Secret Code

SUNDAY

After sitting around for most of the day we eventually headed over to Shibden Estate for a walk around the park and an ice cream .

The Hall was closed, (as per the Coronavirus Regulations). A relatively new blue plaque has appeared near the doorway commemorating Anne Lister of "Gentleman Jack" fame.

The secret code
One-sixth of Anne’s diaries are written in a code, devised by herself, based on a combination of algebra and the Greek alphabet, to which Anne referred as her ‘crypthand.’ As you would guess, the coded portions contained some of the more—ahem—steamy encounters with the women she admired. Anne was convinced that no-one would ever be able to decode her crypthand, and her secret encounters were recorded for her enjoyment alone. She was wrong.