Photo source: Chris Brown, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
About this place
Hill Top is a 17th-century farmhouse at Near Sawrey, close to Hawkshead in Cumbria's Lake District.
Beatrix Potter bought it in 1905 with money from her first book royalties and used it as a working farm and writing retreat.
Many of the rooms and corners appear directly in her illustrations, so visitors can match a doorway or staircase to a page from her books.
The National Trust looks after the house and its garden, and shows it much as Potter herself left it.
Read more on WikipediaHistory
The house dates from the 17th century and is built in the local Lakeland vernacular style. Beatrix Potter bought Hill Top in 1905 and continued farming the land while writing and illustrating many of her Peter Rabbit books there. On her death in 1943 she left the property to the National Trust, along with much of her land in the Lake District, on condition that Hill Top be kept exactly as she had known it.
Architecture
Hill Top is a modest Lakeland vernacular farmhouse with random stone walls and a slate roof, typical of small Cumbrian farms of its period. It is Grade II* listed.
Worth knowing
Beatrix Potter lived and worked at Hill Top, and its rooms, garden and surrounding lanes appear directly in the illustrations for The Tale of Tom Kitten and other of her books.
Gardens & grounds
The garden is planted and maintained to match the cottage-garden style seen in Potter's own illustrations, with the mix of vegetables, herbs and flowers she would have grown.
Facilities
Plan your visit
Nearest station: Windermere Rail Station (3.3 miles)
Open to the public as a writer's house museum; pre-booking is required. Check the National Trust website for current opening dates and times.
Nearby properties
Moss Eccles Tarn
View Moss Eccles Tarn on heritage mapTabitha Twitchit
View Tabitha Twitchit on heritage mapRayrigg Hall
View Rayrigg Hall on heritage mapTarn Hows
View Tarn Hows on heritage mapWray Castle
View Wray Castle on heritage mapHistoric places nearby
Within 5 miles of Hill Top Farm (LA22) there are 10 historic properties, including 7 historic buildings, across National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Houses sites.
Within 10 miles of Hill Top Farm (LA22) there are 14 historic properties, including 9 historic buildings and 2 castles, across National Trust, English Heritage and Churches Conservation Trust sites.
Within 20 miles of Hill Top Farm (LA22) there are 34 historic properties, including 17 historic buildings, 8 historic houses and 3 castles, across National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Houses sites.
Facts
Walk through the actual rooms and garden that Beatrix Potter drew into her books.
- Type
- historic building
- Location
- Cumbria, England
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