Ann Walker of Crow Nest Mini

To celebrate Pride, I am doing the companion piece to my previous project.

This is the brave and pretty Ann Walker, who "married" Anne Lister on Easter Sunday in 1834. They took the sacrament together at Holy Trinity Church in York and exchanged rings, thus performing the first gay civil union in British history. Lister and Walker lived together in Lister's ancestral home of Shibden Hall, Halifax (Yorkshire). They also traveled extensively, visiting France, Spain, Germany Scandinavia and Russia. It was in Georgia that Lister caught a fever and died in September, 1840.

Walker returned to England, making arrangements for the transport of her wife's remains over land and sea, a journey of six months and many thousands of miles. Lister was, according to her wishes, interred in Halifax Minster with her father, aunt and uncle.

Lister's Will specified a life interest in Shibden Hall for Ann Walker on the condition that she never marry (a man). Unfortunately, Walker's mental health--a lifelong concern--and a spate of legal issues meant that after only three years, Walker left Shibden Hall and was declared mentally unsound. She spent some time in a private asylum, but later retired to her family's estate, Cliffe Hill. There, she died on February 25, 1854, aged 50, of "congestion of the brain" (probably a series of strokes).

Walker's family did their best to erase her from history, possibly out of embarrassment over her relationship with Anne Lister. And they would have succeeded if Lister's diaries had not been discovered hidden in the walls of Shibden Hall by one of her descendants. In 2020, a volume of Ann Walker's journal was also discovered. In addition, the West Yorkshire Archives hold a number of Walker's letters, underscoring her generousity of spirit, and one memorable phrase:

"Go on bravely."

Today, Ann Walker is the subject of much celebration and scholarly interest. In Search Of Ann Walker leads the way in learning more about the mercurial Lister's quiet partner. Sophie Rundle played Walker with charm and compassion in the BBC series Gentleman Jack.

The Miniature
The figure was designed using the powerful tools at HeroForge and 3D printed by my good friend, Robert Harkema. The photo is of the figure the way it came to me, straight off the printer (although I have cleaned up the edges a bit). Overall, I am pleased with how this turned out, given Hero Forge's limited options for a historical figure. I am not pleased with the misshapen right hand, however.

And these are the garments I want to reproduce:

Here, Sophie Rundle as Ann Walker is seen in a casual walking out outfit typical of a wealthy heiress of the 1830s. It consists of a linen shirt with silk tie worn over her stays, a silk brocade jacket and a woolen plaid skirt. On her head is a woolen cap and she is carrying a silken shawl. She is also wearing kid leather gloves. 

I will need to add the bottom of her cap, her tresses, and build up her gigot sleeves a bit at the shoulders. Adding her shawl will also help hide the right hand. This I will do with Milliput, an epoxy putty that hardens when mixed together and exposed to air. When I am happy with that, I will spray the whole figure with primer to provide "tooth" for the paint, and then I can begin actually painting!

Stay tuned to progress updates. Any questions? Hit me up in the comments section on Facebook!