A picturesque village nestled in a valley, with rolling hills in the background. The village houses are made of stone including the roofs. A small bridge crosses a stream in the foreground.

Thwaite’s Gift to the Natural World: The Lives of the Kearton Brothers

A typical Swaledale landscape: stone-built cottages in Thwaite and those endlessly fascinating dry-stone walls dissecting the surrounding fields. Many of the walls date from the 18th century, but, alas, there is the obligatory parked car ruining the scene. Otherwise, one imagines this view would be instantly familiar to Thwaite’s greatest sons, Richard and Cherry Kearton.

Born into humble beginnings—because, of course, greatness must always start humbly—they inherited a love of nature from a father obsessed with birds and a grandfather mad about fishing. Against all odds, including Richard’s childhood injury, which left him with one leg shorter than the other, they became pioneers of wildlife photography. Yes, they were those daring sorts who built “natural hides” and took the revolutionary step of photographing birds’ nests with eggs, which had apparently never occurred to anyone before.

A black and white photograph of a large bare tree in winter. The brothers are visible high up in the tree, seemingly working on the branches.
The Keartons would openly share their perilous exploits, such as scaling dizzying heights with ropes and ladders to capture the extraordinary sight of a siskin’s nest perched precariously on a twig. Truly a groundbreaking feat of photography—slthough I suspect this was staged as it was obviously taken in winter.

The brothers collaborated on books, with Richard writing the words and Cherry taking the photographs. Their groundbreaking work, like ‘British Birds’ Nests: How, Where and When to Find and Identify Them’, shook the world to its core with photographic illustrations. Sir David Attenborough, no less, cites them as an inspiration, which is precisely the level of approval one needs to be taken seriously.

Cherry, ever the intrepid one, went on expeditions around the globe, famously tagging along with Theodore Roosevelt in Africa. He snapped images of wildlife and even filmed London from the air—a novelty in an era when seeing the city without a haze of smoke must have been quite the feat. Both brothers were vocal about conservation, which undoubtedly helped secure their legacy among those inclined to care about such things.

If you want to know more, the Keld Resource Centre holds a wonderful photographic archive online. Richard’s fascinating book, Wild Nature’s Ways, has also digitised for your perusal. And if you are short of time, The Guardian has featured a selection of their photographs in an article, which, naturally, can be found online as well. Links are provided above, should your curiosity be sufficiently piqued.


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One response to “Thwaite’s Gift to the Natural World: The Lives of the Kearton Brothers”

  1. John Richardson avatar

    Great post, thank you. ATB, John

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