28 July 1866: Beatrix Potter is born

Helen Beatrix Potter, born on 28 July 1866, was a writer, an illustrator, a conservationist and a natural scientist. She is best known for her Peter Rabbit children’s books.

Born into an upper-middle-class household, Helen Beatrix, was the eldest of two children of wealthy parents, successful lawyer, Rupert and Helen (Leech) Potter. Beatrix was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children, although she had numerous pets. She spent holidays in Scotland and the English Lake District, developing a love of landscape, flora and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. From about the age of 14, Potter began to keep a journal that was important to the development of her creativity, serving as both sketchbook and literary experiment. In tiny handwriting, she reported on society, recorded her impressions of art and artists, recounted stories, and observed life around her.

Whenever she went on holiday to the Lake District or Scotland, Potter sent letters to young friends, illustrating them with quick sketches. In an 1893 letter, she first told the story of “four little rabbits whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter”. It became one of the most famous children’s letters ever written and formed the basis of her future career. In 1901 she turned the story into her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The book’s delightful simplicity and charm instantly made it a huge success and the Peter Rabbit series of books was born. Potter wrote thirty books, the best known being her twenty-three children’s tales.

In 1905 when she was 38, and despite strong opposition from her parents, Potter married Norman Warne, the son of her publisher, but he died of leukaemia only a month later. With the proceeds from the books and a legacy from an aunt, she bought Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey in the Lake District in 1905. Over the following decades, she purchased additional farms to preserve the unique hill country landscape. In 1913, at the age of 47, she married again, this time to William Heelis, a respected local solicitor from Hawkshead. Potter and Heelis enjoyed a happy marriage of thirty years, continuing their farming and preservation efforts throughout World War II. Although they were childless, Potter played an important role in William’s large family, particularly enjoying her relationship with several nieces whom she helped educate.

Potter was also a prize-winning breeder of Herdwick sheep and a prosperous farmer keenly interested in land preservation. She continued to write and illustrate books, and design spin-off merchandise based on her children’s books until the duties of land management and her diminishing eyesight made it difficult to continue.

Potter died of pneumonia and heart disease in December 1943 at the age of 77, leaving almost all her property to the National Trust.