All Things Bright and Beautiful: The Warm and Joyful Memoirs of the World's Most Beloved Animal Doctor

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of animal cruelty.

Skeldale House, the veterinary surgery in Darrowby, symbolizes home and stability. This is where Herriot and his wife Helen live and where the professional practice he shares with the Farnon brothers is located. Skeldale House is run by Herriot’s employer, Siegfried Farnon, who has let Jim and Helen “set up [their] first home on the top” floor of the house rent-free (10). Herriot knows that the arrangement is temporary, but he also appreciates the comfort that this living space affords him and Helen. Though the empty third story rooms are “a makeshift arrangement,” Herriot believes they have “an airy charm, an exhilaration in [this] high perch that many [would envy]” (10). Herriot knows that it is a humble living situation and that he and Helen will have to find an alternative home at some point. In the meantime, however, he revels in the space, which reiterates Herriot’s grateful, humble nature.

This is also home to the veterinary surgery below, where Herriot works with Siegfried and his brother Tristan Farnon. Like the rooms where he lives above, the surgery offers Herriot professional and financial stability.