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On 16
th May we caught the No 38 bus at Petersfield and headed for Chawton. The bus went past Selborne where we visited previous day.
We got off at the pub, opposite to Jane Austen’s House. Like Selborne, there were a lot of thatched roof houses in Chawton.
Jane Austen’s House Museum We entered the shop and paid for the admission fees. Jane Austen is one of Britain’s best loved authors and lived in this brick house for 8 years. This was the house where she wrote and revised all her major works such as Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park. Despite its countryside location, there were a lot of visitors..
We were asked to enter into the house from the Drawing room, west side of the house. To commemorate her prolific works, since becoming a museum, the layout of the house has been restored as far as possible to the building Jane Austen knew. The Drawing Room had her father, Revered George Austen’s mahogany bureau bookcase and the piano, which she practised in the morning before
breakfast.
We walked through the Vestibule, where it was thought to be as a main entrance, and reached the Dining Parlour, where she spent a lot of time, e.g. organizing breakfast, preparing tea and coffee. At the corner of the room housed a little writing table, for which she used to draft her works.
Up the stairs to the left was Jane’s Bedroom where she shared with her sister Cassandra. The room displayed a pretty tent bed. Next to Jane’s Bedroom is the Family Room which would have been occupied by her mother. The family Room has become the exhibition room which housed all the historic objects – silk mittens, silk slippers, folding fans, which would have been worn by ladies attending balls and dances – and Bil bocatch and spillikins, which would have been used for outdoor games. All of these objects were mentioned in Jane’s letters and she included experienced of attending balls and playing outdoor games such as cricket in her novels.
We then moved to The Admiral’s Room, which is dedicated to Jane’s Seafaring bothers Francis and Charles. The navy featured prominently in two of her novels
– Persuasion, Mansfield Park.
The adjoined Admiral Room displayed a masterpiece: the quilt work, which was executed by Jane, her sister Cassandra and her mother. This medallion quilt work was made with the design of birds and a basket of flower surrounded by a panel of over 200 diamonds.
After that, we strolled through the garden, which has been redesigned as a country cottage garden. The garden was planted with an extensive range of flowers and shrubs that would have known to the Austen woman.
We watched the film at the learning centre. I bought a book, ‘Teenage Fiction’ which she wrote when she was young.
Chawton House We had ‘cream tea’ for lunch at Cassandra’s Tea Room. This room had lovely tea pots, cups displayed and jams and lavender teas which were produced in Hampshire.
In Chawton, there are several buildings which were known to Jane Austen – Clinkers, Prowtings. We looked at these buildings and then headed for Chawton House.
Chawton was surrounded by lush countryside and pasture
land where sheep were grazing. Chawton House was standing in the middle of the countryside. As we walked on the gravel path, we found St Nicholas Church on the right side. We popped in there. This is the church where the Austen family used, and there were graves for Jane’s mother and sister.
Chawton House has been preserved as one of the Jacobean mansions. This authentic mansion was inherited to Edward Austen and was known to Jane Austen as the ‘Great House’. The receptionist welcomed us and asked us if we had visited Jane Austen’s House Museum. We answered ‘Yes’ and he gave us discount for the admission to Chawton House.
We looked round the long gallery, drawing room, the dining room where she enjoyed meals with her family and the library where a number of Gothic novels were kept.
This Jacobean House would have looked old to Jane. By strolling through these authentic oak panelled rooms and atmospheric interiors and envisaging that she was having formal dinners with her family and attending balls, I could see how these scenes influenced her and these experienced reflected on her literary works. There
were Gothic novels she used to read in her childhood like The Romance of the Forest and The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe and these haunting descriptions greatly inspired her. There was the special exhibition of Gothic novels with the theme of Jane Austen’s novels.
We decided to have a quick look at the Walled Garden and Herb Garden. There were various vegetables and fruits grown on the walled garden and culinary herbs grown on the herb garden. The parkland garden was quite big and beautiful; its beauty and wilderness was used for Jane’s novels.
By visiting Jane Austen’s Museum and Chawton House, we were immersed with her literary world on 16 May.
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