Anne Lister Trailblazer Launch: Following the Trails at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate
Holy Trinity Church, York, North Yorkshire
Join Constance Halstead and find out about Anne Lister's remarkable life and her role as a trailblazer
Since October 2023, the Anne Lister trailblazer committee – a collaboration between Holy Trinity Goodramgate and the University of York – have been working on the development of a sculpture as part of the York Trailblazer project. This sculpture celebrates Anne Lister, a lesbian, diarist, businesswoman, traveller and intellectual.
In 1834 Lister took the sacrament with Anne Walker at Holy Trinity Goodramgate to mark their lifelong commitment and love for each other. Anne Lister’s life and diaries have blazed a trail for the LGBTQIA+ community today, helping people understand their history and embrace their identity.
In this launch event for the Trailblazer trail across York, Constance Halstead will discuss Anne Lister’s remarkable life. The talk will focus on the physical trail Lister left behind her and how we can explore these traces of her life to learn more about her and LGBTQIA+ history. This will include discussion of the physical objects which reveal insight into Lister’s life, including archival sources and buildings associated with her. The talk will consider how people today engage with these objects through study, travel, and entertainment, and how these help people to follow the path Lister blazed. Finally, the talk will reveal the process of creating the trailblazer sculpture and consider its role in telling a story about Lister’s life.
Tickets are free, but donations are welcome. Tickets can be reserved via Eventbrite:
Constance Halstead has led the trailblazer project. She is a PhD student at the University of York where her research focuses on Anne Lister’s diaries. Her PhD is funded by Sally Wainwright the creator of Gentleman Jack.
Two costumes from the BBC TV series Gentleman Jack will be on display at the church when this talk takes place. You are welcome to arrive early to take a look at them before the talk.
Holy Trinity, Goodramgate is fully accessible save for the Sunken Chapel. Please note that due to the age of the building, the floors are uneven, light levels are frequently low and the ambient temperature is usually cooler than outside.