Repairs for 'Gentleman Jack' church tower in Calderdale village

The tower to the old church of St Matthew at Wakefield Road, Lightcliffe, includes the plaque to Ann Walker, who was the partner of Anne Lister – the landowner, diarist and lesbian whose story was told in the hit BBC drama.

Starring Suranne Jones as Anne Lister and Sophie Rundle as Ann Walker, two series of Gentleman Jack were produced with American partner HBO.

Calderdale Council has given listed building consent to Friends Of The Friendless Churches for external masonry repairs to the cupola, interior works including installation of new steps, timber repairs to the upper chamber floors, and repairs and remounting of memorials at the Grade II listed tower.

The Old Church of St Matthew was built in 1775 by local builder William Mallinson, who is buried in the churchyard, planners heard.

A new parish church was built nearby in 1875, leading to the decline of this church, which remained in use as a mortuary chapel in the 1960s, but all but the tower was demolished in the 1970s following storm damage and vandalism.

Its association with the Walker family contributes to its historical value, and the tower houses memorials to several members of the family including a brass plaque to Ann Walker.

The tower “therefore has communal value and significance to LGBTQ+ histories,” said planning officers.

Included among the repairs is insertion of a new staircase to link two existing staircases within the tower.

Friends of St Matthew’s Churchyard organise occasional visits to the tower and the design would make the new stair legible as a new intervention, says their report.

It is also proposed to add a new forged steel handrail and balustrade to the upper staircase, which currently has no banister and a high drop to its side.

The proposal has been designed by a conservation-accredited architect to have minimal impact on the building.

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