Beatrix Potter holiday home granted Grade II-listing
- Published
Lingholm, the Lake District villa where Beatrix Potter spent summer holidays has been granted listed status. The Department for Media, Culture and Support said the Grade-II listing was due to its architectural interest and its historical association with the children's author.
Built between 1871-1875, the house was designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse, who is best known for designing the Natural History Museum and Manchester Town Hall. The privately-owned residence is not open to the public.
Beatrix Potter's family rented Lingholm for summer holidays. In later life she moved to the Lake District, where she bought a number of farms and became a prize-winning breeder of Herdwick sheep.
The grounds of Lingholm lead down to Derwentwater. In one of Beatrix Potter's tales, Squirrel Nutkin sails across the lake to gather nuts on one of its islands.
Best known as a children's author, Beatrix Potter was also a keen naturalist, with a particular interest in mycology - the study of fungi. Her watercolour of Himeola auricula is one of hundreds of scientifically-accurate drawings held at the Armitt Museum in Ambleside.