Chawton (Jane Austen's Home 1809-1817)

Jane Austen, the novelist, moved to this lovely Hampshire village in 1809. The house had been an inn and was later divided into three cottages. It was owned by her brother, Edward Knight and became her home for most of the last eight years of her life. She died in Winchester in 1817.

When she moved into the house, she wrote, ‘when complete, it would all other houses beat’. Her mother, Cassandra and sister, also called Cassandra, are buried in Chawton churchyard, but Jane is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

The family enjoyed the garden and just outside the garden wall are two oak trees which Jane planted in 1809. Her years at Chawton were very productive. ‘Sense and Sensibility’ and ‘Pride and Prejudice’ were published and ‘Mansfield Park’, ‘Emma’ and ‘Persuasion’ were written whilst she lived here at Chawton.

The house is now a museum, owned by the Jane Austen Memorial Trust.