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Stoneleigh Abbey and Jane Austen’s Novels: “I had no idea of its being so beautiful”

Posted in Architecture, Clergy, Jane Austen's family, Jane Austen's World, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Upper Class, Visited, tagged , , , on December 27, 2023| 8 Comments »

“I had expected to find everything about the place very fine and all that, but I had no idea of its being so beautiful.” –Mrs. Cassandra Leigh Austen, Aug. 13, 1806, on a visit to Stoneleigh Abbey with her daughters Jane and Cassandra

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! As my gift to you, let’s take a trip to Stoneleigh Abbey together.

Jane Austen visited Stoneleigh Abbey in 1806. She and her mother and sister were visiting their cousin, Rev. Thomas Leigh, in Adlestrop when his distant cousin, the Honorable Mary Leigh, died. Rev. Thomas inherited the wealthy estate. He took his poorer relations, the Austens, with him to take possession, as a treat for them. They enjoyed it very much, as Mrs. Austen wrote in a letter.  She said the house was so large that they needed signposts to find their way, and that it was not only very “fine,” but more beautiful than she had imagined. Catherine Morland, similarly, when she saw Northanger Abbey, “was struck . . . beyond her expectation, by the grandeur of the abbey.”

Based on income, Stoneleigh Abbey was an even grander place than Pemberley or Sotherton (the Rushworth estate in Mansfield Park) would have been. Austen tells us that Darcy’s income was £10,000 a year and Mr. Rushworth’s was £12,000 a year. But the income of the Leighs of Stoneleigh Abbey, in Jane Austen’s time, was even higher, at £17,000 a year, which Victoria Huxley says was “perhaps the annual equivalent of a million pounds in today’s values” (p. 9). (We were told when touring Chatsworth that the income there in Austen’s time was about £30,000, three times Darcy’s income; I haven’t found confirmation of that number anywhere, though.)

Today, ideally you need a car or a tour bus to get you to Stoneleigh Abbey. It is about an hour’s drive north of Oxford or about 40 minutes southeast from Birmingham. If you want to take public transport, it looks like you’ll have a half-hour’s walk at the end of your journey.

I went with the JASNA Summer Tour. We saw the Adlestrop church the same day; it’s only about an hour’s drive away.

Stoneleigh Abbey, like Austen’s fictional Northanger Abbey, is a mix of older monastic buildings and newer buildings. (Newer in Austen’s time, at least.) Let’s take a trip through it, with some quotes from Austen’s novels.

The red sandstone gatehouse, where you buy entry tickets, is from the 14th century, a remnant of the original Cistercian monastery. At this gatehouse, built in 1346 by Abbot Robert de Hoeckle, the poor received alms and travelers found hospitality.

So low did the building stand, that she found herself passing through the great gates of the lodge into the very grounds of Northanger, without having discerned even an antique chimney. . . . To pass between lodges of a modern appearance, to find herself with such ease in the very precincts of the abbey, and driven so rapidly along a smooth, level road of fine gravel, without obstacle, alarm, or solemnity of any kind, struck her as odd and inconsistent.–Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

Now we are coming to the lodge-gates; but we have nearly a mile through the park still.–Maria Bertram, Mansfield Park

The tour did not take us into this north wing. But you can still see arches on the walls, from the original monastery church. They are now bricked over. A cloister and medieval stained glass windows remain in the older buildings.
Another building from the old monastery. Stoneleigh Abbey was a small Cistercian monastery from 1155 until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1536. The Leigh family bought it in 1561. Catherine Morland was disappointed not to stay in such a building at Northanger Abbey.

[Catherine] was hardly more assured than before, of Northanger Abbey having been a richly endowed convent at the time of the Reformation, of its having fallen into the hands of an ancestor of the Tilneys on its dissolution–Northanger Abbey

The baroque West Wing is the most impressive building, built in the 1720s by Edward, the third baron Leigh. He married a rich heiress. After his Grand Tour on the continent, he was inspired to create his own Italian-style palace. Mrs. Austen wrote that there are 45 windows in the front.

She was struck, however, beyond her expectation, by the grandeur of the abbey, as she saw it for the first time from the lawn.–Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

Even Fanny had something to say in admiration. . . . Her eye was eagerly taking in everything within her reach; . . . being at some pains to get a view of the house, and observing that “it was a sort of building which she could not look at but with respect”–Mansfield Park

Architect Francis Smith designed the Stoneleigh Abbey West Wing, which cost £3,300. The older abbey buildings became servants’ quarters.
A flight of stairs leads up to the main entry to Stoneleigh Abbey, West wing

Miss Bertram could now speak with decided information of what she had known nothing about when Mr. Rushworth had asked her opinion; and her spirits were in as happy a flutter as vanity and pride could furnish, when they drove up to the spacious stone steps before the principal entrance.–Mansfield Park

One end of the impressive “saloon” (salon, entry room) of Stoneleigh Abbey. Plaster decorations show myths of the Greek hero Hercules. Edward, the fifth Lord Leigh, decorated this room in the 1760s while doing vast “improvements” to his manor.
Ceiling plasterwork in the Stoneleigh Abbey saloon showing Hercules joining the gods. Ironically, Hercules suffered from bouts of madness, as did Edward Leigh himself.

An abbey! Yes, it was delightful to be really in an abbey! But she doubted, as she looked round the room, whether anything within her observation would have given her the consciousness. The furniture was in all the profusion and elegance of modern taste.–Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

The whole party rose accordingly, and under Mrs. Rushworth’s guidance were shewn through a number of rooms, all lofty, and many large, and amply furnished in the taste of fifty years back, with shining floors, solid mahogany, rich damask, marble, gilding, and carving, each handsome in its way.–Mansfield Park

The main staircase of Stoneleigh Abbey, one of three staircases Jane Austen’s mother mentions.

They returned to the hall, that the chief staircase might be ascended, and the beauty of its wood, and ornaments of rich carving might be pointed out.–Northanger Abbey

The lower part of the house had been now entirely shewn, and Mrs. Rushworth, never weary in the cause, would have proceeded towards the principal staircase, and taken them through all the rooms above, if her son had not interposed with a doubt of there being time enough.–Mansfield Park

The drawing room of Stoneleigh Abbey. After dinner, the ladies would “withdraw” to the “withdrawing room,” later called the drawing room. The gentlemen would join them after a time.

The general leads Catherine “into a room magnificent both in size and furniture—the real drawing-room, used only with company of consequence. It was very noble—very grand—very charming!—was all that Catherine had to say, for her indiscriminating eye scarcely discerned the colour of the satin; and all minuteness of praise, all praise that had much meaning, was supplied by the general: the costliness or elegance of any room’s fitting-up could be nothing to her; she cared for no furniture of a more modern date than the fifteenth century.”–Northanger Abbey

The drawing room clock, from 1786, plays carillon music on the hour. Stoneleigh Abbey

“Till midnight, she supposed it would be in vain to watch; but then, when the clock had struck twelve, and all was quiet, she would, if not quite appalled by darkness, steal out and look once more. The clock struck twelve—and Catherine had been half an hour asleep.”–Northanger Abbey

Stoneleigh Abbey card room fireplace, with plates of “the prettiest English china,” hand painted by ladies of the family.

The fireplace, where she had expected the ample width and ponderous carving of former times, was contracted to a Rumford, with slabs of plain though handsome marble, and ornaments over it of the prettiest English china.–Northanger Abbey

A Rumford was an invention that made fireplaces more efficient. They are still used today.

Stoneleigh Abbey card room, set up for a game of cards.

Mr. Elton had retreated into the card-room, looking (Emma trusted) very foolish.–Emma

Portraits in the Card Room. All the rooms we saw were lined with family portraits.

Of pictures there were abundance, and some few good, but the larger part were family portraits, no longer anything to anybody but Mrs. Rushworth–Mansfield Park

Edward, fifth Lord Leigh, bequeathed most of his extensive library to his alma mater, Oriel College at Oxford. These included “outstanding works on architecture and music, his scientific instruments, maps and prints.” (Jane Austen & Adlestrop, 22).
The library of Stoneleigh Abbey was replenished by later heirs.

Marianne, who had the knack of finding her way in every house to the library, however it might be avoided by the family in general, soon procured herself a book.–Sense and Sensibility

Ready to play chess in the library, Stoneleigh Abbey

“What a delightful library you have at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!”

“It ought to be good,” he replied, “it has been the work of many generations.”

“And then you have added so much to it yourself, you are always buying books.”

“I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these.”–Miss Bingley and Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

Stoneleigh Abbey library

After tea, Mr. Bennet retired to the library, as was his custom–Pride and Prejudice

Ladies’ dressing table, Stoneleigh Abbey

“My mother is tolerably well, I trust; though her spirits are greatly shaken. She is up stairs and will have great satisfaction in seeing you all. She does not yet leave her dressing-room.”–Jane Bennet, Pride and Prejudice

The chapel at Stoneleigh Abbey is considered to be the model for the chapel at Sotherton in Mansfield Park. Crimson cushions appear over the balcony ledge, as in Mansfield Park. Rev. Thomas Leigh read prayers (led a worship service) in the chapel twice a day, with morning prayers at 9 A.M.

Fanny’s imagination had prepared her for something grander than a mere spacious, oblong room, fitted up for the purpose of devotion: with nothing more striking or more solemn than the profusion of mahogany, and the crimson velvet cushions appearing over the ledge of the family gallery above. “I am disappointed,” said she, in a low voice, to Edmund. “This is not my idea of a chapel. There is nothing awful here, nothing melancholy, nothing grand.” . . .

Mrs. Rushworth began her relation. “This chapel was fitted up as you see it, in James the Second’s time. Before that period, as I understand, the pews were only wainscot; and there is some reason to think that the linings and cushions of the pulpit and family seat were only purple cloth; but this is not quite certain. It is a handsome chapel, and was formerly in constant use both morning and evening. Prayers were always read in it by the domestic chaplain, within the memory of many; but the late Mr. Rushworth left it off.” . . .

“It is a pity,” cried Fanny, “that the custom should have been discontinued. It was a valuable part of former times. There is something in a chapel and chaplain so much in character with a great house, with one’s ideas of what such a household should be! A whole family assembling regularly for the purpose of prayer is fine!”–Mansfield Park

See my post on The Stoneleigh Abbey Chapel and Mansfield Park for a visit to the chapel with further quotes from Mansfield Park.

Queen Victoria’s bedroom at Stoneleigh Abbey. In 1858, Queen Victoria stayed for two nights at the Abbey, in a suite of five rooms. The furniture was painted white and gold, according to the Queen’s preference.

In a house so furnished, and so guarded, she could have nothing to explore or to suffer, and might go to her bedroom as securely as if it had been her own chamber at Fullerton.–Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

Further rooms at Stoneleigh Abbey display historical relics, such as the monks’ charters and seals.

Northanger turned up an abbey, and she was to be its inhabitant. Its long, damp passages, its narrow cells and ruined chapel, were to be within her daily reach, and she could not entirely subdue the hope of some traditional legends, some awful memorials of an injured and ill-fated nun.–Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

Humphry Repton was hired to improve Stoneleigh Abbey and its surroundings. His Red Book, showing before and after pictures, still exists.
Repton moved the river toward Stoneleigh Abbey so you could see the house reflected in the water.

“Smith’s place is the admiration of all the country; and it was a mere nothing before Repton took it in hand. I think I shall have Repton.”–Mr. Rushworth, Mansfield Park

A ha-ha (see below) at Stoneleigh Abbey gives an uninterrupted view across the fields.
From the other side of Stoneleigh Abbey’s hedge of lavender shown above, you can see the wall that kept animals from trespassing to the area around the house. A ha-ha is a walled ditch dug to act as a fence without disrupting the view.

A few steps farther brought them out at the bottom of the very walk they had been talking of; and standing back, well shaded and sheltered, and looking over a ha-ha into the park, was a comfortable-sized bench, on which they all sat down. . . .

“You will hurt yourself, Miss Bertram,” [Fanny Price] cried; “you will certainly hurt yourself against those spikes; you will tear your gown; you will be in danger of slipping into the ha-ha.”–Mansfield Park

In 1946, Stoneleigh Abbey became “one of the first stately homes to open its doors to the public” (Stoneleigh Abbey, 18). A fire destroyed much of it in 1960, though most of the furniture and paintings were rescued. In 1996, a trust was set up to restore it, at a cost of £12 million. They did an amazing job. Restoration was also done on the grounds and the lake. The restoration work sought to improve the habitats of bats, otters, kingfishers, and other species

Restorers also worked on conserving water management structures such as these locks.
We exit back through the Stoneleigh Abbey gatehouse, having enjoyed a beautiful day.

During their visit, the Austens enjoyed extensive walks through the grounds. Rachel Dodge has posted some of those lovely views. The Austens must have also attended the Stoneleigh Church, St. Mary the Virgin, though we didn’t get to visit it this trip. 

I hope you have enjoyed our visit to Stoneleigh Abbey with Jane Austen’s characters, and that you can see it in person some day! This year, the Abbey celebrated Christmas with a Christmas fair and a series of concerts, including carols in the chapel. If you have been to Stoneleigh Abbey, please tell us about your impressions!

Brenda S. Cox is the author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. She also blogs at Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen.

All photos in this post, © Brenda S. Cox, 2023.

Sources and Further Reading

Jane Austen & Adlestrop: Her Other Family, by Victoria Huxley. US Amazon link

Stoneleigh Abbey by Paula Cornwell (obtained from Stoneleigh Abbey)

Jane Austen: A Family Record, 2nd ed., by Deirdre Le Faye

The Stoneleigh Abbey Chapel and Mansfield Park

Jane Austen’s Rich(er) Leigh Family Connections at Adlestrop and Stoneleigh Abbey 

Visiting Stoneleigh Abbey

Cassandra Leigh Austen’s Stay at Stoneleigh Abbey (letter)

Jane Austen’s Leigh Family: Stories Behind the Stories

Jane Austen’s Clergymen and Her Leigh Family

Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park and Stoneleigh Abbey

More pictures of Stoneleigh village, church, and abbey 

Stoneleigh Abbey website

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Jane Austen’s Rich(er) Leigh Family Connections at Adlestrop and Stoneleigh Abbey (Jane Austen’s Family Churches)

Posted in Churches of the Austen family, History, Jane Austen's family, Jane Austen's World, tagged , , , , on November 26, 2023| 1 Comment »

By Brenda S. Cox

“Your letter to Adlestrop may perhaps bring you information from the spot . . .”–Jane Austen writing to her sister Cassandra about a relative in Adlestrop they loved, Elizabeth Leigh, who was very ill. Jan. 10, 1809

I’ve just finished a fascinating little book, Jane Austen & Adlestrop: Her Other Family, by Victoria Huxley. Huxley tells the stories of Austen’s Leigh relatives alongside frequent quotes from Austen’s works as well as other contemporary sources. I highly recommend this book, but I’ll share some highlights.

Members of the JASNA Summer Tour were entertained by church members at Adlestrop. Author Victoria Huxley sells her book to me, Brenda Cox. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

We know Jane Austen didn’t take her characters or situations directly from life. And yet, for every author, the experiences we have and hear about, and the people we know and know of, are all grist for the mill. They come together in new shapes and forms as we write. Jane Austen was close to her Leigh relatives, so it’s not surprising their lives fed into her novels in various ways.

The Leigh Family

Jane’s mother Cassandra Leigh Austen was from an old family descended from a Lord Mayor of London, Sir Thomas Leigh (1498-1571). During Sir Thomas’s lifetime, King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, making much land available for purchase. Sir Thomas invested widely. When he died, he owned extensive lands in four counties plus London.

His eldest son, Rowland, inherited Adlestrop and the lands around it in Gloucestershire (north of Oxford). His second son, Thomas, inherited Stoneleigh, Hamstall Ridware, and other estates in Staffordshire (north of Gloucestershire). The Adlestrop line remained country squires, while the Stoneleigh line gained a peerage by supporting Charles I in the English Civil War. They became far wealthier than the Adlestrop Leighs. By Jane Austen’s time, the Stoneleigh estate was worth around £17,000 a year, more than the income of wealthy Mr. Rushworth (£13,000) or Mr. Darcy (£10,000)!

Jane Austen must have attended the lovely old church at Adlestrop on her three visits to her mother’s cousin, Rev. Thomas Leigh, who was rector there. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

I won’t inflict the whole family tree on you, as they repeated the same names over and over. Some of their favorite names were Thomas, Theophilus, James, Cassandra, and Mary. Cassandra Leigh Austen’s father was Rev. Thomas Leigh (1696-1764), and her mother’s maiden name was Jane Walker. Cassandra Leigh also had a sister named Jane, a sister-in-law named Jane, and, our favorite, a daughter named Jane (plus a daughter named Cassandra, and two first cousins named Cassandra). Jane Walker brought the Perrot family’s wealth into the family. [In the following, whenever I say “Cassandra Leigh” or “Cassandra Leigh Austen,” I mean our Jane Austen’s mother, not her sister.]

The chancel of the Adlestrop church (area around the altar). Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Adlestrop, Jane Austen, and the Clergy

Adlestrop is now best known for a poem written in 1914 by Edward Thomas, who died three years later in World War I. His train stopped there briefly, and the poem describes the natural beauties of the area, the “willows, willow-herb, and grass” and a blackbird singing. Adlestrop is still a small, rural town, as it was in Austen’s time.

The squire of the manor, Adlestrop Park, during Jane’s lifetime was James Henry Leigh, who inherited in 1774, when he was only nine years old. His uncle, Rev. Thomas Leigh, was his guardian and the rector of Adlestrop at that time. He was Cassandra Leigh’s first cousin. Rev. Thomas lived with his wife Mary and his unmarried sister Elizabeth, who was the godmother of Jane’s sister Cassandra.

Memorial to James Henry Leigh, squire of Adlestrop when Austen visited there. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Apparently Cassandra Leigh was closer to Rev. Thomas than to James Henry. On their visits, the Austens always stayed in the rectory, not in the great house. They would certainly have attended the Adlestrop church, where Rev. Thomas preached. Jane Austen first visited Adlestrop in 1794, when she was 19. She visited again five years later, in 1799, and then in 1806, when she was 31. Throughout the years, the Austen and Leigh families kept in touch through letters.

The nave of the Adlestrop church, where the congregation sits. Perhaps Jane Austen sat on one of these pews, or an earlier version of them. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Many of Cassandra Leigh’s relatives were clergymen*, including her father, an uncle, two cousins, a brother-in-law, and a nephew. Leigh family members were patrons of various church livings connected with their extensive properties, and bestowed those livings on relatives, as was customary. In Austen’s novels, for example, both Henry Tilney and Edmund Bertram receive livings from their fathers. Livings might also be given by more distant relations. The Honorable Mary Leigh, for example, gave Edward Cooper (Jane Austen’s cousin) his living at Hamstall Ridware in Staffordshire. 

A living green cross welcomes visitors to the Adlestrop church. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Stoneleigh Abbey and Inheritance

In 1806, the last member of the Stoneleigh branch of the Leigh family, the Honorable Mary Leigh, died, and Rev. Thomas Leigh, inherited. Mrs. Austen [Cassandra Leigh, who was Rev. Thomas’s first cousin], with her daughters Jane and Cassandra, were visiting Rev. Thomas at the time, and they traveled with him to take possession of Stoneleigh. The Abbey made a strong impression on Jane and her family. Mrs. Austen wrote letters describing its wonders.

When Rev. Leigh inherited Stoneleigh Abbey, he gave a settlement to another claimant*, Jane’s uncle, James Leigh-Perrot (Cassandra Leigh’s brother). The understanding was that rich Mr. Leigh-Perrot would share this settlement with the needy Austens and Coopers. However, he did not. Jane attributed this lack of generosity to Mrs. Leigh-Perrot; perhaps she was caricatured as selfish Fanny Dashwood of Sense and Sensibility. You can find more details in “Jane Austen’s Leigh Family: Stories behind the Stories.”

When James Leigh-Perrot died, he left almost everything to his wife. Eventually, when Mrs. Leigh-Perrot died in 1836, some of her estate went to Jane’s nephew, James’s son James Edward. He had to take the name Leigh, becoming James Edward Austen-Leigh. 

Next month I’ll post more pictures of Stoneleigh Abbey and talk about its possible parallels with Sotherton and Northanger Abbey in Austen’s novels.

The Leighs who inherited Stoneleigh Abbey and the surrounding lands eventually became much wealthier than the Leighs who inherited Adlestrop. But when that branch died out, some of the Adlestrop Leighs inherited the Abbey. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Improvements—Mansfield Park

“Improvements” of land and property often meant providing more “picturesque,” more “natural” views, according to the ideas promoted by Gilpin at the time. In Mansfield Park, Mr. Rushworth wants to get the well-known expert, Humphry Repton, to improve his estate. Henry Crawford has already improved his own estate, and he advises Edmund Bertram on improving his parsonage. In Sense and Sensibility, Mrs. Dashwood talks often of making improvements to Barton Cottage, but she never has the funds for it. John and Fanny Dashwood do spend their money making improvements to Norland, which Elinor and Marianne don’t think much of. Mr. Collins makes improvements to his parsonage. Elizabeth is impressed that the Darcys have shown good taste in improving Pemberley, inside and out.

Austen more strongly commends personal “improvement,” though, improvement in mind, in manners, in education.

Austen would have known first-hand about Repton and his improvements from her cousins in Adlestrop and Stoneleigh. Rev. Thomas Leigh and his nephew employed Repton to make improvements to the manor, rectory, and surrounding lands of Adlestrop. Records show payments to Repton between 1798 and 1812.

Adlestrop House, the former rectory, where Jane Austen and her family stayed. The bow on the left side was added later, and the entrance returned to its original position. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Rev. Leigh “improved” his parsonage at Adlestrop by moving his front door to another side of the house, so the principal rooms would face the pretty valley. He also destroyed “a dirty farmyard and house which came within a few yards of the Windows.” Similarly, in Mansfield Park, Henry Crawford tells Edmund Bertram that he must improve his parsonage: “The farmyard must be cleared away entirely, and planted up to shut out the blacksmith’s shop. The house must be turned to front the east instead of the north—the entrance and principal rooms, I mean, must be on that side, where the view is really very pretty.” He also recommends combining gardens, changing a stream, and moving a road.

Rev. Thomas Leigh enclosed neighbouring land (with permission), adding it to his church living, and created a small lake from some flooded ground. As Huxley says, “Now he had a ‘Pleasure Ground’ to rival his brother’s” (at the Adlestrop estate). He moved roads and paths, as Mr. Knightley is planning to do in Emma. Jane Austen would have seen these improvements first hand during her visits. Sometimes she might have felt, like Mary Crawford, that all was “dirt and confusion, without a gravel walk to step on, or a bench fit for use” because of all the changes in process. However, as Mr. Collins did for his visitors, no doubt Rev. Leigh proudly took the Austen family on a thorough tour of his parsonage and its gardens, pointing out with pride all the improvements he was making.

In 1799, some land was exchanged between the church and the manor. In return, James Henry paid to build and fence a better church road and enclose the churchyard with a stone wall. In 1800, Repton was hired to unite the gardens of the rectory and Adlestrop Park, to improve the views. Dr. Grant in Mansfield Park also extends a wall and makes a plantation “to shut out the churchyard,” improving the view from the parsonage.

Rev. Thomas Leigh expanded the park area between the rectory and Adlestrop Park, adding an unused part of the church graveyard to the Park. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Austen would have heard about Repton’s later “improvements” in Stoneleigh Abbey’s grounds, which Thomas Leigh set about once he moved in. Repton’s “Red Book,” showing the suggested improvements, is still in existence. You can see a video of it here. Not all of Repton’s recommendations were followed, but some were.

The Leighs and Persuasion

Two other stories from the Leigh family are echoed in Persuasion. At one point, the Adlestrop family was deep in debt and needed to “retrench” in order not to lose the estate. They rented out the manor and moved to Holland for some years, until their finances were in order. Sir Walter and his family, of course, only moved to Bath; we wonder if they will ever make it back to Kellynch!

The Leighs also had an aunt who fell in love with an army officer. The family disapproved because of his lack of money. She married him secretly before he went off to war. When he returned as–guess who? Captain Wentworth!– she finally got her family’s approval. Elizabeth Wentworth and her Captain became wealthy and were benefactors to their Leigh relatives. The largest marble tablet in the Adlestrop church, just behind the pulpit, memorializes Elizabeth Wentworth.

For more of these stories, see my post on the Stories Behind the Stories. 

Memorial in the Adlestrop church to Elizabeth Wentworth, whose story is similar to Anne Elliot’s in Persuasion. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Adlestrop Today

The church, St. Mary Magdalene, at Adlestrop is well worth a visit. The church dates from the thirteenth century, though much of it was rebuilt in the 1750s. In the Victorian period, the window traceries were replaced, and stained glass windows and a clock added. The church is one of seven in the Evenlode Vale Benefice. Services are usually held at St. Mary Magdalene twice a month. Like other country churches, a handful of the faithful attend regular services, while larger crowds come to special services at Harvest and Christmas. We don’t know about attendance numbers in Austen’s time. Supposedly, by 1851, “‘all parishioners without exception‘ attended church at least once a week” (Huxley, 201). 

St. Mary Magdalene’s Church, Adlestrop. The interior includes many memorials to the Leigh family, and many of the family are buried in the churchyard.Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

The rectory where Jane and her family stayed is now called Adlestrop House, and, along with Adlestrop Park, still belongs to the Leigh family. Both are very close to the church, but are not open to the public. The lands were originally monastic lands owned by Evesham Abbey.

The Old Schoolhouse opposite the church was built after Austen’s time. However, Austen probably saw the earlier charity school, supported by donations from the Leigh family and other local gentry. In 1803, sixteen children learned reading, knitting, and other marketable skills at that “school of industry.” By 1818 there was a day school for boys and another for girls. A Sunday school attended by 52 children was supported by a bequest from Rev. Thomas Leigh (Huxley, 203). (Sunday schools taught reading and other basic skills to working-class children, who were only free on Sundays.)

The last chapter of Jane Austen & Adlestrop takes readers on a tour of Adlestrop today, still a sleepy country village, but with history around every corner.

Adlestrop Park, the manor, etching in 1818, from Historic England.
Across from the church in Adlestrop is the “Coachman’s Cottage,” in a building dated 1722. The “Old Schoolhouse” next door was probably built in the mid-1800s. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Notes

* Claimants for the Stoneleigh Abbey estate (this is complicated, sorry! You can find a chart of these relationships in Jane Austen & Adlestrop, by Victoria Huxley, or in Jane Austen and the Clergy, by Irene Collins):

Theophilus Leigh (died 1724), of the Adlestrop Leighs (great-great grandson of the Lord Mayor), had 14 children.

Theophilus’s oldest son, William, had a son named James (who died in 1774). James had one son (Theophilus’s grandson), James Henry (1765-1823). William’s second son was Rev. Thomas Leigh (1734-1813), rector of Adlestrop, who had no children.

Theophilus’s next surviving son, Dr. Theophilus Leigh (died 1785), was a clergyman and Master of Balliol at Oxford. He had no sons who survived childhood. One of his daughters married Rev. Thomas Leigh of Adlestrop, and another married Rev. Samuel Cooke, Jane Austen’s godfather.

Theophilus’s next son, also Rev. Thomas Leigh (died 1764), was Cassandra Leigh Austen’s father. He had a son, James Leigh-Perrot (1735-1817), just a year younger than Rev. Thomas Leigh of Adlestrop. James had added “Perrot” to his last name to get an inheritance from his wife’s family.

So in 1806, the closest living male heirs were Rev. Thomas Leigh of Adlestrop, who inherited the estate, then he passed it to his nephew James Henry Leigh. They gave money to James Leigh-Perrot, the third claimant, to pay off his claim.

For more stories of the Leigh family and their connections with Jane Austen’s novels, see “Jane Austen’s Leigh Family: Stories behind the Stories.”

Brenda S. Cox is the author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. She also blogs at Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen.

Further Reading

“Jane Austen’s Leigh Family: Stories Behind the Stories”

“Jane Austen’s Clergymen and Her Leigh Family”

“Edward Cooper: Jane Austen’s Evangelical Cousin”

“Jane Austen’s Family Churches: St. Michael and All Angels, Hamstall Ridware”

Sources

Jane Austen & Adlestrop: Her Other Family, by Victoria Huxley. Highly recommended. US Amazon link

The Story of Elizabeth Wentworth or “Aunt Betty”—Jane Austen’s Anne Elliot? By Sheila Woolf (obtained from Stoneleigh Abbey)

Stoneleigh Abbey by Paula Cornwell (obtained from Stoneleigh Abbey)

Jane Austen: A Family Record, 2nd ed., by Deirdre Le Faye 

Adlestrop Park and House

St. Mary Magdalene, Adlestrop 

Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park and Stoneleigh Abbey

Posts on other Jane Austen Family Churches

Steventon

Chawton

Hamstall Ridware

Stoneleigh Abbey Chapel

Great Bookham and Austen’s godfather, Rev. Samuel Cooke

Ashe and Jane’s Friend Mrs. Lefroy 

Deane

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Jane Austen’s Family Churches: St. Michael and All Angels at Hamstall Ridware, and Austen’s First Cousin, Edward Cooper

Posted in Anglican Church, Architecture, Churches of the Austen family, Clergy, Jane Austen's family, Jane Austen's World, tagged , , , on October 23, 2023| 6 Comments »

By Brenda S. Cox

“Yesterday came a letter to my mother from Edward Cooper to announce, not the birth of a child, but of a living; for Mrs. Leigh has begged his acceptance of the Rectory of Hamstall-Ridware in Staffordshire, vacant by Mr. Johnson’s death. We collect from his letter that he means to reside there, in which he shows his wisdom. Staffordshire is a good way off . . .”—Jane Austen to Cassandra, Jan. 21, 1799

In 1806, Jane Austen and her family made a trip to visit their relatives in the north. They spent five weeks with her first cousin Edward Cooper, rector of Hamstall Ridware (whom I wrote about earlier). They stayed in his rectory, and must have attended the adjacent Church of St. Michael and All Angels and heard Edward Cooper preach there. The church is still much as Austen knew it, inside and out.

The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Hamstall Ridware, where Jane Austen visited for several weeks in 1806. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Hamstall Ridware History

Hamstall Ridware means “homestead,” or “place of the house,” by the “river ford.” It is on the River Blithe. The first word is Anglo-Saxon, the second is Celtic, indicating that the two people groups may have both been living in the area at the time it was named. Three other towns with the name Ridware (Pipe Ridware, Hill Ridware, and Mavesyn Ridware) are nearby.

The de Ridware family were the medieval “lords of the manor” for the area. The church was built, in the Norman style, around 1120 A.D, and expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries.

In the 1370s, the de Ridwares had no male heir, so the land passed to the Cotton family. A Cotton family tomb, from the time of King Henry VIII, still stands in the church. Each shield on the sides commemorates one of the children of John and Joanna Cotton. Half of each shield is their family crest, an eagle on a blue background. For the sons, the other half represents their profession. For the daughters, the other half shows the shield of their husband’s family.

This tomb from the time of King Henry VIII represents all the children of the Cotton family, the lords of the manor at the time. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

In the 1500s, the Cottons had no male heir, so the manor, Hamstall Hall, and the lands, passed to Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, the husband of the eldest daughter. 

In 1601 the estate went to Sir Thomas Leigh of Stoneleigh, one of Jane Austen’s forebears. This early stained glass window, incorporating 14th century glass, commemorates all these patrons of the Hamstall Ridware church. Each family would have owned the advowson for the Hamstall Ridware church, the right to choose the rector of the church when the previous one died.

Stained glass window in Hamstall Ridware church. This window shows coats of arms of the families who have owned the manor and land of Hamstall Ridware: the de Ridwares of Hamstall on the upper right, the Cotton de Ridwares on the upper left, the Fitzherberts on the lower left, and the Leighs on the lower right. Alice Cotton, wife of Richard Cotton, appears near the top of the middle panel. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

The Leighs’ main home was at Stoneleigh Abbey (which we’ll “visit” later). The Hon. Mary Leigh of Stoneleigh Abbey was patroness of Hamstall Ridware in 1799.  When the previous rector, Mr. Johnson, died, she gave the living to her relative Edward Cooper. Before that he had been a curate, an assistant or substitute clergyman, probably with a low salary, at Harpsden. Jane and her family had visited the Coopers at Harpsden in August and September of 1799, before the Coopers moved to Hamstall Ridware in October. Edward invited them to visit Hamstall Ridware in 1801, but Jane said in a letter that they preferred to go to the seaside that summer. However, five years later, the Austens did make a long trip to visit their Leigh relations at Adlestrop, then accompanied their cousin, Rev. Thomas Leigh, who had just inherited Stoneleigh Abbey, to the abbey. From Stoneleigh they went to Hamstall Ridware, 38 miles away.

During this time, it’s possible that Jane may have seen the play Lover’s Vows, an important part of Mansfield Park. It was advertised in a village called Cheadle about an hour’s carriage ride away (Gaye King, “Visiting”).

Unfortunately, during Jane’s visit, Edward’s eight children came down with whooping cough, and Jane got it a few weeks later, after she got home (Letters, Jan. 7, 1807).

Displays in the church commemorate Jane Austen, her visit to Hamstall Ridware, the history of the church, and the Leigh family’s connections to the area. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023
The church history board gives fascinating tidbits. For example, the parish register for 1715 lists the death of rector Thomas Allestree, M.A., and the induction of a new rector, Gorstelowe Monck, A.M. (same as M.A., Master of Arts); 7 baptisms (presumably of babies); 5 marriages including two to widows, and two others by license, both with one spouse from another parish; 7 burials, including Rev. Allestree (age 77) in July, his widow in December, and two babies buried shortly after their baptisms. An adjacent news article about Rev. Allestree says he wrote and memorized 500 sermons, and preached them a total of 5,000 times! Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

The Rectory

The rectory (or parsonage, the house provided for the rector of the parish) where the Austens stayed is now a private home. It is now difficult to see even from the outside, but this photo shows the building before a gate was built.

The Hamstall Ridware rectory, before gates were installed. Jane Austen and her family stayed here for five weeks in 1806 with Jane’s cousin Edward Cooper. Photo © Jack Barber, 2017, used by permission.

It has been speculated that this rectory was the pattern for the Delaford rectory, where Edward and Elinor Ferrars settle in Sense and Sensibility. The layout of the Delaford estate, with “stew-ponds” (fish ponds), “a very pretty canal” (perhaps suggested by the nearby river), and “great garden walls,” also corresponds to some features of the Leighs’ estate at Hamstall Ridware.

Gaye King wrote,

“Edward had found the rectory quite large enough to accommodate his growing family. Like the fictional parsonage at Delaford it had ‘five sitting-rooms on the ground floor, and … could make up fifteen beds’ (292). So the young rector could look forward to maintaining the tradition of liberal hospitality such as that he had enjoyed at the Steventon parsonage. When Jane Austen, together with her mother and sister, did eventually spend those five weeks at Hamstall Ridware in 1806 Edward and Caroline had eight children. There were also, living in at the rectory, two maids and a governess, yet there was still ample accommodation for the guests.”

(I have since noticed that the five sitting rooms and fifteen beds were characteristics of the manor house where Col. Brandon lived, not of the parsonage! And I doubt a country parsonage would have so many sitting rooms.)

However, relatives who visited wrote that it was “a beautifully situated parsonage house on a considerable eminence, back’d with fine woods, seen at a distance from the road to this happy village,” and that the church “was a very neat old Spire Building of stone, having two side Ailes [sic] Chancel &c. and makes a magnificent appearance as a Village Church” (quoted in Deirdre Le Faye, Jane Austen: A Family Record, 157).

The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Hamstall Ridware

The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Hamstall Ridware, where Jane Austen’s cousin Edward Cooper was rector from 1799-1833. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

The church is large, seating 200 people, almost three times the size of Jane’s church at Steventon (which seats about 75). It has a long central aisle leading to the chancel, where the altar sits, and two side aisles. Lining both sides is a clerestory, high walls with a series of windows which let in natural light.

Central aisle of the Hamstall Ridware church. Photo courtesy of Hamstall Ridware PCC, used by permission.
Unusually, the upper section of the church has clerestory windows down the whole length of the church, lighting up the whole interior. The aisle roofs are “moulded ridge pieces and tie beams.” Photo courtesy of Hamstall Ridware PCC, used by permission.
Late 15th century chapel screen on a side aisle. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Like many churches in England before the Reformation, this church once had a rood screen separating the chancel from the nave. This was a barrier between the chancel, where the clergy celebrated mass at the altar, and the lay people worshiping in the nave. It was usually topped by a cross; the Anglo-Saxon word for cross is rood. Some churches also had a rood loft, above the screen, from which a choir would sing parts of the service. Many rood screens and lofts were destroyed during or after the Reformation, to symbolize people’s more direct access to God.

A few steps, which once led to the rood loft, still remain in one wall. Two paintings from the rood screen are now behind the main altar in a reredos (reer-ih-dahss is one pronunciation). This means a decorative panel behind the altar. These paintings are from the late 15th century, by an unknown accomplished artist, probably local.

The reredos behind the altar includes two 15th century paintings from the rood screen of the church, which was destroyed during the Reformation. The one on the left is apparently unique in England. It shows times when Christ’s blood was shed: “the circumcision, the agony in the garden, the scourging, the crown of thorns and the crucifixion,” according to the church booklet. “The right-hand panel shows the procession of the cross with St. Mary Magdalene kneeling in front of it. Both panels have been heavily scratched and scored. This was probably done at the time of the Civil War [1642-1651], when everything that had Roman Catholic associations was defaced.” Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Memorials to the Cooper Family

Edward Cooper and his family left their mark on the church. The memorial to Edward Cooper says:

In a vault near this spot, are deposited the remains of the Rev. EDWARD COOPER, who, for upwards of 30 years was rector of this parish, and for many years of the adjoining parish of Yoxall also: in both which places, (as a faithful minister of Christ, and endeared to all his parishioners,) he discharged, with unremitting zeal, the duties of his sacred office.

He was the only son of the Rev. Edward Cooper, L.L.D. vicar of Sonning Berks, &c. and prebendary of Bath and Wells; and of Jane his wife, grandaughter of Theophilus Leigh, Esq., of Addlestrop, in the county of Gloucester,

He was formerly fellow of All-Souls’ College, Oxford, as was his father also.

He departed this life, the 26th day of February, 1833, in the 63rd year of his age.

“He being dead yet speaketh”

Within the same vault also repose the remains of CAROLINE ISABELLA, his widow, only daughter of Philip Lybbe Powys, Esq. of Hardwick House in the county of Oxford,

She died on the 28th day of August, 1838, in the 63rd year of her age.

This tablet is erected by their eight surviving children, as a tribute of grateful affection, and respect, to the memory of their deeply lamented, and much beloved parents.

Memorial in Hamstall Ridware church to Edward Cooper, rector. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

As the memorial notes, Edward was also rector of a neighboring parish, Yoxall (from 1809). Like George Austen, he needed the income from two small parishes and was able to serve them both since they were close. Rev. Thomas Gisborne, another Evangelical minister, was from Yoxall. He wrote a book that Cassandra and Jane both liked, An Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex (letter of Aug. 30, 1805). Perhaps Edward had recommended it to them. Though we have no record of it, it’s possible Jane could have met Gisborne during her visit. He was a friend of Edward’s, and he and Henry Austen were the godfathers of one of Edward’s sons. Gisborne was also involved with Wilberforce in fighting the slave trade. (Gaye King, “Cousin” article)

On another wall is a memorial to Edward’s son and grandson. His youngest son Warren died in 1844, age 39, and Warren’s son, Edward-Warren, died as an infant in 1840.

Hamstall Ridware memorial to Edward Cooper’s son and grandson. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Outside, under a large cross, are the graves of Edward’s third son, Rev. H. C. Cooper, vicar of Barton-under-Needwood (5.6 miles away), who died in 1876, “in the 76th year of his age.” Also Edward’s second daughter, Cassandra Louisa, who died in 1880, “in the 84th year of her age.” The final inscription reads, “Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude, v. 21”

Another side memorializes Frederic Leigh Cooper, born 1801, died 1885. This was Edward’s fifth child. 

This cross identifies the burial site of several of Edward Cooper’s children in the Hamstall Ridware church burial ground. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023
Side view of cross with inscription to another son. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

Glebe

Green fields surround the church. Most churches in England had glebe land, farmland that provided income for the clergyman. In 1978, all glebe land was transferred to the dioceses, who administer it now. (A diocese is a group of church parishes overseen by a bishop.) Some modern locations in England still retain the name glebe. Hamstall Ridware is part of the Diocese of Lichfield, and I was told the diocese still receives income from grazing on glebe lands nearby. Glebe income today is used to pay clergy salaries and other expenses.

The Hamstall Ridware church is in the midst of green fields, some of which still provide income to the Church of England today. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

The Church Today

The Hamstall Ridware church is now part of a benefice including four parishes with one rector. In 1831, the population of the parish was 443. In 2011 it was 313.

Hamstall Hall, previous home of the Leigh family, is now mostly in ruins. But, according to the church booklet, the current Lord Leigh is still “a patron of the United Benefice of King’s Bromley, the Ridwares, and Yoxall jointly with the Bishop of Lichfield and the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield Cathedral.” (In other words, they jointly choose/approve the clergymen for the churches of the benefice.) 

Like Chawton and Steventon, Sunday services are held at the Hamstall Ridware church weekly, usually with only ten or so faithful parishioners attending. The church is large, seating 200 people, but it has little heating, and only a chemical toilet outside. However, they do get big crowds for Harvest, Christmas, and other special services, as well as lectures and concerts. And many visitors come to the church, which is open in the daytime, though apparently the door can be tricky to open.

The Church of St. Michael and All Angels is well worth a visit for Jane Austen enthusiasts. It is just over an hour’s drive, by car, from Stoneleigh Abbey. The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum in Lichfield is on the way.

The people of the church created a tapestry depicting Hamstall Ridware through 900 years of history. Jane Austen’s face is prominent on the right side. Photo © Brenda S. Cox, 2023

For Further Exploration

This post from the Ridware Historic Society includes diary entries from Edward’s mother-in-law, during her visits to the family at Hamstall Ridware, as well as more information about the town and its people.

The church website gives some history and a schedule of services.

The historic listing tells more details of the church’s architecture.

A video showing many aspects of the church

Booklet on the church (a slightly older version than the one I used for this article)  

Photos on Flickr of Hamstall Hall, Hamstall Ridware church and Yoxall church  

Gaye King “Jane Austen’s Staffordshire Cousin: Edward Cooper and His Circle,” Persuasions 1993

Gaye King, “Visiting Edward Cooper,” Persuasions 1987

Donald Greene article, “Hamstall Ridware: A Neglected Austen Setting,” Persuasions 1985 

Posts on other Jane Austen Family Churches

Steventon

Chawton

Adlestrop and the Leigh Family

Stoneleigh Abbey Chapel

Great Bookham and Austen’s godfather, Rev. Samuel Cooke

Ashe and Jane’s Friend Mrs. Lefroy 

Deane

Brenda S. Cox is the author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. She also blogs at Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen.

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Tracing Jane Austen’s Royal Ancestors Via Her Parents, by Ronald Dunning

Posted in Jane Austen's family, Jane Austen's World, tagged , , on January 20, 2023| 2 Comments »

Inquiring readers, 

Ronald Dunning has written a number of articles for this blog. He is a dedicated genealogist and pursues his work with the enthusiasm and commitment to his field of study that I, alas, lack. Thankfully, Mr Dunning has filled the gap for this blog.

I have occasionally been asked whether Jane Austen’s parents were descended from royalty. I knew this to be the case with Mrs Austen, having traced the pedigree of her grandmother the Honourable Mary Brydges, who was the daughter of the 8th Lord Chandos of Sudeley, back to the Plantagenet king, Edward III. Prof. John McAleer had written on the subject too, in an article on the topic in Persuasions 11, entitled The Comedy of Social Distinction in Pride and Prejudice, by JOHN McALEER.

Alas, Prof. McAleer was led astray by some misinformation that appears to have had its origins in the later 19th century: Jane Atkins was categorically not the daughter of Sir Jonathan Atkins, but of John Atkins of Brightling, in Sussex, so George Austen was not a descendant of Sir Jonathan. Nevertheless I could still trace him back to royalty through his previously unexplored maternal line, that of Rebecca Hampson. The most recent of the kings in her pedigree was Edward I. This story remains to be told, and I promise that I will do it; but the first of the charts attached to this article trace the lineage via George Austen: Austen Royal Descent 1 – George.docx (1).

austen-family1

Image designed by Vic Sanborn

The second to the eighth charts show different ways in which Cassandra Leigh’s pedigree could be traced back to Edward III, the grandson of Edward I. It’s interesting that all of these resolve into two lineages. In charts 2, 3, 4, and 6, the lines descend through various people to the Hon. Charles Brydges of Wilton Castle, and his wife Jane Carne. From then, the next six generations to Mrs Austen are identical. The descent in the second group, charts 5, 7, and 8, reaches Katherine Neville and her husband Clement Throckmorton of Haseley and Claverdon, Warwickshire; and in those, the next six generations to Mrs Austen are also identical (though different from the first group).

Study Charts 2-8 at this link.

Conventionally, the husband’s name is listed first, followed by his wife’s. In these charts I have placed each couple’s direct offspring first, whether female or male. The spouses, in the earlier generations, were almost all descended from earlier kings; these charts record only the most recent royal ancestors – though still from a log way back.

Someone, possibly a genealogically-minded statistician, worked out that everyone of English descent had Plantagenet royal ancestry. Taking this a step further, everyone of European ancestry is descended from Charlemagne. There is an interesting article on the subject in the Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humans-are-all-more-closely-related-than-we-commonly-think/. Most people have lost the linkage; it’s only because Jane Austen’s parents both had prominent ancestors that we know.

Prof. McAleer listed a few historically notable royal ancestors, and these belonged to both Austen parents. I’ll add a few: Alfred the Great. Aethelred II – “Ethelred the Unready” – and his first son Edmund “Ironside.” The historical King Duncan I of Scotland, who met his death at the hands of his cousin Macbeth!

I did my best to discover all of the ancestral lines, back to the King Edwards, though it’s possible that I’ve missed one, or that others remain to be discovered. But I hope that there are enough here to satisfy everyone!

About the author:

Ronald Dunning

Ronald Dunning, Author

Ronald Dunning is the creator of Ancestry.com: The Jane Austen Page ” which is undergoing an update as his research continues. He learned through his grandmother that her family was in some way related to Jane Austen. After moving from Canada to England in 1972, he pursued this intriguing information and discovered that Frank Austen [Jane’s brother] was her great-great-grandfather. Find more information in Deb Barnum’s 2012 interview with Mr. Dunning for Jane Austen in Vermont, An Interview with Ron Dunning on his Jane Austen Genealogy ~ The New and Improved Jane Austen Family Tree!

Also, click on this link to Sir Thomas More and Jane Austen  on this blog by Ronald Dunning.

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Happy Birthday, Cassandra Austen!

Posted in Cassandra Elizabeth Austen, Chawton Cottage, Jane Austen's family, Jane Austen's letters, Jane Austen's life, Jane Austen's World on January 9, 2023| 3 Comments »

On January 9, 1773, Jane Austen’s older sister Cassandra Austen was born – 250 years ago – and we Austen fans are celebrating her life worldwide!

The two Austen sisters were nearly inseparable, from the time Jane was born until she passed away. She was the yin to Austen’s yang . . . or to put it in Regency terms, she was the darning needle to Jane’s stockings, the saucer to her tea cup. If you love Jane, then you would have undoubtedly loved Cassandra!

A Friend and Companion

When Jane was born, her father famously wrote: “We have now another girl, a present plaything for her sister Cassy, and a future companion.”

Reverend Austen was right on both counts. When the girls were young, Jane was extremely attached to Cassandra. So much so that when Cassandra went away to school, Jane was allowed to go as well. Not because she was necessarily ready for school, but because, as their mother said, “if Cassandra’s head had been going to be cut off, Jane would have hers cut off too.”

As they grew up, the sisters became the closest of companions and the dearest of friends. Of particular note, Cassandra is known for her sketches and watercolor paintings, particularly those believed to be of Jane and those that accompany Jane’s History of England.

Excerpt from the History of England by Jane Austen, illustrated by Cassandra Austen, the British Library.

Cassandra and Jane

Much of what we know about Austen’s personal life is largely due to the letters Jane wrote to her sister. Though Cassandra destroyed many of Jane’s letters after her death, there is still much we can find out about the two sisters through reading Jane Austen’s letters. Cassandra’s own letters about Jane’s illness and death provide a tender glimpse into the love and closeness of the Austen sisters.

I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed. She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow; I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself… I thank God that I was enabled to attend her to the last…

Cassandra Austen to Fanny Knight, July 18, 1817
Jane Austen by Cassandra

A Year of Cassandra

To honor Cassandra’s life and legacy, Jane Austen’s House Museum launched its “Year of Cassandra,” during which the museum will feature special events and exhibitions to celebrate her life.

If you’re like me and you want to be part of this special celebration but don’t live close enough to participate in person, the Museum is planning a “Cassandra-themed” Virtual Tour of the museum in March. The tour description is as follows: “Find out about Cassandra’s life at Chawton Cottage and discover objects related to her on a lively, fact-filled tour that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home.” You can find the details HERE.

Cassandra’s Orchard

Of special note is the commemorative orchard being planted in Cassandra Austen’s honor, which has been named “Cassandra’s Orchard.” The name itself certainly makes me want to visit Chawton Cottage again one day soon, but the descriptions are even more intriguing:

Jane’s letters to her are filled with references to plants, flowers and fruits from the orchard, now sadly lost from the grounds of the House.

We will recreate this lost orchard, using dwarf varieties suitable for growing in containers. There will be a tree for every novel, and donors’ names will be recorded on plaques for each tree. The orchard will provide blossom in the spring, delicious shade in the summer, and fruits in the autumn. We will underplant the trees with plants for pollinators, turning this empty space into a haven for people and wildlife alike.

Jane Austen’s House Museum
Cassandra’s Orchard, Photo courtesy of Jane Austen’s House Museum.

More About Cassandra

I’ve been following along with the progress of the Cassandra’s Orchard project, and I was delighted when the museum announced in December (on Jane’s birthday) that it had reached its fundraising goal. I can just imagine what a wonderful addition this little orchard will make to Jane Austen’s house.

I’m thankful for Cassandra Austen because I know that having someone who believes in you, supports you, and challenges you intellectually is important in every person’s life – but especially in the lives of writers, artists, and creatives. The very fact that she was so loved by Jane means that Cassandra must have been quite a remarkable person.

If you’d like to know more about Cassandra Austen’s life, Vic here at Jane Austen’s World has built quite the catalog of articles over the years. You can access those articles HERE. Of particular note is the article entitled, “Cassandra Austen: Jane’s confidante, supporter and helpmate” that is well worth your time.

More links about this topic:

RACHEL DODGE teaches college English classes, gives talks at libraries, teas, and book clubs, and writes for Jane Austen’s World blog. She is the bestselling author of The Little Women Devotional, The Anne of Green Gables Devotional and Praying with Jane: 31 Days Through the Prayers of Jane Austen. Her newest release is The Secret Garden Devotional! You can visit Rachel online at www.RachelDodge.com.

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