Jane Austen’s House

Jane Austen died 205 years ago today. She was born on the 16th December 1775 at Steventon in Hampshire. Most people associate Bath with her and her work and Jane moved here in December 1800 with her family when her father, George Austen, decided to retire from the church. After his sudden death, however, Jane, her sister, Cassandra, and their mother were left in a precarious situation financially. Eventually, her brother, Edward, offered them the use of a cottage in Chawton village where they moved in 1809 with their friend, Martha Lloyd. Jane fell ill in 1816 and by mid-April 1817, she was confined to bed. In May, Cassandra and her brother, Henry took her to Winchester for treatment and she died there on 18th July 1817 at the age of 41. She is buried in the north aisle of the nave of Winchester Cathedral.

I have visited the Jane Austen’s House Museum, the house in Chawton several times and recommend it to anyone interested in Jane or her writing. The interior has been set out to give visitors a glimpse of how it might have been when Jane lived here. Mrs Austen gave the desk to a servant shortly after her daughter’s death and it was only returned to the house many years later.

This is the little table at which Jane is reputed to have written. She wrote after breakfast each morning and this is where she is thought to have written and revised all her novels during her time at Chawton. I loved seeing this and felt completely in awe of her ability to work with so little space!

The gardens are lovely and if you are lucky, you might get a glimpse of Marmite the cat. But approach with caution as he/she likes his/her space and can get a little defensive! We managed to have a tickle without any trouble fortunately, but we were warned in advance!

The village of Chawton is full of thatched roofs- pleasingly picturesque and peaceful- and Chawton House, the much grander home of Jane’s brother, Edward, lived which is also open to visitors. When we last visited in 2019, we had a delicious lunch at Cassandra’s Cup, a lovely cafe just opposite Jane’s house. A great day out for all!

Jane Austen

16th December 1775- 18th July 1817