Jane Austen's House Museum
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Jane Austen's House Museum is a small private museum in the village of Chawton near Alton in Hampshire. It occupies the 17th-century house (informally known as Chawton Cottage) in which novelist Jane Austen spent the last eight years of her life.
Jane Austen Residence
The former steward's cottage was a gift of Jane's brother, Edward Austen Knight to allow his mother and sisters to have a permanent residence. Jane Austen lived in the house with her mother and sister, Cassandra, and a long time family friend Martha Lloyd, from 7 July 1809 until May 1817, when because of illness she moved to Winchester to be near her physician. She died in Winchester on 18 July 1817, though her mother and sister continued to live in the house until their deaths in 1827 and 1845 respectively.
When she arrived at Chawton she had written three novels in draft form, these were Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. It is possible that she revised these novels at the house, before getting them published.[1] In addition it was here that she wrote Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion. [2]
Museum
By the start of the twentieth century part of the house was tenanted by a workmen's club.[3] The remainder of the house was split into cottages for estate workers.
Jane Austen's House Museum was established in 1947 and is owned and run by the Jane Austen Memorial Trust, a registered charity which has as its objects "the advancement of education and in particular the study of English literature, especially the works of Jane Austen."[4] It is visited by ~30,000[5] people each year.[6]
The Museum's collection includes eight music books owned by Jane Austen, with pieces transcribed in her own hand. In addition, among the items of Jane Austen's furniture on display in Chawton Cottage are a Clementi pianoforte (about 1810) and a Hepplewhite bureau-bookcase containing several of her works.[7] The museum also has a collection of other Austen family items and furniture.
Regular events are held at the museum, both to further appreciation of Jane Austen, and to encourage new writers. There are also recitals using the Clementi pianoforte and performances based on her works.
References
- ^ Kathryn Sutherland, Professor of English, Oxford University
- ^ Jane Austen Society
- ^ Home, Gordon (1908), What to see in England: a guide to places of historic interest, natural beauty, or literary association, London: Adam & Charles Black.
- ^ Charity Commission: Jane Austen Memorial Trust, Registered Charity No. 307252
- ^ Chawton Heritage website
- ^ Chawton House Library
- ^ Wyatt, Sue (ed.) (1997), The Hidden Places of Dorset, Hampshire & the Isle of Wight, Altrincham, Cheshire: M & M Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-871815-42-8.
External links
- Jane Austen's House Museum website
- Hampshire County Council: "Chawton - Jane's literary home"
- Jane Austen Society of the United Kingdom
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