an early flushing toilet installed in 1937 for a visit by King George VI. Movies Wuthering Heights and Peterloo, plus BBC1 drama To Walk Invisible were also filmed there. In fact filming in Halifax has become so common that locals call it Britain’s answer to Hollywood – or Haliwood. Samuel L Jackson recorded part of the Marvel TV series Secret Invasion at The Piece Hall in the town. Sarah Lancashire and James
The Piece Hall ■ Double rooms at Shibden Mill Inn start from £100 B&B and from £170 DBB which includes a £40pp allowance towards the meal. See shibdenmillinn.com
■ More info visitcalderdale.com
Norton used nearby Hebden Bridge for Happy Valley. The recent Full Monty series, starring the original cast, was filmed in the area, as were Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge and old favourites Last of the Summer Wine, Brassed Off, Red Riding and Last Tango in Halifax.
My partner Tim and I didn’t see any stars while we were there – but we had a ball. We stayed at Shibden Mill Inn, on the outskirts of the town. It was a pleasant 40-minute walk from Shibden Hall.
The 17th century Shibden Mill Inn was originally a corn and spinning mill. After the wool industry declined, it lay dormant, reopening as a pub in 1890. Nowadays it has stylish bedrooms and the feel of a country retreat, with open fires and wood panelling.
But it’s the food that takes centre stage – the restaurant holds two AA rosettes and features in the UK’s
Shibden Hall
Top 50 Gastropubs. For our evening meal we tickled our tastebuds with muffin-like cheddar and ale loaves accompanied by homemade nduja butter.
Our starters were exquisite – smoked haddock, mussels, leek and smoked haddock foam plus raw scallop, jalapeno, granny smith, dill and elderflower.
Tim’s main course of turbot in a creamy sauce came with a bowl of shellfish fondue, while my partridge and haggis pie of the day was smothered in thick gravy and served with chips and hispi cabbage.
Full to the brim, we skipped desserts – and even passed on the home-baked cookies left in the bedrooms each night.
In Halifax the centrepiece is The Piece
Hall, the world’s only remaining Georgian cloth trading hall. Opened in 1779, and set around a vast courtyard, this was a sign of the wealth and power of Yorkshire’s cloth manufacturers, who gathered in the hall’s 315 rooms weekly to sell their wares.
By 1868 the traders had left, the once flourishing cottage industries driven out by economic slump and the ease of selling from the gates of newly built factories.
Thanks to a multi-million-pound renovation, the hall’s grandeur can once again be enjoyed.
Now with a Grade I-listing, its old sales rooms have turned into bars, restaurants and small businesses selling everything from soap to vinyl (Heritage tours – £6 adults, under-16s free. thepiecehall.co.uk). Later we enjoyed a meal at The Astronomer, named in celebration of Sir William Herschel who discovered Uranus but doubled as organist at what is now Halifax Minster. (thepiecehall.co.uk/eat-and-drink/ the-astronomer/).
The fun menu has an Asian twist, with dishes created for sharing. We went for tandoori king prawns with a lime and coriander yogurt on a garlic flatbread, Indian fish pakora, seabass with Parmesan and truffle potato, and seared scallops with smoked butternut squash puree.
The food was delightful, as was the service.
Halifax’s industrial heritage ripples through the town in other ways. The 22-acre mill complex Dean Clough was once one of the world’s largest carpet factories.
Founded in 1803 it employed 5,000 workers. Now it’s Grade IIlisted and houses galleries, a theatre, workshops, businesses, bars and restaurants (deanclough.com). On our visit we swung by True North restaurant. It does a great value two or three-course menu but we opted to go for the Sunday roast. Our tender garlic and rosemary lamb rump came with plenty of veg and spuds, plus the biggest Yorkshire puddings I’ve ever seen. It was possibly the best roast dinner we’ve had. (truenorthrestaurant.co.uk)
If you like fab food, captivating countryside and handsome history you’ll be in heaven in Halifax.
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