I haven’t been posting recently, so just want to link to this post on the “Reading with Austen” blog that I write – about three new titles returned to Chawton House that were originally in Edward Austen’s library at Godmersham Park.
Our team at the Godmersham Lost Sheep Society found and was able to purchase two titles; the third was actually found hiding in plain sight in the Knight Collection.
If you have interest in the Reading with Austen project, spearheaded by Professor Peter Sabor, please visit the website here and the blog noted abovewith posts on what’s been found, how to become part of the team, etc. We fundraise through the North American Friends of Chawton House to return books whenever possible.
Where oh where do I begin to tell of this joyous day? All places I have been before, but more engaging touring about with a group of like-minded people, and the chance to see so much more behind the scenes…
We are today off from our Winchester hotel to Chawton – and there to see the two most important sites having to do with Jane Austen: Chawton House and the Jane Austen House Museum.
Chawton House is an Elizabethan manor house still in the Knight family, owned by Edward Austen Knight, Jane Austen’s brother. Edward was adopted by the Knight family and he inherited three estates: Steventon, Chawton and Godmersham Park. You can read all this interesting history here – https://chawtonhouse.org/visit/house/
…the main point being that Edward’s ownership of this Chawton estate gave him the ability to offer the steward’s cottage on the property to his mother and two sisters in 1809 [this is now called the Jane Austen House Museum] – and so, like Godmersham Park, Jane would have visited this house often – a short walk up the road – again, giving her the knowledge of life on a gentleman’s country estate. Edward’s stewardship of his land and properties certainly served as a model for her grand land-owning Heroes in her novels: Mr. Darcy, Mr. Knightley, and Col. Brandon.
[If you have any doubts about Edward’s generosity, please read Linda Slothouber’s book: Jane Austen, Edward Knight, & Chawton: Commerce and Community [Woodpigeon Publishing, 2015.]
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Chawton House is far more than a visit to a grand manor – complete with a tea room, numerous indoor and outdoor events throughout the year, a splendid garden and a place to wander, an Airbnb stay, and a wedding venue – it is most importantly a Library and Centre for the study of early women writers, 1600-1830. https://chawtonhouse.org/the-library/using-the-library/ – which is exactly what it says, a library of early women writers with many rare and unique titles; they also present changing exhibits on the many aspects of these women writers – right now one on “Sisters of the Pen.” [more on this below] – and do not miss their regular online offerings to us far afield.
The history of this library is novel-worthy itself – the American Sandy Lerner, taking on the lease of the property and keeping it from becoming a golf course [!] – the renovations to the house and outlying buildings, the housing of her book collection of these mostly forgotten women writers, and the creation of the now self-sustaining manor we can visit and study at today.
or if you are in the US or Canada, you can join the North American Friends of Chawton House here: https://www.nafch.org/ ]
Lots more to say here, but let’s get to our visit and some photos!
Katie Childs with Edward Austen Knight
We were first greeted by Katie Childs – the Chief Executive [if you have been paying attention, we also met Katie at Godmersham Park!] – who gave us some of the history of the house, the library, current plans and exhibitions. We were able to tour the house on our own [ascending the grand staircase such an experience!] – seeing all the portraits of Knight family members, hung along with some of the famous women writers, actresses, manor house owners – and admiring the heraldic windows that I have posted about before.
Elizabeth Knight – Edward Knight Jr – Montagu George Knight
George Sand – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu – Mary Robinson
and what manor would be complete without an image of the Duchess of Devonshire:
The current exhibition is quite eye-opening, especially if you were not previously aware of the numerous women writers before and during Jane Austen’s time [spoiler alert: Jane Austen did not invent the novel as we know it, nor was she the only woman writing in the late 18th / early 19th century!] – it is called “The Great Forgetting” – the removal of 100s of women writers from the canon, now subject to the ongoing process of being recovered – this exhibition “Sisters of the Pen: Jane Austen, Influence, Legacy” tells this history with both signboards, objects and books – it is beautifully done and no way to quite capture it with random photos – here are a few to give you a sense:
[and for the rest, you just must visit yourself!]
It was nice to see the display on the Godmersham Park library and the Reading with Austen website and the blogwhich tells of the GLOSS finds: “Bulstrode Peachey”, one of the volunteers, was very happy to tell me all about it, and even happier to learn I worked with Peter Sabor in returning the “Lost Sheep” to Chawton House:
It was grand to meet a number of the Chawton House volunteers – those that keep it all going and preserving and sharing the grand history here to visitors like us.
Katie invited us to see some of the recent acquisitions from the Deirdre Le Faye Archive: here is a Mary Robinson print:
and here an example of Le Faye’s numerous fashion prints:
and one of Le Faye’s carriage prints:
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Then a delightful lunch:
….and of course a chance to SHOP and then to wander about the grounds – I did visit the marker at the Upper Terrace, donated to NAFCH by the Vermont Region:
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A short walk down the drive takes us to the Church on the grounds – do I dare say it is a St. Nicholas??! – where Jane and family would have worshipped and where we will find the graves of Mrs. Austen and Cassandra:
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We were then off down the road to the “Chawton Cottage” – now called the JAHM: https://janeaustens.house/ – a short trek in Jane Austen’s footsteps, nothing much changed from her own time here, excepting macadam and sidewalks, and cars roaming about rather than horses and carriages and stagecoaches rumbling by their front window….
Warmly welcomed by house Director Lizzie Dunford, we could tour the house on our own, a living monument to seeing how Jane and her sister Cassandra and her mother lived in this “cottage” but actually quite a large home:
The rooms decorated with the newly minted wallpaper, recreated from the existing fragments, it all feels as though Jane herself is just around the corner…
As there was a concert scheduled for that evening, we were fortunate to be there when the pianist and singer were rehearsing – a Jane Faifax / Frank Churchill moment for sure!
Here is a slideshow of various spots and objects in the house, starting with the infamous writing table where Austen “scribbled” her letters and novels: [scroll right to see all the photos]
And were incredibly lucky again to see the exhibit on “The Art of Cassandra” on view til Sept 7, 2025, and curated by Professor Janine Barchas – a first-time ever display of 10 works by Austen’s sister:
This seemingly modest exhibition of ten artworks is the largest-ever public display of the confirmed works of Cassandra Austen. Not since Cassandra’s creative years in this very cottage have so many of her surviving artworks been gathered together in one place. Four of these were only recently discovered to exist among the possessions of Austen descendants. I’m thrilled that they will once again be displayed in the home where the Austen women lived and worked.’
– Janine Barchas, 2025
[Sorry! I did not take any more photos of Cassandra’s drawings, I was so enchanted by them – this link takes you to the online exhibition!]
The shop here at JAHM is yet another treasure trove as well as a danger to one’s wallet – I regret not buying the ring – I rarely wear gold, and somehow the silver one just doesn’t feel like the real thing…so I shall get through my disappointment by looking at the photo [image from JAHM]:
The garden at JAHM is a delight and you can imagine Jane and Cassandra working in it, enjoying it every day:
Our young Piony [sic] at the foot of the Fir tree has just blown & looks very handsome; & the whole of the Shrubbery Border will soon be very gay with Pinks & Sweet Williams, in addition to the Columbines already in bloom. The Syringes too are coming out. – We are likely to have a great crop of Orleans plumbs…
Jane Austen, 29 May 1811 from Chawton to Cassandra at Godmersham Park
These tulips will have to do!
Time for afternoon tea! [we did not want for food on this tour!]
And then back to the hotel…the evening on our own… a glorious day!!
First, we traveled on our bus today to Goodnestone [did I mention yet our very-talented bus driver on this trip, Paul? A master of small lanes, hedgerows, and city maneuvers, Paul brought his expertise, patience (with all the Jane talk!), and humor to each day. The bus was smaller than the average bus, but with NO SIDE MIRROS, which proved his abilities beyond possibility…[I have a picture thanks to Joy!..]
– but I bring this up because today, traveling down a country lane on the way to Goodnestone, this big red behemoth attracted a herd of sheep like none of us have ever seen – unlike a Gary Larson cartoon, where the cows keep eating and ignoring the passing-by humans, these sheep raced to the fence to visit the huge bus – did they think it was their Mother?? Many of us got out to greet them, all running toward us – whatever they expected or what was on their minds we were unable to determine – but it gave us all a good laugh and we felt more welcomed than ever to the Kent countryside [I did have a Thomas Hardy moment of all the sheep racing to and jumping over the cliff edge in Far From the Madding Crowd, one of the most distressing moments in 19th century literature…but no such sad outcome for us – the fence stopped any such disaster and we just bid them all adieu and continued our journey smiling all the way…]
Goodnestone was the family home of Elizabeth Bridges, wife to Edward Knight. Brook Bridges purchased the home in 1704 [more on him in a bit…] – it remains in the family and now you can visit the house and gardens and it serves as a wedding venue. I was looking forward to seeing this house and having tea there, but alas! our plans were sent all askew by a film crew taking over the house for a “Married at First Sight” filming… the UK series has been on TV since 2015 – I did watch ½ an episode on TV while there and was quite stupefied by its stupidity…but if it helps support the Goodnestone estate, then that is a mere quibble of taste…
So, only distant shots, and a visit to the Church of the Holy Cross, where we were introduced to one of the family who gave us the low-down on the family history, and a tour around the church. This is the church where Edward and Elizabeth were married – it was actually a double wedding [Elizabeth’s sister Sophia and William Deedes], perhaps giving Austen the idea for her Pride and Prejudice double wedding of the Bennet sisters, Elizabeth and Jane.
Of interest to Janeites is the plaque to J. David Grey, one of the founders of JASNA, and installed here in his memory with JASNA’s support.
Then off to Chilham, the village that served as the location for Highbury in the 2009 Emma series. We were able to walk around the village and had lunch at the Woolpack Inn, established in 1480 [so delicious, I forgot to take a single picture!], and an appropriate spot considering our sheep welcome…
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Then to Godmersham Park, my most anticipated spot on the tour. First to the Church, surprisingly not a St Nicholas, but a St. Lawrence: here we had a history lesson about its connections to the Austens.
Godmersham Park was Edward Austen’s home, inherited from his adoptive parents that required him to change his name to Knight. Here he and Elizabeth raised their 11 children [Elizabeth died after the birth of the 11th at the age of 35 in 1808] and where his extensive gentleman’s library was housed, the source of Professor Peter Sabor’s project Reading with Austen– the website offers an interactive plan of the library showing what books were on the shelves and their location as Jane Austen would have experienced. The goal of the project has also been to return as many of the books that were originally in Edward’s library if at all possible – we call ourselves The Godmersham Lost Sheep Society – you can read all about it at these links – we actively fundraise to help in the purchase of any books that might show up at auction or in booksellers’ catalogues.
Godmersham Park
We were honored to be present for the unveiling at the Church of the Susannah Sackree memorial, here with Katie and Kim from Chawton House:
Susannah Sackree was the nursemaid to the Knight children, and memorialized by them in the church and now with this grand memorial on the exterior. It was a very moving moment to see a servant, often forgotten by their employers and history, so lovingly remembered by the Knight family.
Susannah Sackree, Edward Knight, and Thomas Knight Memorials
The Heritage Centre tells the story of the house and grounds – it now serves as home to the Association of British Dispensing Opticians and so you cannot tour the house, BUT, we were allowed into [under a code of silence] the entrance foyer, nearly the same as it was in Austen’s time – but no library to visit or any of the other rooms Jane would have stayed in – it is all classrooms now…
The grounds however we could walk around, and as we know that Jane, being an avid walker, would have strolled around these very spots – one could almost feel her there hovering about…
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Refreshments were gratefully received, and then we were off to Canterbury. Some of us went to the evensong at the Cathedral [one of my favorite things to do when in England], this after walking around the city for a while – we had two goals in mind: to see the portrait of the scandalous father of Elizabeth Bridges, Sir Brook Bridges (1733-91), whose portrait hangs in the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge – here he is in all his glory:
[Bridges married Fanny Fowler, who was heiress to the title Baron Fitzwalter, and still the prominent name here at Goodnestone]:
And Joy and I giving tribute to this early woman writer par excellence:
Our walk around Canterbury found us in delightful conversation with a gentleman who asked where we were from: Joy says California – “You must be a hippie” he says. I in South Carolina but from Vermont, and he goes into rhapsodies about Bernie Sanders! [Bernie’s brother has long lived in England and has served in the Labour Party, and this fellow apparently knows him…it was good to have a conversation about the troubles in the US right now – everyone sympathetic to us but also not appreciative of the tariff situation and concerns about ally relationships…] – it was an enlightening conversation, but we were off to Evensong – which was beautiful, as always, – reserved seats just for JASNA, and though we were unable to take photos during the service, I captured a few on the way out…and the exterior [much restoration work going on covering up the main entrance]:
So, until tomorrow, when we leave our gorgeous Chilston Park Hotel and head to Winchester for four nights, by way of Worthing…
c2025JaneAustenInVermont
Feeling a bit like a “Canterbury Traveller”… [from the Beaney Museum]
To quote her father George Austen in a letter to his sister Mrs. Walter on Dec 17, 1775:
“You have doubtless been for some time in expectation of hearing from Hampshire, and perhaps wondered a little we were in our old age grown such bad reckoners but so it was, for Cassey certainly expected to have been brought to bed a month ago: however last night the time came, and without a great deal of warning, everything was soon happily over. We have now another girl, a present plaything for her sister Cassy and a future companion. She is to be Jenny, and seems to me as if she would be as like Henry, as Cassy is to Neddy. Your sister thank God is pure well after it, and sends her love to you and my brother…” (Austen Papers, 32-3)
In honor of Austen’s birthday, think about donating to JASNA and / or renew your membership – you can find information here: https://jasna.org/join/
A usual every year on Jane’s birthday, JASNA publishes Persuasions-OnLine – you can see the latest edition [Vol. 44, No. 1], filled with several essays from the Pride and Prejudice AGM in Denver, along with other goodies, here: https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/volume-44-no-1/
To quote her father George Austen in a letter to his sister Mrs. Walter on Dec 17, 1775:
“You have doubtless been for some time in expectation of hearing from Hampshire, and perhaps wondered a little we were in our old age grown such bad reckoners but so it was, for Cassey certainly expected to have been brought to bed a month ago: however last night the time came, and without a great deal of warning, everything was soon happily over. We have now another girl, a present plaything for her sister Cassy and a future companion. She is to be Jenny, and seems to me as if she would be as like Henry, as Cassy is to Neddy. Your sister thank God is pure well after it, and sends her love to you and my brother…” (Austen Papers, 32-3)
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In celebration of Austen’s birthday, JASNA has published it’s Persuasions On-Line vol. 43, No. 1, which features a selection of the AGM presentations on Sense and Sensibility, the theme of the 2022 JASNA AGM in Victoria, as well as other interesting essays on all things Jane.
This is also a perfect time to donate to JASNA, or certainly to renew your membership – you can find information here: https://jasna.org/join/
It is also a perfect time to donate to Chawton House, via the North American Friends of Chawton House: Please visit the website at https://www.nafch.org/ and read about their endeavors.
Anyone who donates $150 or more will be sent NAFCH’s 3rd annual limited-edition bobblehead “Capability Jane” (while supplies last), though any amount is gratefully received! Our gardening Jane, named after the renowned gardener and landscape designer of Austen’s era, Capability Brown, though we know she was very “capable” in many areas of her life!
Can there possibly be any signs of Spring with current temperatures what they are?! Even here today in South Carolina we are at 28 degrees [warming up to maybe 53…I live in Hope]! So I happily welcome Pam Braak, NAFCH Treasurer and Tarrant County (TX) Master Gardener, with her thoughts on Chawton House and the Snowdrop:
Chawton House
The Snowdrop ~ Harbinger of Spring
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I wonder if the sap is stirring yet,
If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate,
If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun
And crocus fires are kindling one by one:
Sing, robin, sing:
I still am sore in doubt concerning Spring.
–Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), from “The First Spring Day”
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Chawton House recently announced their participation in the National Garden Scheme’s Snowdrop Sunday, with an event on February 6. The National Garden Scheme in the UK brings joy to this Texas gardener — and envy that I cannot participate without a transatlantic flight. I wondered about the snowdrop mania in the UK and if there exists an analogous passion for them in the U.S.
We have Garden Conservancy Open Days in the U.S. but that cannot compare to the immense number of gardens that the NGS organizes each year. Privately owned gardens open each year to visitors, with admission fees donated to health-related charities. In 2020 there were over 3,700 gardens due to open. Imagine the choices! For the Snowdrop Festival in February, 100 gardens are participating, including Chawton House.
George Plumptre, Chief Executive of the National Garden Scheme, says: “Following the restrictions of 2020 and 2021 there has never been a greater need to start the new year with the beautiful freshness of the first blooms of spring. But garden visiting at this time of year is not just for galanthophiles who are looking to discover a rare variety of snowdrop in gardens they may never otherwise find. Snowdrops are the perfect antidote to the winter blues and spending the afternoon at one of our 100 Snowdrop Festival gardens is the ideal opportunity to get outside and enjoy some spectacular scenes at an otherwise gloomy time of year.”
Common Snowdrop Galanthus nivalis
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“Snowdrops: theirs is a fragile but hardy celebration
– in the very teeth of winter”
Louise Beebe Wilde (1878-1938), American gardening writer
Snowdrops enjoy a cult following in the UK where aficionados are known as galanthophiles. No doubt these enthusiasts will be spotted around the Chawton House gardens getting down on their knees and even lying on their bellies to enjoy and photograph these late-winter wonders. Galanthophiles are collectors of much more than common snowdrops. The lure of collecting the 2,500 plus varieties is quite a draw. Galanthophiles look for snowdrops in old gardens, but there are plenty for sale, some at phenomenal prices. Per “Fun facts about Snowdrops – National Garden Scheme” , a single Galanthus plicatus “Golden Fleece” sold for £1,390 on eBay in 2015! Akin to the tulip craze in seventeenth-century Holland.
There are a plethora of festivals and tours in the UK celebrating the snowdrop. For instance, in Dorset the citizens of Shaftesbury have planted more than 200,000 snowdrop bulbs since 2017 and have an annual festival. Stateside, I did find the Galanthus Gala in Downingtown, PA but I do not think our fondness approaches UK levels. [Here is their facebook page with a virtual event in 2021, nothing yet for 2022 on there.]
Snowdrops are easy to grow, tough, and often push through the snow to bloom. You can find several varieties for sale online in the U.S., but I doubt you’ll locate 2,500 varieties. They are recommended in USDA hardiness zones 3 to 7, growing best in partial sun and partial shade. In the southern zone where I live, the bulbs may decline over time; this is a plant that is most likely best suited to cooler climates. In the meantime, I content myself with growing a relative, summer snowflakes Leucojum aestivum, which bloom in February, contrary to their name. In my garden, I must be content to just dream of swaths of snowdrops.
Various varieties of Galanthus
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Thank you Pam for bringing us a little joy into our climate-stressed, virus-ridden world – I think even Jane Austen would be smiling! [Does she mention snowdrops anywhere??]
For more information on Chawton House, their current exhibition on Botanical Women, and their other interesting goings-on, please visit ChawtonHouse.org. You can also help with their ongoing efforts for their Library and estate by becoming a Friend – donate whatever you can on the North American Friends of Chawton House donation page – we appreciate your support!
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Jane Austen on 7 March 7 1814, from London to Cassandra in Chawton:
Monday. Here’s a day! – The Ground covered with snow! What is to become of us? – We were to have walked out early to near Shops, & had the Carriage for the more distant. – Mr. Richard Snow* is dreadfuly fond of us. I dare say he has stretched himself out at Chawton too.
Ltr. 98, 5-8 March 1814, p. 270 [Le Faye, 4th ed.]
The Brighton Mail, Sunday, December 25th 1836 (R. Havell) [F. Gordon Roe, Sporting Prints of the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries. NY: Payson & Clarke, 1927.]
To quote her father George Austen in a letter to his sister Mrs. Walter on Dec 17, 1775:
“You have doubtless been for some time in expectation of hearing from Hampshire, and perhaps wondered a little we were in our old age grown such bad reckoners but so it was, for Cassey certainly expected to have been brought to bed a month ago: however last night the time came, and without a great deal of warning, everything was soon happily over. We have now another girl, a present plaything for her sister Cassy and a future companion. She is to be Jenny, and seems to me as if she would be as like Henry, as Cassy is to Neddy. Your sister thank God is pure well after it, and sends her love to you and my brother…” (Austen Papers, 32-3)
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In celebration of Austen’s birthday, JASNA has published it’s Persuasions On-Line vol. 42, No. 1, which features a selection of the AGM presentations on Jane Austen and the Arts, the theme of the 2021 JASNA AGM in Chicago. You can view the Table of Contents here – all essays are fully accessible: https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/vol-42-no-1/
It is also a perfect time to donate to Chawton House, via the North American Friends of Chawton House: Please visit the website at https://www.nafch.org/ and read about their endeavors. Anyone who donates $150 or more will be sent NAFCH’s 2nd annual limited-edition bobblehead “Creative Jane” (while supplies last), though any amount is gratefully received!:
The auction goes until this Friday October 22, 2021 at 12:00 pm EDT
1. Late nineteenth-century, wooden writing slope with mother-of-pearl detail. English. When closed: 8½ x 12 x 4¾ inches. (Est. $250)
2. Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, in Richard Bentley’s “Standard Novels and Romances” series (London, 1846). In original trade binding, stamped with “2/6” on spine. Extremely rare. (Est. $650-1000)
4. Victorian sterling silver jewelry dish, with another of silver plate in a later design (c. 1920s). Each are 2 ¾ inch diameter. Victorian, circa 1890s. (Est. $50+)
5. Two 14K gold miniature portrait pendants, with diamond chips. 3 cm and 2½ cm. Early 20th century. English. ($100-120 for the pair)
6. Two costume jewelry pendants of painted ladies. 4½ cm and 2½ cm. Timeless. ($50 for the pair)
7. Late 18th century silver-mounted horn & tortoise snuff box. Top lid is 3.5 cm x 7.5 cm. Marked on the bottom with a tag from over a decade ago, at last purchase: $260.
8. Champleve enamel, bronze carriage clock with decorated panels. 19th century, French. 18 cm high. ($400)
9. Artist book, by Linda Dennery: R. W. Chapman, Jane Austen: A Critical Bibliography (Oxford, 1953). ($500)
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Visit and bid! These amazing items can be yours at the click of a button – all to support Chawton House!
So, since the pandemic has changed all our lives to the point of near insanity (thanks goodness for all the efforts of museums and libraries and educational institutions to provide all sorts of virtual activities – who can keep up with it all!) – I am off the grid for awhile in an RV traveling across the country and back again, and though Celebrity Jane is accompanying us on this journey, Jane Austen and all our interest in her Regency world is put on hold while we try to find a certain amount of joy (or anything!) by seeing a bit of the country and remaining completely safe in our isolated life in an RV.
Trooper writes! he drives too!
And so I don’t have to think or write a thing, our dog Trooper (a two-year old English Springer Spaniel) has taken up the mantle and has been rattling on about the trip from his point of view (which is more interesting than ours I do believe). You can follow him here:
Like all museums around the world, Chawton House has had to close its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic – and like all of those places that so many of us love and visit regularly, Chawton House is dependent upon visitor fees, those now sadly lost. In order to remain on track and continue to offer its grand historic house and gardens to visit, a place to study early women writers, a place for exhibitions and lectures, a place to have tea!, Chawton House needs your support.
Their Emergency Appeal runs from April 20, 2020 through June 20, 2020:
“Donate today to help make sure Chawton House keeps going through closure, stages a vibrant digital programme to inspire and entertain thousands of people staying at home, and re-open to welcome visitors later in 2020.”
And great news is the soon-to-be relaunch of the Chawton House newsletter, The Female Spectator. Stay tuned for that!
AND, you can participate in their online Forums: the Poetry Challenge and their Reading Group.
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For all ourNorth American Friends of Chawton House, we too have a special initiative to spur on support: our very own Celebrity Jane! A must-have limited edition bobble-head of our dear Jane in full Rock & Roll garb, for anyone who donates $250 or more and while supplies last.
For your donation of $250 or more, the USPS will happily deliver Celebrity Jane to your door – and we’d like to ask that you send us a picture (or two or more!) of CJ in your house, in your garden, on your bookshelves, playing with your dog (or cat), participating in your latest Zoom gathering, really anything you can think of that shows CJ as part of your daily life (if only she could cook!)
Trooper loves Celebrity Jane (and NO! I am not a PUG!)
[Please email your photos to Kerri Spennicchia, a.k.a. CJ’s publicist on the NAFCH executive Board: spennke [at] gmail.com] – [additional photos on our facebook page and the website].
You can follow us on social media as well, where we are showcasing CJ in all manner of places and situations, with hearty thanks to our generous donors: Be part of the story!
Start your collection today! If “Celebrity Jane 2020” proves popular, then you may expect another limited edition “Bobble-head Jane” in 2021 and beyond. Hopefully our special limited-edition Janes will prove such outrageously popular collectibles that this leads to an annual fundraiser/giveaway campaign.
We thank you for your support! Chawton House is a very special place – let’s keep it that way…
Mellichamp painting of Chawton House, c1740; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation
Jane Austen in Vermont 