Helen Leech (1839-1931) married Rupert Potter on 8 August 1863. A daughter, Beatrix, the author and illustrator of the celebrated Peter Rabbit books, was born 28 July 1866; Bertram was born 14 March 1872. Little is known of Helen's childhood or education and much of what we do know of her as a wife and mother is extracted from Beatrix Potter's journal which gives a teenager's rather biased view of her as a disagreeable and oppressive high Victorian woman.

Helen was born into considerable wealth; her father, John Leech, was a prosperous cotton merchant and newly built the family estate, Gorse Hall, on a hill overlooking the town of Stalybridge in Cheshire. Helen's upper-middle-class upbringing would have included instruction in household management and preparation for a life in society. Girls of her class were also expected to become accomplished in the 'genteel' arts, including embroidery and drawing.

Extant landscapes, such as this sketch of the town of Newton viewed from Gorse Hall, produced by Helen before her marriage, suggest she enjoyed more than just a fashionable pleasure in painting and drawing. She shows a keen understanding of perspective and composition and an above average skill in brushwork.