Hardwicke Rawnsley

Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley (29 September 1851 – 28 May 1920), was a Church of England clergyman, poet, hymn writer, local politician, and conservationist. He was also one of the founders of the National Trust.

Living in the English Lake District for more than thirty years, he worked for the protection of the countryside and secured the support of people of influence for his campaigns.

Rawnsley was born at the rectory, Shiplake, Oxfordshire, England, the fourth of ten children of the Rev Robert Drummond Burrell Rawnsley (1817–1882) and his wife, Catherine Ann, née Franklin (1818–1892). An older brother, Willingham Franklin Rawnsley, became an author and schoolmaster. He was educated at Uppingham School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he was prominent in university athletics and rowing. He gained a third class degree in natural science in 1874 and was awarded his Master of Arts degree in 1875. In the same year he was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England and became the first chaplain of Clifton College mission, ministering to one of Bristol's poorest areas.

In 1877 Rawnsley was ordained as a priest, and in 1878 he took up the post of Vicar of Wray, Windermere, in the Lake District. In January 1878, he married Edith Fletcher, and the couple had one child, a son, Noel.

In 1882, the young Beatrix Potter holidayed in nearby Wray Castle with her parents. They entertained many eminent guests, including Rawnsley. His views on preserving the natural beauty of Lake District had a lasting effect on Potter, who was already taken with the area. He was the first published author she met, and he took a great interest in her drawings, later encouraging her to publish her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

...
Wikipedia