Visiting Jane Austen's House in Chawton

 And last but not least, actually the best post of all, my visit to Jane Austen's house in Chawton. I wanted to actually enjoy it, and enjoying any site with a small child is entirely dependent on their mood and whims. So, the hotel arranged a taxi to take me over to Chawton by myself (and it was even a lady driver, which I appreciated! She did drop me off at the wrong place insisting it was Austen's house, but luckily it's a small town and I just trotted over to where I needed to be). 

The house below was her last home, where she lived for eight years and wrote and revised her six novels before dying at 41.

The below is Jane Austen's donkey carriage; they would have kept a pair of the creatures beyond the garden. Her brother Edward provided his mother and sisters with the cottage, which was on his estate in Chawton--he inherited it after being adopted by a wealthy, childless couple who made him their heir on the requirement that he take their last name (Knight). It seems generous, but he also could have let them move into the cottage considerably earlier, especially given their reduced and tight circumstances in Bath after Mr. Austen died.

  

 

The wallpaper below is recreated from what was found in the 1940s as the home was being turned into a museum; it dates to the time Jane lived in the house. The window in this sitting room was also bricked up to give the Austens more privacy, as it overlooked a busy and noisy road. 

 

    

 

This room was a trove of treasures--it's the site where Jane read aloud for the first time from a published copy of Pride and Prejudice. It also contains Mr. Austen's bookcase and I believe these chairs belonged to the family as well, though I didn't take a picture of the placard and now I can't zoom in enough to read it.

 

  

After the sitting room is the dining room, with Jane's little writing table in the corner (though it's very small and it's more likely she composed her novels on the portable writing desk that her father gave her when she was 19; it's at the British Museum). Regardless of what she may have written on the table, it was still so emotional to see it--a piece of Jane's life two-plus centuries later, when she's brought countless people so much joy through her stories. This home was the first time she was settled and had enough privacy to really focus on writing, and it's sobering to think of what else we might have had from her genius if she hadn't died so young.

    

 

 

  

Trying on a replica of Jane's turquoise ring, which was actually missing from the museum as it's on display in NYC at the Morgan Library. Ships in the night.... But I also learned one of my favorite stories on the trip, which is that Jane Austen's ring was auctioned in 2012 and Kelly Clarkson bought it. A temporary export ban kept the ring in the country, and there was such an outcry that funds were quickly raised to buy it back; Kelly had a replica made and the ring stayed where it belongs. It's one of three known pieces of Jane's jewelry left!

  

First editions of some of Jane's novels and a replica of Jane's pelisse, which is a walking coat fasionable during the Regency era.

 

There were other exhibits throughout the house, and you can learn a phenomenal amount about Jane's life. After you exit, you can dress up in Regency clothes, so I did! I recruited a kind couple to take my picture.

    

 

  

I also really enjoyed the gift store and its fun novel-themed treats; it was very hard not to buy everything.

     

And finally, as you exit there's a Clueless exhibit with a replica costume of Cher's most famous look.

  

After the museum, I had a few minutes to kill before Chawton House opened, so I went across the street o Cassandra's Cup to have a shortbread and a glass of tea (it seemed absolutely necessary to my Austen experience). It was very crowded inside even so early, so I sat outside and that was just as lovely.

 

 

Chawton House is about a 7 minute walk from Jane's cottage, with cute houses along the way. Also on the grounds is St. Nicholas's church, which Jane attended from 1809 to 1817. Her sister and mother are buried there side by side. It's sad Jane isn't there beside Cassandra, who was really the love of her life. I also learned from a docent in the house tour that Elizabeth Knight (the owner of Chawton) was likely one of the inspirations for Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice, and she required the church bells to be rung whenever she left the estate.

    

 

    

 

    

 

I couldn't figure out how to get the church door open--embarrassing fiddly little knob--so I walked up to Chawton House,  an estate which has been owned by the Knight family since 1551. The estate eventually passed down to Jane's brother Edward, as previously mentioned, and she would have been a frequent visitor. In 1992, the founder of Cisco Systems took a lease on the house and opened a library for scholars with a focus on women writers from 1630 to 1800.

 

     

I took a walk around the grounds before I went into the house, as it seemed like the sky was about to open and I wanted to make sure I saw it all. 

 

    

 

Below is a painting of Elizabeth Knight, who refused to let either of her husbands take her estate.  

 

    

 

 

The silk suit that belonged to Edward as a teenager.

 

Since the house is now a place of study, it has rotating exhibits...the one when I visited was on Mary Robinson, an English actress and poet with a fairly scandalous life--she was King George IV's first public mistress. I didn't know anything about her, so I really enjoyed all that I learned.

  

And the most exciting part--when I was about to leave, one of the docents asked if I'd like to see the private library (which, of course!). He chatted with me a bit and then said, "You know, I'm an Austen myself." I looked at his nametag, saw he was a Knight, and yes he was an Austen descendant! He's Edward Knight's third great-grandson, meaning he's one of Austen's great nephews. He was born in India but grew up in Chawton house, and you can read all about him here. He was so charming, and it felt surreal meeting someone not only related to Austen, but who has been so steeped in her life and who now gives his time back to preserving her legacy as well as that of his family's estate. I also bought his daughter's book, and he got it signed for me!

 

  

I had a little time before I needed to head back, so I ate in the local pub (a burger and fries). Then it started pouring and my taxi arrived, so it was back to the hotel to meet up with Elowen and Taylor and tell them about my magical day.