This Jane Austen blog brings Jane Austen, her novels, and the Regency Period alive through food, dress, social customs, and other 19th C. historical details related to this topic.
In honor of Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary year, I’m happy to announce a new audiobook project: The Praying with Jane Audiobookfeaturing narration by actress Amanda Root and author Rachel Dodge (yours truly). Published by ONE Audiobooks, this title is available on all major audiobook platforms.
Amanda Root is best known by Austen fans around the world for her starring role as Anne Elliot in the acclaimed 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Root claimed audience hearts opposite Ciarán Hinds, as Captain Wentworth, and has held them ever since.
Proceeds from this anniversary project will be donated directly to the Jane Austen House Museum to further Jane Austen’s lasting legacy.
Persuasion film adaptation with Amanda Root (1995).
Amanda Root and Rachel Dodge, Kansas City AGM.
Audiobook Description
In this 31-day devotional, you will get an in-depth look at Jane Austen’s prayers. Her faith comes to life through her exquisite prayers, touching biographical anecdotes, intimate excerpts from family letters and memoirs, illuminating scenes from her novels, and spiritual insights. Austen’s prayers read by British film and voice actress Amanda Root; text read by author Rachel Dodge.
You can listen to a sample of Jane Austen’s Prayer 1 here, read by actress Amanda Root:
Proceeds will be donated to the Jane Austen House Museum.
Amanda Root Bio
Amanda Root is an English stage and screen actress and a former voice actress for children’s programs. Root is known for her starring role in the 1995 BBC film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, her role in the British TV comedy All About Me (2002), as Miranda, alongside Richard Lumsden in 2004, and for voicing Sophie in The BFG (1989). She trained for the stage at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. (IMBD Mini Bio)
“. . . perhaps you would not mind passing through London, and seeing the inside of St. George’s, Hanover Square. Only keep your cousin Edmund from me at such a time: I should not like to be tempted.”—Mary Crawford, Mansfield Park, chapter 43
Mansfield Park includes much more discussion of the church than any other Austen novel. Not surprisingly, it also names more real churches than the other novels do.
In an earlier post we explored the Garrison Chapel, where Fanny Price and her family worship in Portsmouth. Henry Crawford attends with them on his visit. Perhaps this symbolizes his attempts to reform himself and become worthy of Fanny; attempts that ultimately fail.
Remains of the Garrison Chapel in Portsmouth where the Prices and Henry Crawford worshiped.
Henry’s sister Mary names another real church in a letter to Fanny. She wants Fanny to let her and Henry take Fanny back to Mansfield from Portsmouth, where Fanny has been staying with her family. Fanny is unhappy and unhealthy, but will not commit the impropriety of going back to Mansfield Park before her uncle sends for her. Mary wants to take Fanny to see Henry’s estate and then pass through London on the way to Mansfield.
She suggests visiting St. George’s, Hanover Square. This was a popular church for weddings among the upper classes of London. Mary hopes Fanny will marry Henry there. At the same time, Mary says it might tempt her to marry Edmund. She doesn’t want to marry a clergyman, or a second son who will not inherit an estate, but she is attracted to Edmund.
St. George’s Hanover Square exterior. According to the church website, “The classical front with six great Corinthian columns supporting a pediment represented a new trend in English Church design.”
St. George’s, Hanover Square Today
During a recent visit to London, I had the privilege of worshiping at St. George’s, Hanover Square on a Sunday morning. The service was a Sung Eucharist, a Communion service in traditional language, with beautiful singing from the choir and impressive organ music. During the service, the congregation renewed their baptismal vows.
St. George’s Hanover Square interior. The painting of the Last Supper over the altar, and the surrounding carvings, were installed in 1724. The seven silver hanging lights in the church represent the seven lamps of fire burning before God’s throne, according to the book of Revelation in the Bible.
The church also offers brief midday services from the Book of Common Prayer on weekdays and several other Communion services during the week. Weekday “Morning Calm” services are held during termtime, as “a short period of reflection, contemplation, and relaxation before the challenges of the day begin.”
Nowadays the area around Hanover Square is mostly offices and businesses. I was told that most people in the current congregation live farther away, since few people live close to the church now.
The signboard for St. George’s Hanover Square lists services, extensive opening hours, and rules such as no drugs in the church and no sleeping on pews.
Wealthy Mayfair
Hanover Square is in Mayfair. In Austen’s England, many wealthy people had large houses in Mayfair or surrounding areas. In Sense and Sensibility, the Palmers live in Hanover Square, while the Middletons, Mrs. Ferrars, and Willoughby live nearby in Mayfair. Mrs. Jennings and John and Fanny Dashwood live in Marylebone, an area just north of Mayfair. It developed when Mayfair could no longer accommodate all those who wanted fashionable, elegant housing. (Source: The Annotated Sense and Sensibility, David Shapard.)
St. George’s is the parish church of Mayfair, where the wealthy worshiped. In 1711, Parliament had passed an Act for the building of fifty new churches in and around London. The wealthy of Mayfair petitioned for a church, which was completed in 1725. The patron saint of the church is St. George, a Christian martyr of the third century who is also the patron saint of England.
Rectors of St. George’s Hanover Square during Austen’s time and thereafter. Some held other influential church positions as well.
The parish was large, with a vestry of 101 vestrymen. These included 7 dukes, 14 earls, 7 barons, and 26 other titled people. A vestry, led by the church’s rector and churchwardens, decides matters relating to the church and the secular parish. (Mr. Knightley, Mr. Weston, Mr. Cole, and Mr. Cox are apparently on the vestry for their parish, as they are “busy over parish business” in Emma.) The St. George’s, Hanover Square vestry dealt with local issues including street lighting, refuse disposal, nightwatchmen, and a workhouse for the poor.
St. George’s Hanover Square eagle lectern. Many churches of Austen’s time had lecterns similar to this, where the Bible was read to the congregation. (The eagle symbolized the Word of God because supposedly it could fly directly into the sun without closing its eyes, so it was like the Bible, leading people to God with eyes open. Eagles’ wings also symbolized carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth.)
Pulpit of St. George’s, Hanover Square
Rich and Poor
While the wealthy owned mansions in the area, most spent only the winter in London, passing the rest of the year on their country estates. The back alleys behind the mansions teemed with poverty and misery year-round. In the early 1800s, the Evangelical movement began to awaken the church to the needs of the poor. St. George’s established a parish school for poor children in 1804, supported by public subscriptions. Later in the century, the church initiated and supported extensive projects to help the working classes of the area.
But the wealthy ran the church in Austen’s time. Around the gallery (balcony) are listed the churchwardens, year by year. Anglican churches generally have two elected churchwardens, responsible for financial accounts, movable property of the church, keeping order, and other administrative responsibilities. The churchwardens listed on St. George’s galleries for the 1700s and early 1800s sound impressive: Viscounts, Earls, Lords, Sirs, Honorables, and Esquires.
St. George’s Hanover Square balcony listing early churchwardens. Many were titled men.
Music
The composer George Friderick Handel lived about a four minute walk from the church. He helped choose the organ and organist for the new church. He had a pew there and worshiped at St. George’s until he died. He wrote the Messiah in his house nearby on Brook Street, which is now a museum.
St. George’s Hanover Square organ pipes; a new organ was installed in 1972. The original organ had 1514 pipes and three manuals (keyboards for the hands). It cost £500 in 1725.
Weddings
Since it was at the heart of the wealthy district, St. George’s, Hanover Square was the popular place for weddings of the wealthy and influential. In 1816, the church hosted 1,063 weddings! Famous people including Percy Bysshe Shelley, Benjamin Disraeli, George Eliot (Mary Lewes), and Theodore Roosevelt were married at St. George’s. Mary Crawford was likely staying near there with her wealthy London friends, and she may have attended church there. So it was the first place she thought of for her own and her brother’s weddings. It is still a popular venue for weddings, though not as much so as in Austen’s time.
On Thursday, we’ll look at the other two real churches mentioned in Mansfield Park, the two most famous churches in England. Do you know which ones they are? We’ll also consider which London church Lydia and Wickham married in!
From her birth in 1775 until her family moved to Bath in 1801, Jane Austen spent most of her time in a small triangle of villages: Steventon, Ashe, and Deane. Her father was rector of both Steventon and Deane, leading services and preaching at both parish churches, and serving the people of both communities.
Nave and chancel of Holy Trinity Church at Deane.
The damp Deane parsonage where the Austens lived is long gone; it was replaced by a new building in 1855. One of the churchwardens says, “There was a rectory in the paddock opposite the path leading to the church, which burnt down. I believe the wall [old section in this photo] protected this rectory.”
Deane Parsonage and Living
George and Cassandra Austen lived in the Deane parsonage until 1768 when the Steventon parsonage was ready. Their first three children, James, George, and Edward, were born there. Mrs. Austen’s widowed mother, Jane Leigh, also lived with them at Deane, though she died shortly after the move to Steventon.
The Steventon living was worth only about £100 a year, including about three acres of glebe farmland. So Mr. Knight also let George Austen farm the 200-acre Cheesedown Farm for more income. Still, the Austens found the income too low to support their rapidly growing family. George’s great-uncle Francis of Sevenoaks in Kent bought the options on two nearby livings, Ashe and Deane, for George’s benefit.
The rector of Deane died before the rector of Ashe, so George Austen took the living for the parish of Deane, and Francis sold the other option to another relative, who later installed the Lefroys at Ashe. In 1773, Mr. Austen became rector of Deane, another small parish of “about two dozen families of farm labourers . . . worth £110” per year (Le Faye, 25). He also began taking in boys as students, to further supplement his income.
The Deane parsonage now belonged to George Austen, as part of the living. From 1786-1788, Madam Lefroy’s younger brother, Egerton Brydges, rented it from him and lived there. In 1789, George advertised the parsonage for rent, as “a neat brick dwelling-house with four living-rooms and four bedrooms, as well as all the necessary store rooms and servants’ quarter, plus a large garden, coach-house and stabling for six horses” (Le Faye, 68), making it sound more desirable than it had been. The next tenants were a clergyman’s widow, Mrs. Lloyd, and her daughters Martha and Mary. (Good Bible names for sisters; see John 11.) Martha and Mary soon became close friends of Jane and her sister Cassandra. Eventually both Lloyd sisters married into the Austen family.
In 1792, Jane’s eldest brother James and his wife Anne took over Deane parsonage, spending £200 to refurnish it, more than they could actually afford. James became his father’s curate at Deane, also serving two other small parishes. Their daughter Anna (Jane Anna Elizabeth Austen) was born in the Deane parsonage in 1793, with the help of her grandmother. “Mrs. Austen rose from her bed in the middle of the night, and walked by the light of a lantern a mile and a half of muddy country lane to attend her [daughter-in-law], and to usher into the world a new grandchild” (Le Faye, 84).
James’s wife Anne died in 1795, and Mary Lloyd returned to Deane parsonage as James’s second wife in 1797. In 1801, James and his family moved to the Steventon parsonage when George Austen retired to Bath. James served as curate of Steventon until his father died in 1805, when James became rector of Steventon.
Holy Trinity Church at Deane was completely rebuilt, 1818-1820, in the pointed Gothic style. Much of the church was built of Coade stone, an artificial stone invented and produced by a woman, Eleanor Coade (1733-1821). She developed an amazing material that could be made to look like either wood or marble, resisted weathering, and could be molded into mass-produced items ranging from tiny ornaments to the pinnacles of this church. Thousands of intact examples of Coade stone can still be seen across England and abroad today.
Jane Austen’s Connections with Deane
Jane Austen mentions Deane in 27 of her existing letters. She also includes it in one of her juvenile pieces, “Memoirs of Mr. Clifford.” Mr. Clifford’s “first Day’s Journey carried him only to Dean Gate where he remained a few Days and found himself much benefited by the change of Air.” She is referring to the Deane Gate Inn, where men of the Austen family would catch the stagecoach. It is now a restaurant, the Palm Brasserie.
Jane often visited the parsonage at Deane, first when the Lloyds were living there, then when her brother and his family were there. Dampness and flooding were still an issue. On Oct. 27, 1798, she wrote:
“There has been a great deal of rain here for this last fortnight, much more than in Kent, and indeed we found the roads all the way from Staines most disgracefully dirty. Steventon lane has its full share of it, and I don’t know when I shall be able to get to Deane.”
In November and December she again talks about visits to her sister-in-law Mary at Deane, who gave birth to James Edward (who became Jane Austen’s first biographer) on Nov. 17:
I went to Deane with my father two days ago to see Mary, who is still plagued with the rheumatism, which she would be very glad to get rid of, and still more glad to get rid of her child, of whom she is heartily tired. Her nurse is come and has no particular charm either of person or manner; but as all the Hurstbourne world pronounce her to be the best nurse that ever was, Mary expects her attachment to increase. . . . Sunday. — I have just received a note from James to say that Mary was brought to bed last night, at eleven o’clock, of a fine little boy, and that everything is going on very well. My mother had desired to know nothing of it before it should be all over, and we were clever enough to prevent her having any suspicion of it”—Nov. 17-18, 1798
Jane continued to visit Mary every few days, reporting on her health. She even visited when ice covered the ground:
“I enjoyed the hard black Frosts of last week very much, & one day while they lasted walked to Deane by myself.–I do not know that I ever did such a thing in my life before. . . . Mary went to Church on Sunday, & had the weather been smiling, we would have seen her here before this time”—Dec. 18, 1798. This may have been when Mary was “churched,” a ceremony celebrating the safety of a mother after childbirth.
The main families of Deane, Steventon, and Ashe all visited each other and went to balls together. Jane danced at the Harwoods’ ball, in Deane, on Jan. 8, 1796. She often mentions John Harwood in her letters; for example:
“This morning has been made very gay to us, by visits from our two lively Neighbours, Mr. Holder and Mr. John Harwood.”—Dec. 18, 1798
Deane church memorial to John Harwood (1770-1846), a member of the Harwood family of Deane, friends of the Austens. Harwood was rector of nearby Sherbourne St. John, where James Austen was vicar from 1791 to 1819. (The parish had both a vicar and a rector until 1844; the rector got more of the tithes.) Jane Austen mentions John Harwood in her letters in the context of visits, balls, and other events.
The Harwoods owned Deane House, now The Old Manor House. It can still be seen from the Deane church. Jane Austen danced there.
All Saints Church at Deane, Then and Now
In July, 1818, the Norman-era church at Deane was “in so Dangerous a state of Ruin as to be unsafe for the congregation.” So the patron, Wither Bramston of Oakley Hall, got approval from the Bishop of Winchester to rebuild it at his own cost, about £8000. It was consecrated two years later.
All Saints at Deane is considered “one of the most complete and successful” 19th century Gothic churches (Tanner). It is also renowned for its eight bells, which are rung regularly, and an 1820 Gothic chancel screen. The church today is a grade II listed building, but is not the same as the medieval church building where George and James Austen ministered. Some monuments from their time are on the walls of the current church, however.
An entrance to the Deane church marks its rebuilding in 1818.
Memorial in Latin to Wither Bramston, died 1832, and his wife. As patron of the Deane living, he rebuilt the Deane church in 1818-1820 (as recorded in the top section of the memorial), at his own expense.
The church could seat 146 people in 1851. On Census Sunday, 94 parishioners attended in the morning and 124 in the evening. Leading up to World War I, the rector offered daily Communion in the church, and in 1917, he reported twenty people in the choir for Evensong. However, the population dropped, and in 2011, Deane included only an estimated 55 inhabitants, with an average age of over 60.
Now there are about 25 houses in the village, and about 8-10 people attend Sunday morning services twice a month. For a larger service, like the Christmas carol service, they may have about 40 attendees. Weddings are held there occasionally, and special services like pet blessings. All Saints is part of the United Benefice of North Waltham, Steventon, Ashe, and Deane.
Our guide to the church, Sue Hebeler, said she loves this church since it is her local church and her husband is buried there. She appreciates the traditional, old-fashioned services. If you’re in the vicinity, you may also enjoy a visit to this lovely, peaceful church.
This embroidered tapestry blesses the church, which was called St. Mary’s before it was rebuilt over 200 years ago. The picture may be more like the church’s earlier form. It reads, “Peace be within this sacred place; And joy a constant guest; With holy gifts and heavenly grace; Be her attendants blest.”
Austen Chat, from the Jane Austen Society of North America, brings you entertaining and informative discussions on Jane Austen each month.
A Review by Brenda S. Cox
The idea suddenly came to Mrs. Breckyn Wood that JASNA needed a podcast. Breckyn says,
“My main goal is to attract a whole new generation of JASNA members–younger Jane Austen fans who maybe have read a book or two or seen one of the adaptations, but who didn’t know there was a whole organization dedicated to Austen. I had already been to a few meetings of my local Georgia Region and was blown away by the talent and intelligence of its members, so I knew JASNA would have a huge pool of potential podcast guests from which to draw.”
Being a young lady of ingenuity and determination, she came up with a plan and presented it to the leaders of JASNA, who gave their complete support for Austen Chat. This delightful podcast began in July, 2023, with new episodes released on the first Thursday of each month. As the Austen Chat website says:
“JASNA’s mission is at the heart of Austen Chat—to further the study, appreciation, and understanding of Jane Austen’s works, life, and genius. There is always more to learn and enjoy about Jane, and we invite you to join us for the ride! Each month we talk with scholars, authors, and subject experts on a wide variety of Austen-related topics. We think you’ll have fun and learn something new from every episode—whether you are a lifelong reader, an Austen newbie, a seasoned Austen scholar, or somewhere in between. Tune in each month to enjoy the company of clever, well-informed guests, who have a great deal of conversation!”
I have listened to the first nine episodes (through March 7, 2024) and loved them all. I learned new things from each expert, despite my years of studying Austen.
In each instalment, Breckyn interviews someone in the Austen world about their specialty. Then we have news for the JASNA community about upcoming events and resources. Finally, a Janeite shares one of his or her favorite quotes from Austen, and tells why they love it. So be sure to listen all the way to the end!
Here’s what we’ve gotten to enjoy so far:
Episode 1, Jane Austen & Her House: A Visit with Lizzie Dunford, brings us right to the Jane Austen House in Chawton. We learn about its background, the changes that have been going on, and the treasures on display in this Mecca for Janeites.
Episode 2, Jane Austen & Goodness: A Visit with Brenda Cox, is my own discussion with Breckyn about how Austen’s faith and the Church of England are reflected in Austen’s novels, including some hidden “faith words” used with religious meanings, women church leaders of Austen’s time, and the differences between rectors, vicars, and curates.
Episode 3, Jane Austen & Her Wardrobe: A Visit with Hilary Davidson, is a fun discussion of the clothes Jane Austen is known to have worn. I learned that Austen kept up with the latest fashions. Davidson tells us that in general it was easy to find relevant pictures of the types of clothing Austen mentioned in her letters, since they were what was popularly worn in those years.
Episode 4, Jane Austen & Her Endings: A Visit with Inger Brodey, gives some surprising insights into the endings of Austen’s books. She talks about whether the novels end happily or not, the different kinds of happiness, and how Austen’s endings were unusual for her time.
Episode 5, Jane Austen & Divorce: A Visit with James Nagle, tells us some suprising facts about ways people got divorced or separated in Austen’s time, including the practice of selling wives, which he says was often to the wife’s lover.
Episode 6, Jane Austen & Mr. Wickham, A Visit with Adrian Lukis, explores Lukis’s experiences in portraying Wickham in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice movie, then what led him to write his current hit, Being Mr. Wickham, and his thoughts on Lydia and Wickham’s later lives.
Episode 7, Jane Austen & Dido Belle, A Visit with Renata Dennis, gives us some insights from the head of JASNA’s Diversity Committee about mixed-race Dido Belle, her life, family, and connections with Jane Austen and Sanditon.
Episode 8, Jane Austen & Food: A Visit with Julienne Gehrer, discusses Martha Lloyd, the friend who lived with Jane, Cassandra, and Mrs. Austen, and her Commonplace Book and recipes.
Episode 9, Jane Austen & Her Genius: A Visit with Juliet McMaster, explores some facets of Austen’s brilliance in each of the novels and the Juvenilia. For example, McMaster compares Henry Tilney to Henry Higgins; both taught the heroine a new “language.” And she considers which heroes learned from the heroines, as well as which heroine learned from the hero. Juliet McMaster, a founding member of JASNA and “grande dame of Austen scholarship,” also talks about the early days of JASNA.
This is a great array of topics, all of which I enjoyed. I don’t know what’s coming next, but I’m sure it will be fun!
Episodes begin with a “desert island” question for the interviewee. Either:
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one Austen book, which one would it be? Or,
If you were stranded on a desert island and could have one penpal from among Austen’s characters, who would it be?
Gentle reader, what is your answer? And if you want to add your favorite Austen quote, please do!
“My father’s old Ministers are already deserting him to pay their court to his Son; the brown Mare, which, as well as the black was to devolve on James at our removal, has not had patience to wait for that, & has settled herself even now at Deane.”—Jane Austen to Cassandra, Jan. 8, 1801, when her brother James was about to take over their father’s place as clergyman at Steventon church (as his father’s curate), and James was taking over much of their property as Jane, Cassandra, and their parents moved to Bath.
Church was an important part of Jane Austen’s life and her family’s lives. Last time we explored the church at Chawton, which Austen attended during the later years of her life. Today we’ll visit Steventon, the church in which she grew up. Both churches are named after St. Nicholas, both are small country churches of the national Church of England, and both are named after St. Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, children, and others. (He is also called, in a more modern incarnation, Santa Claus.)
Jane grew up in the rectory at Steventon, which no longer exists. Her father was the rector, the clergyman of St. Nicholas’. The rectory, or parsonage, was the house provided for the rector to live in. George Austen made repairs and additions to the rectory as his family grew, and as he began to teach boarding students to supplement his church income.
When Jane’s father died in 1805, her brother James became rector of Steventon. After he died, her brother Henry served temporarily for three years (as Charles Hayter gets a temporary living at the end of Persuasion). Both lived in the rectory while serving the church.
However, that rectory was damp and tended to flood. The Knight family were the patrons of the parish, choosing the rectors for the church (as Colonel Brandon was the patron of his parish, giving a church living to Edward Ferrars). In 1823, Edward Knight’s son William Knight (Jane’s nephew) became rector of Steventon. Edward built a new rectory for his son, opposite the church on higher ground. That building still stands, now a private home called Steventon House (put up for sale in 2023).
Jane Austen’s family home, the old rectory, was demolished in the 1820s. In 2011, excavators found bits and pieces at the site: fragments of pottery and crockery, nails, etc. An old pump sat on the site for a long time; now you can see part of it inside the church.
The church itself is still standing and, in form at least, is mostly as Jane Austen knew it. She and her family worshiped there most Sundays for the first twenty-five years of her life. They likely attended church on Sunday afternoons or evenings as well as mornings. Services were several hours long, so Jane spent quite a bit of time at that church.
History of St. Nicholas’ Church, Steventon
Steventon was apparently a place of Christian worship from a very early date. Part of the shaft of a Saxon Cross, from about the ninth century, was discovered built into the wall of a nearby Tudor manor (now demolished). The cross shaft is displayed in the church. The cross was likely set up outdoors. Visiting priests would hold services there, before the church was built. Villagers may also have buried their dead near the cross. Steventon was possibly a stop on the Salisbury to Canterbury pilgrimage route.
The church building is medieval, built around 1200 A.D. The most obvious change since Jane Austen’s time is the addition of a Victorian steeple (around 1850-1860), a blue and brown structure that looks quite different from the rest.
Jane would have seen the four ancient “scratch dials” or “Mass clocks” on the outside walls of the church. These were sundials with a scratch marking the time when people were to come to worship. She would have also seen the medieval carvings of faces, a man and a woman, on either side of the main door.
Next to the church is a gigantic yew tree, an estimated 900 years old. It measures at least 25 feet around. Yews were considered sacred in ancient times and also by Christians. They represented regeneration and new life. The church key, 15 inches long and weighing 5 lb., was kept in a hole in this tree during Austen’s time. After the key disappeared, a replacement was made which is kept elsewhere. The church is now always left unlocked for visitors.
The tower holds three church bells. The oldest was cast in 1470. These bells were restored, through the support of JASNA, in 1995. I got to hear them ringing when the JASNA Summer Tour group visited in July. The bells are rung for church services, weddings, and funerals.
The Church Interior
The layout of the church is still much the same as it was in Jane Austen’s time. Three arches separate the nave of the church (where the congregation sits) from the chancel (where the altar is).
A large box pew, made of oak, was built in the seventeenth century for the lords of the manor. The Digweed family, who rented the manor house from the Knights, used this pew during Austen’s time. It was at the front of the nave, near the pulpit. The box pew is still in the church but has been moved to the back. It is now used as the vestry, the clergyman’s office.
So the Digweed family sat in state, protected from drafts and from curious eyes, at the front. Others, including the Austen family, likely sat on benches. If there weren’t enough benches, servants and the poor would have stood in the aisles and at the back. There was no gallery (balcony) in this church.
Some ancient wall paintings were found during one restoration of the church. These have been left uncovered. They were most likely covered by whitewash during Jane Austen’s time, however.
Other lovely decorations in the church are from Victorian times. The stained glass windows, pews, pulpit, baptismal font, choir stalls, and altar are all from the late 1800s, with the organ from the early 1900s.
The church has reproductions of several church documents relating to Jane. (The originals are held at the Hampshire County Archives, which unfortunately I did not get a chance to visit.) The parish priest—in this case, Jane’s father, George Austen—kept the parish register for officially recording births, marriages, and deaths. The register included a sample page for marriages, and Jane playfully filled this out with imaginary names for her own future marriage.
Another page of the parish register records Jane’s baptism at home on Dec. 17, 1775, shortly after her birth. She was born in the middle of a very cold winter, so her father christened her at home. She was officially received into the church on April 5, 1776, probably her first excursion.
We can also see Jane and Cassandra’s signatures as witnesses to a wedding. Their first cousin Jane Cooper married Thomas Williams. Jane, Cassandra, and Edward Cooper (Jane Cooper’s brother and Jane Austen’s cousin), were the official witnesses.
Inside the Steventon church, you can find memorial plaques to Jane’s brother James, James’s first wife Anne, and his second wife Mary. When Anne died in 1795, James was not yet rector of Steventon, so he is listed as vicar of Sherborne St. John.
When James died in 1819, the memorial says he “succeeded his father George Austen as rector of this parish.” George, of course, died in Bath and is buried at St. Swithin’s.
Mary’s memorial says that she died in 1843 at Speens, Berkshire, but was buried in Steventon (about 16 miles away) with her husband. Mary, of course, had left the rectory when her husband died and his brother Henry took over as rector.
The Knight family owned the manor at Steventon from the early 1700s. They rented it to the Digweed family in 1758, and Digweeds lived there until 1877, though the Knights sold the property in 1855. (This was similar to Charles Bingley renting Netherfield and becoming the de facto squire of the parish.) Austen mentions some of the Digweeds in her letters.
Memorials in the church commemorate Rev. William Knight, “50 years rector of Steventon.” He was Jane’s nephew who became rector after Henry. A sad memorial below his own records the deaths of William’s three daughters, ages 3, 4, and 5 years, who were all “cut off by scarlet fever” in one June week of 1848.
A ledgerstone on the church floor covers the grave of Hugh and Ruth Digweed, who died while Jane was at living at Steventon, and their daughter who died at age 2 in 1770. Other memorials enshrine later members of the Digweed family.
Some Digweeds, like these, are buried in the church, the most honored place to be buried, presumably since they were the squires of the manor house. Others are buried outside in the churchyard.
Like most small country churches in England, Steventon is now part of a benefice including several churches, served jointly by a few clergy. Steventon belongs to the Overton Benefice, seven parishes all served by one rector, one vicar, and one curate.
The Steventon parish is still small, rural, and agricultural, as it was in Austen’s time. About 250 people live in the parish. Sunday services are still held at the church twice a month, usually with a dozen or so people in the congregation. One is a Communion service and the other may be matins, evensong, a holiday service, or a Saturday breakfast and talk for the wider community. Much larger crowds, up to 100 or even 200 people, come to events like holiday services, weddings, baptisms, and funerals. The church seats about 75-80 comfortably, so it can be quite crowded!
In Austen’s time, the church would get bitterly cold in the winter. A modern improvement is the addition of heaters under the pews. People in each pew can turn on their own heater, making the church much more comfortable without wasting energy by heating the whole church.
Marilyn Wright, the churchwarden, told me that she loves the peace of the church, and goes in there when she wants to pray and think. She said if her father, who has dementia, ever got lost, they would find him at the church. As I heard over and over in the Austen country churches, the church is still central to community life.
The Revd. Canon Michael Kenning, former rector of Steventon, gave our JASNA tour group a lovely introduction to the church. At the end, he pointed out that there are about 10,000 Church of England churches in the UK, and most do not get any funding from the National Trust, the British government, or the Church of England. Therefore they need outside funding. The Steventon church is currently in need of some major work. Damp has gotten into the walls, causing cracks and other damage. New drainage and other work is needed. After that, interior features of the church will be renovated.
If you wish to donate to the Steventon church, you can use this link.
JASNA provides support for such special projects at Austen family churches, including this one. If you are a JASNA member, donations to the churches fund for such projects are appreciated. (You can donate when renewing your membership, or sign in to your account and go under the drop-down menu to “Donate to JASNA or English Institutions.”)
For Further Exploration
During Austen’s time, Steventon had a Norman baptismal font. For an idea of what that might have looked like, as well as stories of St. Nicholas, see, The Winchester Type Fonts.
Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen's England is now available! By JAW contributor Brenda S. Cox. See Review. Available from Amazon and Jane Austen Books.
Available through December 31st, 2025. Click on image for details, and share this poster with other teachers and students!
The Obituary of Charlotte Collins by Andrew Capes
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STAGE-COACH AND MAIL IN DAYS OF YORE: A PICTURESQUE HISTORY
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