Chawton Extract

Extract from chapter 12

1779 : Chawton

“You never know when a good connection may be useful,” Mrs Austen pointed out to her husband, following their visit from the Knights. “Your cousin may be able to help our sons one day with a living or introduce our daughters into society. You must ensure you maintain a regular correspondence with him so that he does not forget you.”

But even her most fanciful imaginings could not prepare her for what happened next.

Photo: Chawton House, Hampshire

The Knights were travelling onwards from Steventon to their estate in Chawton. They planned to stay there a month before returning to their home in Godmersham, Kent. “We would be honoured if you could spare Edward to accompany us to Chawton,” Mr Knight requested. “There will be lots for him to do there, which we feel certain will keep him entertained. There is a full stable of horses to ride and a vast library of books from around the world. What do you say, Cousin?”

Photo: Arlington Court Carriage Museum, Barnstaple, Devon.

Mr Austen was truly surprised, but Neddy’s eyes lit up at the prospect of a trip and Mrs Austen’s heart flipped.

“Just as long as Edward will be home in time for school in the autumn,” Mr Austen agreed.

After a day of frantic packing and lectures from his father covering all eventualities, the excited young Neddy Austen sat up straight and tall in the Knight’s grand carriage to embark upon the first big adventure of his life.

Photo: Chawton House, Hampshire

When he returned four weeks later, he brought back books for his siblings and was full of tales about his visits to Alton, Basingstoke and Winchester. He described his bedroom at Chawton, which had great red and gold drapes on the windows to match the warm velvet curtains around the bed.

Photo: Chawton House, Hampshire

He talked of the billiard room, where he was allowed in the daytime with Mr Knight and a pony he had become attached to that he rode every day. He told his family how he had been out hunting pheasants with the gamekeeper and how the food he had eaten in Chawton was beyond anything he had ever tasted at home.

Photo: The Vyne, Sherbourne St. John, Hampshire

Mr Austen soon lost patience listening to his son’s recollections and removed himself to his study. Neddy was speaking of a world beyond the family’s boundaries and he resolutely felt it was wrong to encourage such grand ideas.

Mrs Austen felt differently. She longed for a contemporary insight into the world she had seen as a girl and enjoyed every remembrance that Neddy shared.

Photo: Chawton House, Hampshire