{"id":29911,"date":"2026-08-29T15:40:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T14:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29911"},"modified":"2026-08-29T15:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T14:40:24","slug":"chawton-an-austen-double-whammy-the-museum-and-the-research-centre","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29911","title":{"rendered":"Chawton, An Austen Double Whammy: The Museum AND the Research Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Chawton, An Austen Double Whammy: The Museum and The Research Centre <\/strong><\/p>\n

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1a\u00a0 The Museum and The Jane Austen Society <\/strong><\/p>\n

Chawton House had been bought by the Knight family for the Bailiff of their Chawton estate in Hampshire in 1769.<\/p>\n

In 1809, Jane\u2019s brother Edward, was able to offer his widowed birth mother and his sisters the House to live in as he had been adopted by the wealthy but childless Knight family and had since inherited it.<\/p>\n

After Jane died in 1817, Mrs Austen and Cassandra lived on in the house until 1845 when Cassandra died.\u00a0 The house then reverted to the Estate and was divided into three dwellings for estate workers.\u00a0 It was also used as an Estate Office and as a working men\u2019s club.<\/p>\n

In 1940, local lady Dorothy Darnell founded the Jane Austen Society to recognise her astonishing literary reputation and with the aim of saving Chawton House.\u00a0 A benefactor, Mr TE Carpenter, bought the property for \u00a33,000 and set up the Jane Austen Memorial Trust to run the House as a Museum.\u00a0 He had lost his son Philip in WW2 and gave the House to the nation as a memorial to him.<\/p>\n

In 1949 The Duke of Wellington opened the House as a Museum.\u00a0 It was still tenanted, so only the front room was accessible to the public.\u00a0 Gradually, more rooms were opened.<\/p>\n

The Jane Austen Society funded repairs and gradually acquired the collection that is currently on display.\u00a0 It has also funded research and engaged architectural experts to establish how the rooms might have been decorated and set out when the Austens were living there.<\/p>\n

Gradually the house is being returned to its historically accurate Jane-time state.\u00a0 Fortunately, much remains of the original \u2018plain 18th<\/sup> century\u2019 interior, including fittings such as floors, fireplaces, doors and cupboards.\u00a0 Amongst many other exhibits, there is a shirt Jane Austen made for her brother on display; it is a model of neat stitching.\u00a0 Visitors are also invited to play her piano, an instrument she practised regularly.<\/p>\n

Jane Austen\u2019s House now has Grade 1 Listed Building status.<\/p>\n

\"\"It is an accredited Museum and has a charming cottage garden, reminding us that the Austen ladies led a practical life, looking after livestock and gardening, as well as painting screens and sewing.<\/p>\n

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1b Jane Austen\u2019s House, Chawton, Tech Spec<\/strong><\/p>\n

The square red brick house at the junction of two\u00a0\"\" lanes was originally built 500 years ago as a thatched timber farmhouse.\u00a0 It subsequently became a coaching inn where travellers and their carriage horses could rest between legs of their journey.<\/p>\n

According to its Grade 1 Listing, the house is<\/strong><\/p>\n