Beatrix Potter Gallery
OS Grid ref :- SD 352982
The Beatrix Potter Gallery in the main street of the characterful Lakeland village of Hawkshead is owned by the National Trust.
Through transactions in purchasing property in the area, Beatrix met her future husband, William Heelis, a Hawkshead solicitor. The couple were married in 1913, when Beatrix was aged 47. The stone building, which dates to the seventeenth century, was once the office of her husband.
The grade II listed building has has remained largely unchanged since the time of William Heelis' occupation. The Gallery hosts an exhibition of a selection of Beatrix Potter's original drawings and water colours for her popular children's books, which is changed annually. The gallery also reveals how her unique travels inspired her enchanting children's stories.
Beatrix Potter's curious childhood collections cabinet is full of unusual things that she picked up on her travels around Britain, from gem stones to cannon balls. One drawer is open and the others are brought to life by interactive touch screens.
A visit to the gallery is an ideal addition to a visit to her nearby seventeenth century home of Hill Top Farm at Near Sawrey, as it doesn't just offer the chance to admire her delightful artwork but also the opportunity to learn more about Beatrix Potter's life outside the writing career which made her famous.
The visitor can learn more about Beatrix as a farmer and conservationist and how her legacy helped to keep the Lake District the place we know today.
Hill Top Farm contains mementoes of the her life, a personal collection of paintings, china and furniture, as well as some of her drawings. Many of her later books are set in and around the farm.
Beatrix purchased Hill Top Farm in 1905 and bequeathed it to the National Trust in her will on the condition that it should remain undeveloped and unspoilt for future generations, today the house appears to the visitor as if Beatrix Potter had just stepped out for a walk.
Beatrix Potter spent many happy childhood holidays in the Lake District and grew to love the area prior to moving there permanently, she was devoted to the Lake District and bequeathed her numerous farms and land to the National Trust in 1943.
The World of Beatrix Potter at Bowness-on Windermere, is like a walk-in storybook, the attraction has life size recreations of scenes from Beatrix Potter's famous children's books, complete with sights, sounds and smells.