Jane Austen's house, Chawton: 5 things to know
Where Jane Austen lived for her last eight years, a famous ring and a cottage that was once a pub with a murderous rumour.
Jane Austen lived at Chawton Cottage in Hampshire from 7 July 1809 until May 1817, the last eight years of her life, and wrote, revised or made ready all six of her novels there.
Jane Austen lived at Chawton Cottage from 7 July 1809 until May 1817, the last eight years of her life, and wrote, revised or made ready all six of her novels there. That is the claim made by Wikipedia's article on Jane Austen's House Museum, and it is why this small Hampshire village draws visitors from across the world.
The ring that nearly left the country
Kelly Clarkson bought Austen's gold and turquoise ring at a London auction in 2012. The UK government then put a temporary export bar on it, and Jane Austen's House bought it, by the export deadline, with a £100,000 anonymous donation. The ring was displayed in 2014. To be clear about the order of events: the singer won it at auction, the government blocked it leaving the country for a time, and the museum bought it by the deadline, with the donation covering £100,000 of the cost. The story is reported by NBC News.
How the Austens got a cottage
Jane's elder brother Edward Austen was the adopted son of Thomas Knight. He added Knight to his name and inherited Chawton House. In 1809 he moved his mother and sisters to a cottage in the village, according to Wikipedia's Chawton article. In other words, Jane's last and most productive years in Hampshire followed from her brother's inheritance, which gave the family a home in the village.
What Domesday says
Chawton appears in the Domesday Book of 1086. The Wikipedia entry, citing the Phillimore edition, lists 19 free residents, 8 smallholders and 6 slaves, along with woodland for 50 pigs. That is a single-source summary, but it gives a good picture of a working village, long before anyone wrote a novel in it.
A Cisco fortune and a lease
A foundation set up by Sandra Lerner and Leonard Bosack, the co-founders of Cisco, bought a 125-year lease on Chawton House for £1.25 million. We haven't given a year, because Stanford Magazine and Wikipedia give 1992, while the Independent Libraries site gives 1993.
The cottage was a pub once
Before Austen, the cottage was the New Inn pub, from 1781 to 1787. Wikipedia says it was the site of two murders, but the Alton Herald and a museum history page call the murders rumoured or apparent. We couldn't find anything independently documented, so please take the tale as a local tale.
Planning a visit
Jane Austen's House is now a museum, and Chawton House is a separate property in the village. If you are making the trip from Waterlooville, check opening times before you go, since we haven't confirmed any in our research.
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