The Austen carriage was pulled by a donkey as the family could not afford a horse. Most days Jane and her sister Cassandra would walk locally for exercise but for shopping trips they would have used this carriage. This is the board showing the carriage and the photo also shows where the carriage was harnessed to the donkey.
Part 2 follow up to Jane Austen's house Chawton
I have had so many visits, comments and messages about my photos of Jane Austen's House that I am uploading the remainder here for you to see.
My photos of my visit have brought so much pleasure to family, friends and the Wizzley community more so than I could ever have imagined. I had decided to just show my best or what I considered to be my most interesting photos but now, especially for those of you who have enjoyed the photos so much, here are some more. These are the last ones ...PROMISE! :)
I am afraid I figure on one of them, complete with Austen era bonnet. :) I should have been alive then, living in those houses, wearing those bonnets. Fabulous.
It is a testament to a remarkable woman who was writing at a time when women weren't supposed to write or be intelligent or be well paid, that the photos I posted in part one have attracted so many visits to the page .
It is a privilege to share the day with you all.
First page ;-
https://wizzley.com/a-pictorial-post-of-jane-austen-s-house-chawton-hampshire/
The Donkey Carriage and Info Board
An Austen era style bonnet
I wasn't going to try one on but my husband " persuaded " me , This part of the house had lots of costumes to try on. I loved it ; to be in that era ( early 19th C ) house wearing a bonnet from that era was like being a time traveller. I laughed so much.
The photo shows some of the outfits in the background.
The blue gown
Jane's sister Cassandra did a painting of her sister out in the countryside and Jane was in a blue gown. A replica has been made and stands in her bedroom. It is such a pretty shade of blue. I hope Cassandra matched her paint to the colour of Jane's dress.
In Pride and Prejudice Mrs Bennet says to her daughter Jane,
" Jane, run and put on your blue gown ."
I was hoping that Jane Austen included this reference thinking of her own blue gown.
The Kitchen fireplace
This is the fireplace on which some of the food would have been cooked as well as giving heat. The curators have placed pinecones there which I found a pleasing touch.
Jane's friend Martha Lloyd, a widow with no means of support, lived with the family and did most of the cooking.
I loved this fireplace when I saw it, so authentic.
Jane's bedroom
I had hoped this was Jane's bed and wondered if this was where she had died very young . But the bed is an exact replica of her bed and she died at a doctor's house in Winchester.
I am a great fan of information boards and I always photograph them so I can look back at facts that I may have missed or forgotten .
The house is full of excellently researched material and memories from her family.
These pictures show some of the houses she stayed in following the death of her father and before her brother gave them a house on his estate.
Light on her writing table.
I am including a different angle view of her writing table ( to the other article ) as I think this shows how good the light is for her writing .
Cassandra's cup tea rooms
Opposite the house now stands a tea shop which is named after Jane's sister, Cassandra.
Cassandra's Cup Tea Rooms does a splendid afternoon tea and on the ceiling hangs a superb collection of bone china tea cups. How quaint is that.
It really gives atmosphere as you go in and it is an ideal way to finish a visit to Jane Austen's House Chawton, Hampshire.
Thank you to you all for your interest in Jane's house and my visit.
Comments
DerdriuMarrinerMay 30, 2024
There is something atop the writing table. It looks like some container with something projecting out- and side-ward.
Might it be an inkwell with a writing pen?
DerdriuMarrinerMay 29, 2024
Is the table top of beige- and brown-patterned marble? What is the wood base and support to that table-top surface?
DerdriuMarrinerMay 20, 2024
The bone-china tea cups look quite fetching.
What makes them stay in place and what might one do to make them clean if they manage some dust?
VeronicaAug 25, 2017
the cups stay up on the ceiling as a decoration.
The cones don't smell any more; the are just to look pretty.
DerdriuMarrinerAug 25, 2017
VeronicaJul 21, 2017
It is Jane Austen's 200h anniversary since her death. See above my visit to her final home.
VeronicaNov 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.
VeronicaSep 9, 2015
I loved that day.
CruiseReadySep 9, 2015
VeronicaSep 5, 2015
Yes that blue gown. Those women certainly had style. I would so like to think that Jane Austen based her character Jane Bennett's blue gown on this. And they had Cassandra's picture of Jane Austen wearing the dress!
Yes I think the bed is a "tester " bed which had drapes on the top but am not too sure about this. hmmmm ..... "To sleep and to dream "
MiraSep 5, 2015