Beatrix Potter Gallery

The picturesque market town of Hawkshead was captured in several of Beatrix Potter's beautiful illustrations for her children's books.

The town's cluster of historic limewashed houses remains very much as the author knew it the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Next to the Red Lion Inn and overlooking one of the town's squares is the low cream painted building where Beatrix Potter went to consult the local solicitor W.H. Heelis & Son.

The writer purchased several properties in the Lake District, including Hill Top the farm she bought in 1905, and made regular visits to the office.

William Heelis, the junior partner, advised her on her acquisitions and when she was away kept an eye on her property and attended sales on her behalf.

In 1912 William asked Beatrix to be his wife.On Beatrix Potter's death all her properties in the Lake District were bequeathed to the National Trust.

The house in Hawkshead remains largely unaltered. Upstairs two rooms have been created out of the large office William shared with his uncle and cousin. These now house an annually changing exhibition of original sketches and watercolours painted by Beatrix Potter.

There is also a display of photographs showing the Potter and Heelis families and some of the farms Beatrix owned. The clerks' room downstairs has been refurnished as a 19th century solictor's office using some of the original furnishings and desks.