Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter, the writer of one of the most beloved children’s book of all time, The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902), was a woman of immense talent, indefatigable spirit, and generous heart.

Beatrix Potter not only produced beautiful watercolours, but also became an adept scientific illustrator in the early 1890’s. Beatrix also wrote picture letters to children she knew and in 1901 and turned one into her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, later producing her own privately printed edition of it.

Beatrix Potter Heelis died on 22 December 1943. She bequeathed fifteen farms and over 4,000 acres to the National Trust – a gift which protected and conserved the unique Lake District countryside. Her books, her art, her Herdwick sheep and her indomitable spirit are all part of her enormous legacy.