A pictorial post of Jane Austen's House, Chawton, Hampshire

by Veronica

A holiday day out prompted me to think how blessed I was to be standing in HER HOUSE, her bedroom, her home and garden. With so many photos to share I decided to put some here.

Jane Austen is a name known to many and loved by many. She was a woman writing at a time when women were undervalued in society, at a time when there were very few female writers. Her books cover such topics as adultery, pre marital sex, infidelity, promiscuity and marital abuse under a veneer of respectability.

What was the daily life like for this unmarried, principled woman who has charmed and influenced countless male and female over 200 years?

Details of the house can be found in many places, but here I want to share my excitement and pleasure of a lovely afternoon in my heroine's home. Here I wanted to take a look at Jane Austen from a slightly different perspective. I hoped that seeing where she lived through my lens would give you a taste of her life and times.

Jane lived near Alton and was a frequent visitor to Bath

Jane Austen's House
Jane Austen's House
c/o Veronica
The Austen Kitchen
The Austen Kitchen
c/o Veronica
Austen dining room
Austen dining room
c/o Veronica
Jane's writing table .
Jane's writing table .
c/o Veronica
In the Austen kitchen
In the Austen kitchen
c/o Veronica
little table
little table
c/o veronica
Fireplace in the dining room
Fireplace in the dining room
C/o Veronica
The Austen carriage
The Austen carriage
c/o Veronica

Picture 1
When Jane's father died,  her brother found a home for a home for Jane, sister Cassandra and their mother. Their friend also lived here. Jane did not die here though. She was so ill she was taken to Winchester to a doctor's where she died.

Picture 2
It was quite fascinating to see where the family prepared their food. I could imagine them being in the house and the garden was lovely and restful too.

Picture 3
The dining room was lovely. The dinner service shown here was Jane's brother's
The fireplace was where the ladies made tea and coffee after dinner.

Picture 4
Fascinating and  exciting. Jane was believed to have written her books at THIS TABLE. It was in the dining room. Did she write Pride and Prejudice here at this very table ?

Picture 5
 These are some jelly moulds in the kitchen. Seeing these made the Austens seem like very real people.

Picture 6
This is a lovely little Japanese table.

Picture 7
The fireplace where Jane would have made the tea and coffee. It was fashionable for the ladies to make tea and coffee after dinner and this ritual appears in some of the novels.

Picture 8
The Austen carriage. This was very small by standards of the day but was probably sufficient for their needs. Jane and her mother and sister lived modestly.

I hope I have conveyed the wonder of the visit.

Updated: 04/15/2018, Veronica
 
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DerdriuMarriner on 05/17/2024

Thank you for your comment below on Sep. 2, 2017, in answer to my previous, same-day comment and question.

Congratulations on the writing-desk photo at the Bronte Parsonage!

Is there any way to share that photo opp -- ;-D -- on Wizzley?

Veronica on 09/02/2017

Yes indeed. The ladies were teeny tiny in stature. Queen Victoria was not more than 5ft tall or less in fact.

I did have my photo taken at the Bronte Parsonage , Haworth writing desk recently. That was a fantastic moment.

DerdriuMarriner on 09/02/2017

Veronica, Would the three women all have fit into such a tiny-looking carriage seat? Where would the candles have been placed if she wrote other than by daylight? That chair would have kept her posture straight!
Now if only you could have had a picture of yourself taken in your fetching bonnet with paper at her table!

Veronica on 07/30/2017

KINBESA

Ah "Persuasion " ... So beautifully written. I love it.

kimbesa on 07/22/2017

Thanks for posting this! It's a hard choice between Jane's books. And the movies, too. The first one coming to mind right now is Persuasion with Amanda Root.

Veronica on 07/21/2017

UPDATE
This week sees the 200th anniversary of Jane's death at Winchester.

She is also being commemorated on British banknotes too.

About time too.

Veronica on 11/29/2015

N.B. For those of you able to visit, Jane Austen's House is open, free on her birthday .

The notice is below ;-

Jane's Birthday
16 December10:30am- 4:30pm (Last entry 4:00pm)
Free Entry

Join us once again to celebrate Jane Austen's Birthday. As in previous years there will be free entry for the day and we invite you to visit the house, which will be decorated ready for Christmas, and to join us for a Mince Pie and a cup of something warming.

Veronica on 09/05/2015

Perhaps it was a place that she felt comfortable and it also saved on the cost of candles. They were quite poor by this date. I was enthralled and then to sit in her garden was incredible.

The house is largely unchanged since she lived there.

It is worth a visit.

Mira on 09/05/2015

I see now about Jane Austen and that table. :) I share your enthusiasm for this place :)

Veronica on 09/05/2015

I know. She is truly believed to have written at the little writing table in the parlour there. Her family noted it in their letter writing and her descendants memories and she was happily situated there by the window in the light.

I was surprised to see it so small but this does seem to be the case that she sat at that little table to write. It was amazing to see. I went made with my camera I was so excited to visit.


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