Esme: Guardian of Snowdonia

by Teleri Bevan

A profile of Esme Kirby, the conservationist who formed the Snowdonia National Park Society. Her career began as an actress, and at 23 she married Thomas Firbank, whose bestselling book, I Bought a Mountain (1940) tells of their married life at Dyffryn, a 3,000-acre farm near Capel Curig. Their marriage ended as the Second World War began but Esm‚ continued to farm on her own in the rugged Snowdonia landscape and made a success of it. She remarried and became a volunteer conservationist and formed the Snowdonia National Park Society, to ensure the mountains were protected from future development.

154 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2014

Reviews

[Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas Firbank's I Bought a Mountain (1940) continues to be a best-selling account of his spell as a sheep farmer in Snowdonia. Despite being only 23 years old and with no experience of farming, he bought Dyffryn a farm with much of its land on the slopes of the Glyder mountains. It is a fascinating story but what isn't so well known, is that within 5 years he left the farm never to return. He left his wife Esme behind and this book tells her story and how much she achieved through sheer hard work and dedication to stay on at the farm and made the farm a success against all the odds. It is difficult now, to appreciate how unusual a woman farmer would have been and although having been brought up in the Conway Valley she didn't have a farming background.

Those who knew her testified that "She works with two men from dawn to dusk and, in spite of her slight physique, she can beat most men in a hard day's work such is her strength and endurance." This strength and determination meant that she was accepted and helped by the local farming community. She made a success of Dyffryn and by leaving it to the National Trust, who let out the house and lease the land to be farmed traditionally, has left a lasting legacy.

The name Esme Kirby is more well known for her establishment of the Snowdonia National Park Society (now Snowdonia Society) which acts as a 'watchdog' regarding the Park Authority's activities and acts to "protect and enhance the beauty and special qualities of Snowdonia and to promote their enjoyment in the interests of all who live in, work in or visit the area both now and in the future." Whilst she was an extraordinary woman and achieved so much, having worked in the environmental field I understand her frustrations with the fact that statutory organisations have to follow due process, are hamstrung by existing legislation and sometimes decisions are taken which seem unexplainable such as the Cwm Dyli pipeline, however an approach of wanting to preserve everything and being unprepared to compromise isn't always helpful.

Teleri Bevan appreciates her achievements but doesn't shy away from the fact that she could be extraordinarily difficult to work with and for, was inflexible in her views, unprepared to allow others to take the Society forward which eventually led to members loosing respect for her and her meddling which is sad. However this led to her forming the Esme Kirby Snowdonia Trust which was instrumental in setting up the campaign, and project to save and restore red squirrel populations on Anglesey so even in the last years of her life she was still 'making a difference'.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography of Esme, formerly Firbank, the first wife of Thomas Firbank, author of "I bought a mountain". This is mostly the story of what happened next: although there is no clue in his book, Thomas had already left by the time it was published. Esme remained on the farm, alone at first and then eventually remarrying, and became involved in several conservation projects and activities in the area, particularly the Snowdonia Society. Towards the end of her life she met Thomas Firbank again, and they appeared to be reconciled, but he took umbrage at her and her husband's plans to leave the farm to the National Trust and their last communications seem to have been rather bitter. Throughout her life she seems to have both inspired and antagonised people, and to have acted in an autocratic manner. Some people refused to speak about her to the author of this book. It's sometimes a bit of a dull read and there are some strange incomplete sentences which suggest a lack of editing. The pictures are lovely though!

[Steve Chilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bevan's book has some interesting additional information on the 'I bought a mountain' story. In this it helps to complete the original story. However, I wanted a fuller version of the Welsh 3000m challenge she did which isn't there. The narrative is rather dry and political at times - as it covers Esme's broader interest in the conservation of Snowdonia - and that bit didn't hold my interest interest so well as the earlier farming stuff.