Jane Austen
‘Tis a truth universally acknowledged that a Jane Austen fan in search of a day out should head for the South East as it’s a region full of Jane Austen information and inspiration to her works.
Jane Austen was born on 16th December 1775 in her father’s rectory at Steventon, Hampshire. The rectory no longer stands but you can visit the 12th century church where she was baptised. Her brother Edward lived at nearby Chawton House, now the Chawton House Library which is open to tours.
Dances were a popular activity of the day and Jane Austen loved to go to them at the Vyne, a 16th century house near Basingstoke in Hampshire which is now open to the public.
The countryside provided her with many inspirations; picnic at Box Hill on the North Downs of Surrey like Jane Austen’s heroine, Emma. Wander around the romantic ruins of Netley Abbey near Southampton in Hampshire and step into a scene from Northhanger Abbey.
Visit Jane Austen’s House, a small private museum, and see the bedroom she shared with her sister but pride of place is her desk by the window in the parlour where so many Jane Austen classics were revised and written including Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion.
In 1816 she became ill and moved to Winchester in Hampshire for medical care. Alas, this would be her final chapter. Jane Austen died here on 18th July 1817 aged 41. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral where a tablet pays tribute to her prolific.
