May 23, 2025 – Jane Austen in Vermont

I had planned this day with my friend Tony Grant of “London Calling” fame – we met at Waterloo Station under the famous clock [where I promptly lost my sunglasses – bought a ridiculous looking magenta pair at Boots and wore them for the rest of the tour..]

Our itinerary was to take the train to Tony’s house [Tony graciously met me at Waterloo: did you know that anyone over 60 in the UK gets to ride all transportation for FREE?? – well, if you are UK citizen that is], where Marilyn offered me tea and goodies and then the three of us were off driving to Frances Burney sites: this was our plan:

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We drove to Streatham to see the area of the Hester Thrale’s [later Piozzi] home at Streatham Park where many literary greats were entertained – most especially Dr. Johnson and Frances Burney – the house sadly demolished in 1863 for “suburban development.”

Then onto the village of Chessington where we saw the spot where Chessington Hall existed, the country house of Samuel Crisp, the close friend of Frances Burney – she largely wrote Cecilia here while visiting. [the house was demolished in 1965 for a housing development…a sad pattern here, don’t you think?]

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A number of years ago Tony and I did a trek to Box Hill – but a rainy / foggy day allowed for NO VIEWS [see post here and the foggy pictures at the end] – so this time we made up for that by walking the trails and seeing exactly where Emma and crew had their debacle of a picnic – you could almost hear “Badly done!” echoing in the breeze…

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and some interesting after-Jane history at Box Hill:

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Had lunch at The Running Horses Inn & Pub – well, they were past serving lunch, but a funeral lunch had just finished and the grieving family invited us to eat whatever we wanted from what was left of their father’s ‘celebration of life’ luncheon – a very kind and generous offer –

I did love their wallpaper in the ladies’ room:

So drinks and free food at the pub and then we were off to Mickleham and the house [Juniper Hall – now a part of the National Trust] where Germaine de Staël and the French émigrés lived – this is where Burney was first introduced to Alexandre D’Arblay – love at first sight apparently! You cannot go inside as it now is a field center for educational camps, but we did do a quick walk-through of the entrance area and the room where Burney likely met D’Arblay [sans vacuum]…

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And then off to the Norman church in Mickleham where Burney and D’Arblay were married on July 28, 1793, the St. Michael and All Angels Church:

[We did not do Great Bookham today as it was to be part of the JASNA tour, so stay tuned for that with its Burney connection…]

Tony & Marilyn in front of the St. Mary the Virgin Church in Chessington – the church was not open – we would like to have seen the Burne-Jones designed window of “Faith, Hope, and Charity” and the Samuel Crisp Memorial penned by Frances Burney [here thanks to wikipedia]: