John Lister was a local antiquarian and the last member of the Lister family of Shibden Hall.
He was born in Middlesex, the elder son of Dr John Lister.
Soon after his birth, the family moved to Sandown on the Isle of Wight.
He was educated privately under Canon Warneford, then at Winchester and at Brasenose College, Oxford [1865] where he became interested in historical research.
His father succeeded to the Shibden estate in 1855 and brought the family to Halifax.
In 1867, at the age of 20, he inherited the Shibden estate.
He trained as a lawyer and was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple [1877], but never practised, preferring research and writing about the history of Halifax. He was one of the original members – and first President – of the Halifax Antiquarian Society. He campaigned vigorously for the preservation of local historic buildings.
Around 1895, he converted to Catholicism. He supported many local Catholic initiatives including
He discovered some of Anne Lister's journals behind panelling at Shibden Hall. In the 1890s, he and Arthur Burrell decoded the journals. John was homosexual and feared that this might be hereditary, and that the contents of the journals might lead people to scrutinise his own lifestyle.
In politics, he was
On 29th May 1900, he was attacked by the mob when he defended conscription and took a Pro-Boer position at an anti-Boer War meeting in Brighouse. A gang of about 300 youths abused Lister and the other speakers, pelted them with rubbish, and chased them through the streets from Brighouse market to Lane Head. Lister was hurt and went into a London hospital for a time.
He was a bachelor, and lived at Shibden Hall quite separate from his sister Anne Lister. After the death of J. H. Ogden, he wrote articles for the Halifax Guardian under the pen-name Tom Halifax.
On 22nd March 1902, he was stabbed in his left shoulder by Patrick Leonard whom Lister had befriended sometime before.
The Halifax Guardian [Saturday, 12th April 1902] reported
Recent Attack on Mr John ListerPatrick Leonard (23) labourer of New Bank, Halifax, was indicted for maliciously wounding Mr John Lister of Shibden Hall, Halifax.
The prisoner went to the home of the prosecutor, Shibden Hall, and rang the front door bell. The prosecutor himself went to the door and asked who was there. The prisoner called out Leonard and although told that the prosecutor could not see him that night, he continued ringing the bell and the prosecutor eventually returned to the door, but took a stick with him, and noticing that the prisoner had a knife in his hand struck at the prisoner two or three times with the stick and endeavoured to gain possession of the knife. A scuffle ensued, during which the prosecutor was cut on the left shoulder, which afterwards was found to be an incised wound three inches long and half an inch in depth.
In his evidence, Mr Lister, stated that the previous evening, the prisoner had called at his house soliciting assistance, and he sent him 1s. by the servant.
The prisoner, who urged that the injury was inflicted accidentally in the struggle, was found guilty, and was sentenced to four months' imprisonment with hard labour
Lister became bankrupt in 1923 when the banks called in the mortgages, and the estate was bought by his friend A. S. McCrea, although Lister was allowed to stay on at the Hall.
In 1925, he declined the honour of the Freedom of Halifax.
He & other members of the family were buried at St Anne's Church, Southowram [Grave Ref: F-J1].
He was one of the people to whom J. R. Smith dedicated one of his prints.
Page Ref: X463
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