Wallfest: Barbara Phipps Talk on Charles Waterton

Barbara Phipps will give a fascinating talk on Charles Waterton, the pioneering naturalist whose ideas influenced Charles Darwin and later inspired Sir David Attenborough.

Attenborough described Waterton as:

 “one of the first people anywhere to recognise not only that the natural world was of great importance, but that it needed protection as humanity made more and more demands on it” (Wakefield Express, 23 February 2013).

Barbara has a long personal connection to Walton. She explains:

“I lived in Walton as a child, so from an early age I was aware of Charles Waterton as the eccentric taxidermist, but my knowledge went no further than that. In 2000 I moved back to the village and became increasingly interested in its history, which eventually led to me writing a book about the life of its once-famous squire.”

Her talk explores what inspired Waterton to build a nine‑foot wall around his parkland, creating within it the world’s first nature reserve. The talk offers fresh insight into the ideas and actions that underpin Helen Riddle’s artwork, and there will be time afterwards to revisit the exhibition and view the work with new perspectives.

This event is in partnership with Wallfest.