Our guest speaker at the end of October was Neil Honeyman . “A Tale of Beatrix Potter” was the title of his talk which traced the story of the life of the famous author born into a wealthy family in 1866. Her days were spent at home in London where she was taught by a governess, with only her younger brother for company. As a child she kept small animals in her schoolroom and made sketches of them.
Her family spent several months in Scotland every summer and Beatrix enjoyed the chance to be in the countryside. She spent hours outdoors with her sketch book making observational drawings of toadstools and fungi. After the age of 17 Beatrix spent her summers at Wray Castle in the Lake District and so began a lifetime of her connection with this part of the country.
Her writing career began almost by chance after she drew a picture letter for the son of her governess Annie Moore. The little animal characters were eventually to become world famous and feature in her story books. After being rejected by several publishers, she had her first book privately printed, selling each copy for one shilling. Frederick Warne went on to publish her books over the next ten years and it was with the income from her books that Beatrix was able to buy Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey near Hawkshead.
She was so keen to preserve the Lake District traditions and way of life that she went on to buy more farms and land. At the age of 47 she married local solicitor William Heelis and continued to work hard to promote the traditional farming methods, becoming an expert in Herdwick sheep. When she died in 1943 she left land, farms and many cottages to the National Trust, ensuring that the Lake District traditions continue today. Her legacy is unique, both to literature and to the conservation of the natural landscape.
The meeting was well attended and Geoff Holme gave a vote of thanks. The guest speaker at our next meeting on Friday 25th November will be Alan Cleaver who will be talking about “The Corpse Roads of Cumbria.” The meeting will be at Beacon Hill Methodist Church hall starting at 2pm. Admission includes refreshments, £2.50 for members and £3 for visitors. Alan Cleaver will have copies of his books for sale at the meeting and everyone with an interest in local history is welcome to come along.