The loves of Anne Lister - a one hour Anniversary Walk

This lively one-hour guided walk explores not only the women in Anne's life, but her many other passions - books, shopping, architecture, learning, society, gossip and her deep affection for the city of York itself.

Beginning at Holy Trinity Goodramgate at 1100, you will be led on a whirlwind journey through places Anne would have known well with access to locations (and some special guests) that bring her world vividly to life.

All funds raised will help to Keep the Gate Open (ie: to urgently raise £30,000 and restore the gate and arch on Goodramgate). This gate is the main entry to the church which dates back to Anne Lister and Ann Walker's visit to take communion on 30 March1834 before starting their lives together. Today it frames the rainbow plaque which celebrates this occassion.

Holy Trinity Goodramgate, York:

Holy Trinity Goodramgate is an 800 year old building which has changed little since the days of Anne and Ann’s visit.

The building will be open on Sunday 29 March and Monday 30 March 2026 from 11am to 4pm with tea, coffee and cakes available for a donation.

A limited-edition commemorative enamel pin will be available for purchase to support the appeal.

Seating will be available in the 16th century box pews. Please note that the temperature in the building is usually lower that that outside so please wrap up warmly. Blankets will be made available, but please feel free to bring your own blankets and cushions for your comfort.

Access information:

The floors are uneven and light levels will be low. The building is wheelchair accessible save for the Sunken Chapel and St James'.

Biography of the tour leaders:

Sarah Cowling is a Blue Badge Tourist Guide for Yorkshire and London. She returned to the county of her birth a few years ago and lives right in the middle of the historic core of York. Late night dog walks through the quiet streets and alleys and a fascination with the diaries and life of Anne Lister have piqued her imagination and led to the creation of her Anne Lister tours.

Constance Halstead is a second year PhD student at the University of York’s Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, where she is the recipient of the inaugural Sally Wainwright Scholarship for the Study of Anne Lister. Her thesis is titled, ‘Telling ‘all as it really is’: form and formation in Anne Lister’s manuscript and digitised journal'. It investigates how Lister navigated eighteenth century conventions of diary writing, adapting the genre to her own purposes, and through the journal’s pages materialising her ongoing self-invention. Constance is particularly interested in the material and written form of Lister’s journal. She holds a BA from the University of Oxford and a MLitt from the University of St Andrews where her dissertation made important discoveries about Lister’s use of different ciphers in her letters and journal.

(Photo credit: Bec Hudson Smith)

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Host or Publisher Holy Trinity Goodramgate (part of the CCT)