Farming at Downton Abbey

In the latest espisode of Downton Abbey brothers-in-law Matthew Crawley and Tom Branson travel around the estate bemoaning Robert's neglect and poor management. In the below stairs world, assistant cook Daisy's father-in-law tells her he wants her to learn about his farm and how to manage it because the Downton Abbey's of the world may not survive into the future as great estates. Daisy could be assured of a good future when she inherits his tidy, well managed farm. His entrepreneurial spirit shows through when he suggests she could have a cottage food stuff industry with her cooking skills.  This all reminds me of the real life tale of author Beatrix Potter and her years as a farmer in the Lake District of England.

Beatrix Potter about 1920

You may remember that Beatrix Potter wrote the beautifully illustrated children's books about Peter Rabbit and his friends and family.  In the time before World War I she began buying up small farms in the Lake District and learning how to raise crops and animals.  Her success as an author gave her the money to buy several run down properties and she spent most of her later life turning them into productive farms, eventually giving up writing all together to devote her self to an agricultural life.


Hill Top Farm, one of Beatrix Potter's farm properties.

The industrial revolution of the late 19th century took its toll on agriculture all over Europe and America.  Family farms found it  increasingly difficult to find farm laborers since most young people began to prefer to move to the city and get good jobs that did not require such hard labor. 


When Beatrix Potter began buying land in the Lake District the area was already under pressure from development companies interested in providing vacation cottages for the increasingly wealthy urban middle class.  Ms. Potter was instrumental in founding England's National Trust whose mission it has been to save not only the stately homes of England, but its rural heritage in general.  I expect we will hear something about that as the tale of Downton Abbey progresses on towards the great crash of 1929.

Beatrix Potter's biography by Margaret Lane is a small book and gives a good review of her life. You can get a copy at Amazon.com. There are a couple of other biographies out there but this one was written in the 1940's and the author had good contact with her husband and family.


And if you loved the Peter Rabbit tales, try Susan Wittig Albert's "cottage tales" which incorporate the true life story of Beatrix Potter and her farm life with her "bunny" characters. Each book has a little mystery to solve and is a good light read. There are 8 titles in the series.