The Beatrix Potter Gallery
The Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead is one of the National Trust‘s more unusual properties in that it has an interesting link with Beatrix Potter herself.
The Beatrix Potter Gallery at Hawkshead
The Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead is now permanently closed, please see further information below
We have received a request from the Gallery to update this page with the following:
The Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead is now permanently closed and will no longer house the Beatrix Potter collection. The future home of the Beatrix Potter watercolours is being explored and scoped out.
Beatrix Potter left over 3,500 items in her collection to the National Trust including published illustrations, unpublished artwork, photographs, letters, manuscripts, and other ephemera.
The Beatrix Potter Gallery opened in Hawkshead in 1988, and over the years it has displayed this collection, in particular original watercolours.
In February 2023, the humidity levels in the building were identified as unsuitable for the hanging artwork and as a result the gallery did not open to visitors that year.
During 2023, condition checks were carried out on the building and a detailed report was finalised in December. This report showed that work was required on the building, primarily on the roof adjacent to the alley, and on the chimney breast. This was not detrimental to the building itself, but along with other constraints of the building (accessibility, susceptibility to ground water flooding), it was concluded that the building was not suitable for the continuing proper care and display of a globally significant collection of original Beatrix Potter artwork, nor could it offer the visitor experience now expected of modern-day visitor attractions.
Original Beatrix Potter watercolours can be seen in a new display for 2024 at nearby Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s farmhouse retreat in Near Sawrey. The special connection between Hill Top and her little books is the inspiration for the new display. Tom Kitten: What a pickle will delight adults and children with scenes from the book, original Beatrix Potter artwork, and interactive programming.
Also at Hill Top is an excerpt from the original handwritten manuscript of Beatrix’s less well-known but much-loved The Fairy Caravan. It will be displayed in the hall in what is thought to be the exact spot where she would have written the words.
Update ends
Archive information only
The Beatrix Potter Gallery is now permanently closed
The 17th Century building, which was once the office of her husband, local solicitor William Heelis, has remained largely unaltered since his day. The Gallery houses an annually changing exhibition of a selection of Beatrix Potter’s original drawings and illustrations.
Beatrix Potter was however much more than a gifted artist and author. She was, without question, a determined preserver of her beloved Lake District and a great believer in the aims of the fledgling National Trust, bequeathing her numerous farms and land to the Trust in 1943.
Main St, Hawkshead, LA22 0NS. Tel: 015394 36355.
Email : beatrixpottergallery@nationaltrust.org.uk
Opening hours 2023 –
The Beatrix Potter Gallery is closed for 2023 as repairs are planned and carried out. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatrix-potter-gallery-and-hawkshead.
Admission 2023 –
The Beatrix Potter Gallery is closed for 2023 as repairs are planned and carried out.
See photos of the Beatrix Potter Gallery
Related Links :
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- Beatrix Potter
- Beatrix Potter Books
- Beatrix Potter Attractions in the Lake District
- South Lakes Index
- Museums
- National Trust
Page updated April 2023
Grid Ref : SD 352982
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