For over 100 years, the stories and characters of Beatrix Potter have fascinated children and grown-ups alike. These seemingly simple tales of mischievous bunnies, mice, and kittens often hold lessons of daily behavior for young children. In addition to the stories are Miss Potter’s exquisite and whimsical drawings, which were based on her observations of the stunning Lake District countryside where she lived, but just who was Beatrix Potter?
Much of that answer can be found at Hill Top Farm, the working farm she bought in 1905 to be her home and studio. A shy, but determined woman who had spent her lonely childhood with governesses and an array of pets, Beatrix Potter was born in 1866 into a wealthy London family. An artist and a keen observer of her surroundings, she began writing and illustrating tales of little animals for her own amusement.
After years of spending summers in Scotland and the Lake District with her parents and brother Bertram, Beatrix decided to move to Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey between Lake Windermere and Esthwaite Water. She had been encouraged by a former governess to publish her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and soon after, her “little books” as she called them became very popular.
Hill Top Farm in England’s Lake District
After her death in 1943, Beatrix Potter left her home, Hill Top Farm to the National Trust of England. Today visitors from all over the world come to the tiny village of Near Sawrey to see where Miss Potter wrote and illustrated her famous books. The home is just as it was when the author lived there and the garden looks as though Peter Rabbit might pop out from beneath the rhubarb.
Inside, the furnishings and collections of china and dolls all belonged to Beatrix Potter, including the desk where she worked. Lovers of the Beatrix Potter books will see throughout the house and the village the inspirations for many of the books’ illustrations. For instance, in the kitchen, the dresser and clock can be found in The Tailor of Gloucester and the fireplace in The Tale of Samuel Whiskers.
Beatrix Potter was a conservationist and believed in the preservation of the land. She learned farming and bred Herdwick sheep, a breed native to the Lake District. As stated in her will, Hill Top Farm today is still a working farm. It, along with over 4000 acres of land which included several farms, is in the care of the National Trust to preserve the land and the rural way of life of the Lake District.
Peter Rabbit and other Beatrix Potter Books
Altogether, Beatrix Potter wrote 23 “little books” from The Tale of Peter Rabbit, published in 1902 to The Sly Old Cat, written in 1906, but first published in 1971. The quality of her illustrations has helped make the Beatrix Potter books beloved worldwide. The characters of Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mrs. Tittlemouse,and Benjamin Bunny and his cousins Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail are some of the most well known and beloved of all time.
Miss Potter and the Lake District of England
In 2006, the biographical film Miss Potter was released. Starring Renee Zellweger and directed by Chris Noonan, the film combines stories from Beatrix Potter’s life with animated sequences featuring characters from her books. Mostly historically correct, Miss Potter was filed in London, Scotland, and in the Lake District.
Beatrix Potter loved the Lake District for its beauty and its way of life, one which she saw passing away in the time between the wars during the 20th Century. By purchasing land and farms and giving them to the National Trust after her death, Beatrix Potter helped preserve England’s Lake District for future generations.
For more information about Beatrix Potter, the Beatrix Potter books and characters, and Hill Top Farm, visit The World of Peter Rabbit and The National Trust. For another National Trust property and more England travel see Searching for Thomas Hardy in Dorset, England.
Pamela Watson - I first hit the road at the tender age of three weeks when my career-Army dad packed up my mom and me and moved us from Indiana to New ...
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