Beatrix Potter's the Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse Cumbria
N 54° 22.468 W 002° 59.945
30U E 500059 N 6025186
Beatrix Potter drew a from real life for her pictures that illustrated her books and stories. This is an archway shown in the Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse. The house on right of picture is where Johnny Town-Mouse lived.
Waymark Code: WMVN6
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/18/2006
Views: 103
The illustration in the book shows the carrier's cart delivering the hamper with Tommy Willie the country mouse in. The cart is in front of the archway, where cook takes delivery of the hamper of vegetables, and goes into the house on the right of picture. Still called Bank House, nowadays home of Hawkshead Relish. (
visit link) It's in Bank House that the mice live and the country mouse sees what town life is like. He does not like the food, and yearns for a simple diet. Eventually returning to his home at Hill Top.
Apart from Bank House, Thimble Hall and 'Bend Or Bump' house are featured in the books.
If you look at nearby waymark of old photograph, it shows a horse-drawn cart, which was taken about the time this illustration was drawn. Could it be the same cart? The carrier in the hand drawn pictures is probably Jackson Atkinson, based on records in Kendal. He went from Kendal to Hawkshead on Tuesdays and Saturdays, across the vehicle ferry. (
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Author's Bio.
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Read the book from Ohio State University (
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