![]() In 1929, Beatrix worked with the National Trust to save the vast Monk Coniston Estate from development. Beatrix Potter with friend and mentor Hardwicke Rawnsley in the Lake District, 1912. In 1883 Canon Rawnsley set up the Lake District Defence Society, the forerunner to the National Trust.īeatrix became a good friend of Canon Rawnsley and shared his desire to protect the landscape and traditions that defined the Lake District. Only a few books were produced for Frederick Warne after their marriage as she became much more focused on farming and investing in land and the local community around Near Sawrey.įaced with the threat of development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a growing desire to protect England’s open spaces. She and William lived in Castle Cottage, Near Sawrey, from 1913 until her death. A Lakes landownerīeatrix purchased a considerable amount of land in the Lake District and was advised by local solicitor William Heelis, who she met in Hawkshead and later married. Beatrix did much to safeguard and promote the Herdwick breed and was the first woman to be elected president of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association, set up by Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley in 1889.īeatrix Potter in later life with one of her prize-winning Herdwick sheepīeatrix and Tom built up a celebrated flock and some of the awards and trophies she won at local agricultural shows for her sheep breeding can be seen on display at Hill Top. Herdwick’s had grazed the Lakeland fells for centuries, but the breed was under threat. She took over the management of the farm herself, buying neighbouring farms and employing a local shepherd, Tom Storey to help her breed Herdwick sheep. In 1923 she bought one of the largest farms in the Lake District, Troutbeck Park farm, in the Troutbeck valley, to save it from possible development. Purchasing Hill Top was the beginning of Beatrix’s transformation from a London writer and artist to a Cumbrian farmer. ![]() It was at Hill Top Beatrix grew her interest in farming, working with her farm manager John Cannon to extend the farmhouse and grow the farm stock, becoming an expert on the local traditional breed of sheep, the Herdwick. Beatrix would come to Hill Top to write and paint, and she used the house itself and the surrounding countryside as inspiration for many of her books. Beatrix made regular trips here from London, filling it with mementos, antiques and paintings and tending to the cottage garden. In 1905 Beatrix used the proceeds from her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, to buy Hill Top, a small working farm in the village of Near Sawrey. ![]() The Potters also spent several summers at Esthwaite Water, in Near Sawrey, the area that would later become Beatrix’s home. The ink, pencil and watercolour studies in this 1901 sketchbook provided background scenery for the 1903 publication. View of Derwentwater from the Squirrel Nutkin sketchbook. The tales of Squirrel Nutkin, Benjamin Bunny and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle are rooted here, the distinctive scenery serving as backdrops to Beatrix’s illustrations. The landscape surrounding Derwent Water inspired some of Beatrix’s earliest and most loved tales. It was during her stays here that she began to write picture stories for young relatives and acquaintances, including a tale of a mischievous rabbit named Peter. It was at Wray Castle that she first met National Trust co-founder Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley, the vicar of nearby Wray Church, who later championed her books and inspired her conservation work.īeatrix spent many summers in the Lake District, staying at Lingholm and Fawe Park near Derwent Water. Beatrix had already developed an interest in sketching, and spent the summer drawing the mountains, woodlands, wildlife, flowers and fungi surrounding their holiday home. In 1882, the Potter family spent their first summer in the Lake District at Wray Castle, a mock-Gothic mansion on the western shore of Windermere. A fierce campaigner on local conservation issues, Beatrix protected large areas of the Lake District from development, and thanks to her legacy to the National Trust the landscapes, farming practices and traditions that define this UNESCO World Heritage site live on today.
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