Write What Your Heart Desires

Well, we are now onto part 4 of our tour. I didn't think it was that long. But in order to give you an idea of the life of Jane Austen, I am covering every room in the house.

Also, before I get into the tour, in the last week or two was the celebration of 200 years of Sense and Sensibility. How many of us will still be recognised after all that time? It would be nice to be remebered for helping to put the pleasure of reading back into peoples' lives.

Now, back to the tour. This week we are going to look at the Corridor and Alcove and The Admirals' Room.

Unfortunately we didn't get any photos of the Corridor and alcove.  There wasn't much to photograph in this area. It was all just information boards about various aspects of Janes' life.

There are illustrations from the 1894 edition of Pride and Prejudice. At the end of the corridor is a window which overlooks a fork in the road by a thatched cottage. A large pond used to fill this area when Jane lived there.  By the window is a letter from Cassandra that was written to their niece, Fanny Knight two days after Janes death on the 20th July 1817.

From the Corridor we went into the Admirals' Room. Two of Jane's brothers became sailors. This room contains memorabilia of this time.

Francis Austen was made Admiral of the Fleet and was also knighted by King William IV. He was appointed as High Admiral in 1862, and there are Letters Patent appointing him to this position. These letters are dated 23rd  December 1862. The appointment is an honorary appointment given by Queen Victoria under the Great Seal of England.  

The photo below is of a portable cabin bed that Francis would take with him on his sea voyages. It was collapsible for easy moving on and off the ships.

In the showcase on the right of the next photo is a funerary plate that commemorates the death of Admiral Lord Nelson in 1805.

The Battle of Trafalgar was fought while Francis was at seaq, but he was elsewhere and not involved in the battle.

Jane's "own particular little brother", Charles, served in the waters around North America and later the Far East. He became a Rear Admiral.

There is a large brass bell which stands in the fireplace of the room, pictured below.

The bell was taken from a pagoda that was destroyed in 1852 when the British navy captured Rangoon. It was engraved and presented to Charles by his fellow officers.

The cupboard in the room has been converted into a display case that houses some of the family silver. Some items of note are a snuff box and a salver which were presented to Charles by his fellow officers. Also on display are some examples of wood carvings done by Charles.

It is interesting to see the different ways the family lived.

With that I will end this part of the tour. Next week will probably be the last in my tour series. I will visit the Bedroom Tableau and the gardens.

A few miles down the road from where I live is the village of Steventon, where Jane grew up. We are trying to find the Church that her father worked in. If we can find it by then, I will post photos and information about that as well.

It is a real privilege to be near a number of places that hold signifance with writers. I hope you have enjoyed my tour so far, and that you will come back next week for the concluding part.