Charles Waterton (1782 - 1865) Squire of Walton Hall
Traveller, Naturalist and Conservationist (born 3rd June 1782, died 27th May 1865).

This pioneering naturalist opened what is now recognised as the World's first nature reserve in the grounds of his estate at Walton Hall near Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Over some 30 years he recorded 123 species of birds in Walton Park.

His great interest in nature took him to both South and North America.

He brought large quantities of the poison curare (wourali), still used in modern medicine, into Europe in the belief that it might cure rabies, and he invented the Waterton taxidermy method, a way of preserving animals without stuffing them.

Although known as the Squire of Walton, he could have styled himself the 27th Lord of Walton#, had it not been for the Reformation, which took his family's title away. Read a brief history of the Watertons. (# apparently, his son, Edmund was also said to have made a claim to be the 27th Lord, a slight confusion of numbers)

He was a devout Catholic who took a firm stand on religious matters - particularly the relationship of the State and the established order.

He lost his young wife soon after the birth of his only son, Edmund; the son eventually sold Walton Hall to family enemies - the Simpsons.

He fought against pollution - for the small village of Walton also harboured a pollution pioneer - one of many such pioneers in the world during and since the Industrial Revolution. This entrepreneur was Edward Thornhill Simpson, a soap manufacturer. Mr Simpson was the unofficial adopted son of an earlier soap manufacturer, William Thornhill Hodgson (who died before the legal battle with Waterton). Hodgson & Simpson acquired the triangle of land that became known as Soap House Yard.

When Hodgson killed himself, Simpson took over the business and it thrived. This manifestation of the Industrial Revolution contributed to pollution in and around the village. It was the cause of a long running dispute between Squire Waterton and the Pilkingtons on the one hand and the Simpson family on the other.

The Squire won the battle, and the Simpsons went off to pollute Wakefield (and to create employment, it must be said), but Waterton lost the war when the Simpsons acquired Walton Hall after his death, following the sale of the estate by his son Edmund.

The Heronry and Stubbs Wood or Piece still exist within the walls of Walton Hall. The Waterton Country Discovery Centre is at the nearby Anglers Country Park between Crofton and Ryhill.

Although Squire Waterton had brothers, a sister, a son and relatives scattered around the world, he was essentially the last in a long, distinguished line of Watertons to live at Walton Hall. His son, Edmund, lived there for a short while, but, sadly, his continuing financial problems forced him to sell up and move to Lincolnshire. The Waterton family continues to this day in England and Australia, and, no doubt, elsewhere.

Today, Walton Hall is a hotel - the Waterton Park Hotel - and has regained something of its former splendour after years of neglect.

Walton Park, where the Squire spent many hours observing wildlife, is now a golf course ("Waterton Park") in a splendid setting. There is public access to much of the park.

There have been a number of works by and about Charles Waterton covering his life as an adventurer, a naturalist and as a country squire. No attempt is made here to write another; instead, I intend just to illustrate some of the highlights of the life of the Squire. A list of reference sources is contained on the Links page.

Read an extract of autobiographical notes by Charles Waterton.

An old view of Walton Hall from the west, the house being somewhat skewed in relation to the Iron Bridge.
For more about Walton Hall, click here.

Further afield:
Waterton Lakes
National Park of Canada
Southern Alberta.

The park's name derives from the Waterton Lakes.

In 1858, this chain of lakes was named in honour of Squire Charles Waterton by Lieutenant Thomas Blakiston, Royal Artillery. Blakiston was a member of the Palliser Expedition investigating possible routes through the Rocky Mountains.

Waterton never travelled to this part of Canada, visiting only Montreal and Quebec.