Iconic Yorkshire farmer Hannah Hauxwell dies aged 91

Hannah Hauxwell, famous for documentaries which followed her life living on an isolated Pennine farm, has died aged 91
Hannah Hauxwell, famous for documentaries which followed her life living on an isolated Pennine farm, has died aged 91

A Yorkshirewoman famous for her television appearances about her life on an isolated farm in the Pennines has died aged 91.

Retired farmer Hannah Hauxwell appeared in several television documentaries, such as the 1973 programme 'Too Long a Winter', which chronicled the almost unendurable conditions of farmers in the High Pennines in winter.

But she first came to public attention in a Yorkshire Post article published on 6 April 1970 entitled "How to be happy on £170 a year."

Famous for living by basic measures, she ran her isolated 80-acre farm Low Birk Hatt, near Cotherstone, by herself, with no running water or electricity.

The harsh Pennine winters forced Hauxwell to continue work on the farm, where she worked outside tending her few cattle in ragged clothes, in temperatures well below freezing.

Following television exposure, a local factory raised money to fund getting electricity to Low Birk Hatt farm, and she continued to receive thousands of letters and donations from well-wishers around the world following her documentaries.

Hauxwell was picked up again by the media in the early 90s. A travel documentary series spawned that followed her as she made trips abroad to Europe and the United States for her very first time, called 'Innocent Abroad'.

Alan Hinkes OBE, a mountaineer from Yorkshire tweeted: "Hannah Hauxwell RIP. Yorkshirewoman. Farmer. Born in North Riding of Yorkshire in 1926. Don't make 'em like Hannah any more."