Featuring her original artwork, handwritten letters and personal items, the Beatrix Potter Gallery will showcase the exhibition, ‘The Right Sort of Woman’, which uncovers a lesser-known side to the well-loved children’s author. Visitors can discover why an upper middle class London lady fell in love with the simplicity, homeliness and rugged beauty of the Lake District and how she whole-heartedly embraced the difficulties life there dictated. Amongst other items, on display are original letters which help to explain her role in setting up district nursing and her position of influence as a local businesswoman and landlady.
'Women on the Land'
After becoming Mrs Heelis, Beatrix spent the last thirty years of her life amassing one of the largest estates in the Lake District. Unafraid to immerse herself in traditionally ‘male’ occupations, Beatrix was a shrewd and fair businesswoman who valued these strengths in other women. The title for the exhibition comes from a letter Beatrix wrote to The Times in 1916 on the subject of Women on the Land. In it, she discusses her determination to employ 'the right sort of woman' to work on her farms and the value and role of women in rural communities. Tant Benson, one of Beatrix’s shepherds, recalls how his wages were never paid directly to him...