Hannah Hauxwell
Encyclopedia
Hannah Hauxwell is a retired English
farmer who has been the subject of several television documentaries on Yorkshire Television
.
Hauxwell was living alone at Low Birk Hatt Farm in an isolated area of the North Riding of Yorkshire
(now County Durham
) when she came to public attention, first in a Yorkshire Post
article published on 6 April 1970 entitled "How to be happy on £170 a year" and then, in 1973, in an ITV
documentary, Too Long a Winter, made by Yorkshire Television
and produced by Barry Cockcroft
, which chronicled the almost unendurable conditions of farmers in the High Pennines
in winter.
280 a year (at a time when the average annual income in the UK was £2,262), life was a constant battle against poverty and hardship, especially in the harsh Pennine winters, when she had to work outside tending her few cattle in ragged clothes in temperatures well below freezing.
while out walking in the Yorkshire Dales
. The researcher contacted Barry Cockcroft
, a producer at the company, who proposed to make a TV documentary tentatively entitled The Hard Life.
It was Hannah’s spirit, her gentleness and humility, that gripped not only a nation but, as the documentary was syndicated, parts of Europe too: so much so that after the documentary was first shown in 1972, Yorkshire TV's phone line was jammed for three days with viewers wanting to find out more and help her. Over the next twenty years, her life was transformed. A local factory raised money to fund getting electricity to Low Birk Hatt Farm, and she continued to receive thousands of letters and generous donations from well-wishers around the world.
, less than five miles (8 km) from Low Birk Hatt Farm, where the meadows have been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
, Hannah's Meadows
. A new book, Hannah Hauxwell—80 Years in the Dales (W. R. Mitchell) was published in 2008. A new DVD, Hannah Hauxwell—An Extraordinary Life, featuring Too Long A Winter, A Winter Too Many, and Innocent Abroad, has been published. Hauxwell was interviewed on Woman's Hour
in March 2008.
Hauxwell is due to celebrate her 85th birthday in the summer of 2011. To mark her 85th year, she was interviewed by the Yorkshire Post
. She revealed that she is still living a frugal life and remains an avid radio listener.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
farmer who has been the subject of several television documentaries on Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
.
Hauxwell was living alone at Low Birk Hatt Farm in an isolated area of the North Riding of Yorkshire
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...
(now County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
) when she came to public attention, first in a Yorkshire Post
Yorkshire Post
The Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, a company owned by Johnston Press...
article published on 6 April 1970 entitled "How to be happy on £170 a year" and then, in 1973, in an ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
documentary, Too Long a Winter, made by Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
and produced by Barry Cockcroft
Barry Cockcroft
Barry Cockcroft was a UK television documentary director, writer and producer. He is best known for his documentary Too Long A Winter about the spinster Hannah Hauxwell who lived alone on a remote farm in the Pennines.A researcher at Yorkshire Television at its inception in 1968, he was making...
, which chronicled the almost unendurable conditions of farmers in the High Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
in winter.
Yorkshire Post article
Then a 46-year-old spinster, she toiled alone in her family home, Low Birk Hatt Farm, (54.561°N 2.1°W) a dilapidated 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) farm that she had run by herself since the age of 35 following the deaths of her parents and uncle. With no electricity or running water and struggling to survive on GB£Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
280 a year (at a time when the average annual income in the UK was £2,262), life was a constant battle against poverty and hardship, especially in the harsh Pennine winters, when she had to work outside tending her few cattle in ragged clothes in temperatures well below freezing.
Too Long a Winter
In the summer of 1972, Hannah was discovered by a friend of a researcher at Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
while out walking in the Yorkshire Dales
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is the name given to an upland area in Northern England.The area lies within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, though it spans the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Cumbria...
. The researcher contacted Barry Cockcroft
Barry Cockcroft
Barry Cockcroft was a UK television documentary director, writer and producer. He is best known for his documentary Too Long A Winter about the spinster Hannah Hauxwell who lived alone on a remote farm in the Pennines.A researcher at Yorkshire Television at its inception in 1968, he was making...
, a producer at the company, who proposed to make a TV documentary tentatively entitled The Hard Life.
It was Hannah’s spirit, her gentleness and humility, that gripped not only a nation but, as the documentary was syndicated, parts of Europe too: so much so that after the documentary was first shown in 1972, Yorkshire TV's phone line was jammed for three days with viewers wanting to find out more and help her. Over the next twenty years, her life was transformed. A local factory raised money to fund getting electricity to Low Birk Hatt Farm, and she continued to receive thousands of letters and generous donations from well-wishers around the world.
A Winter Too Many
Almost two decades after Too Long a Winter, the same TV crew returned to her farm to catch up with Hannah. The second documentary, A Winter Too Many, saw that Hannah had a little more money, which she had invested in a few more cows. The crew followed her to London where she was guest of honour at the Women of the Year gala. But, out of the spotlight, her back-breaking work on the farm continued; and each winter became harder for her to endure. With her health and strength slowly failing, she had to make a heart-rending decision: to sell her family farm and the animals she adored and move into a warm cottage in a nearby village. Both programmes about this extraordinary Daleswoman have been put on a single DVD, Hannah Hauxwell's Winter Tales. Barry Cockcroft also took her around Europe and to New York for further documentaries.Hannah Goes To Town
The footage of Hannah's journey to the Women of the Year gala, briefly touched upon in A Winter Too Many, was used alongside additional footage (collected at the time) to document Hannah's entire trip.Hannah Hauxwell: Innocent Abroad
in 1992 director Barry Cockcroft once again ventured into Hannah's life making a documentary series (also called An Innocent Abroad) which followed Hannah on her first trips outside of the UK. On a grand tour of Europe, reminiscent of Victorian ladies, Hannah visited France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy in her naive but captivating style. The series was released as a set of DVDs. The series proved so popular it was followed by another trip, this time to the USA in 1993.Retirement
In January 2008, she was still living in her retirement home in the village of CotherstoneCotherstone
Cotherstone is a village and civil parish in the Pennine hills, in Teesdale, County Durham, England.Cotherstone lies within the historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District it was transferred to County Durham for...
, less than five miles (8 km) from Low Birk Hatt Farm, where the meadows have been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
, Hannah's Meadows
Hannah's Meadows
Hannah's Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district of south-west County Durham, England. It consists of three fields, located at Low Birk Hatt Farm, on the north side of Blackton Reservoir, in Baldersdale, some 7 km west of the village of Cotherstone...
. A new book, Hannah Hauxwell—80 Years in the Dales (W. R. Mitchell) was published in 2008. A new DVD, Hannah Hauxwell—An Extraordinary Life, featuring Too Long A Winter, A Winter Too Many, and Innocent Abroad, has been published. Hauxwell was interviewed on Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour is a radio magazine programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.-History:Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by Alan Ivimey the programme was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the BBC's Light Programme . It was transferred to its current home in 1973...
in March 2008.
Hauxwell is due to celebrate her 85th birthday in the summer of 2011. To mark her 85th year, she was interviewed by the Yorkshire Post
Yorkshire Post
The Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, a company owned by Johnston Press...
. She revealed that she is still living a frugal life and remains an avid radio listener.
Books
- Seasons of My Life (1989, Arrow Books, Hannah Hauxwell with Barry CockcroftBarry CockcroftBarry Cockcroft was a UK television documentary director, writer and producer. He is best known for his documentary Too Long A Winter about the spinster Hannah Hauxwell who lived alone on a remote farm in the Pennines.A researcher at Yorkshire Television at its inception in 1968, he was making...
and Mostafa Hammuri, ISBN 0-09-972970-9)