During this trip, we visited Jane Austen's house in Chawton, the rectory in Steventon, Winchester and Windsor.
I could hardly contain myself as we parked on the corner opposite Jane's house in Chawton. Though she died in Winchester, she passed the last eight years of her life in this house where she completed her most mature writings.
Littlest in the bakehouse on the grounds
Bop in the visitor's center; she enjoyed playing with the period doll's house.
A fun, themed version of Snakes and Ladders with references to Austen's works
The house feature several interactive exhibits. Littlest enjoyed guessing what various objects were used for during the period. J made fun of me for being pleased at having the curator telling me, "Well done," when I correctly identified items :) Below, Littlest is opening a period purse.
During the visit, each of the kiddos completed an age appropriate seek and find activity. They spent far more time than I thought they would reading placards, searching for various bobs and bits, and carefully recording their answers. At the end of the tour (which lasted nearly 2 hours), they handed their clipboards over to one the museum workers. She actually read through their sheets to ensure that all answers were correct before allowing each of them to choose a special prize. Bop and Littlest opted for the Jane Austen activity pack (Mama was pleased), and Log chose a pencil sharpener.
Jane and Cassandra's room
Littlest toured the house wearing a replication of a child's period dress.
One of the most delightful surprises of the trip was the city of Winchester. I wanted to visit Winchester expressly to see the home where Jane died (private) and visit the cathedral where she's buried. As it turned out, Winchester had much more to offer as we learned that it had been England's first capital. We were lucky enough to enter the cathedral at a time when a tour was beginning. The guide was incredibly cheeky and told many anecdotes relating to the church. One such story involved Jane Austen's grave. Central heating was installed in the early 1900s, and a pipe was set to run through Austen's plot. As a result, her coffin had to be moved slightly to one side. As her coffin was being moved, it split open exposing a hand. The worker removed a finger bone and took it home whereupon his wife ordered him to immediately return it to the cathedral. A day or more passed, and eventually the worker's conscience was touched. Returning to the church, he found that the stretch of work surrounding Jane's coffin had been completed and resealed. The worker threw Jane's finger bone into the an open section not far from her coffin and final resting spot.
A picture of the cathedral's ceiling taken in a mirror; it's meant to look like the hull of a ship.
One of the church's windows featuring angels that appear to be riding on a uni-cycle. Littlest thought it was quite funny that the guide pointed out that each angel had three sets of wings as set out in the Bible. The guide mentioned that one set of wings covered the angel's naughty bits which is a phrase Littlest has since adopted!
Outside of the cathedral. During the English Civil War, the window behind J and the kiddos was smashed and shot to bits by soldiers. Townspeople, under the cover of darkness, went to the church and gathered the smashed and broken panes. At the war's end, the bits were reassembled as best as could be done with colored glass filling in the gaps. The cathedral is the final resting place of a great many Saxon kings whose remains were disturbed by Cromwell.
We also visited the Great Hall which holds what is said to be King Arthur's round table. The table itself weighs a ton and is made from English oak.
Here is the church where Jane Austen's father served as rector. Sadly, the rectory where Jane spent much of her life no longer stands.
Log at Windsor Castle. The girls were envious of Queen Mary's doll's house.
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