| Description | John Lister (1847-1933) was the elder son of Dr John Lister and Louisa Grant. Educated at Winchester School and Brasenose College, Oxford, he inherited Shibden when he was 20 years old. He was extremely proud of Shibden, cracked the code of Anne Lister's diaries, became a Roman Catholic in 1871, stood as a Liberal councillor in Yorkshire and was a founder member of the Independent Labour Party. In the parliamentary by-election in 1893, he stood as the first Labour candidate for Halifax in a three-way contest polling over 3000 votes. He was known for his charitable works and was a founder of the Industrial School for errant children (SH:7/JN/B/46-47). He also supported other educational establishments such as St Joseph's Roman Catholic School and Hipperholme Grammar School (SH:7/JN/B/48), where he was a Governor for 47 years. He was also the founder President of the Halifax Antiquarian Society and his painstaking research on Shibden and Halifax was published in its annual journal. In 1923 when he was 76, the bank called in the mortgages. All of his money had been invested in his charitable works and in the upkeep of Shibden. Councillor A S McCrea came to his rescue by purchasing 90 acres of parkland which he gave to the people of as a public park. This was opened by the Prince of Wales in Oct 1926. McCrea also bought the reversion of Shibden Hall, allowing John and his sister to live out their days at their home. Anne died in 1929 and John Lister in 1933. He was the last Lister to live there, ownership being transferred to Halifax Borough |