Chawton Cottage
When Jane was 33 years old, she and her family moved into Chawton
Cottage, which was provided by her brother, Edward. Her mother was a widow now, and the family was glad to return to the Hampshire countryside after living in Southampton and Bath for years.
Their cottage was similar to their old country parsonage with its low ceilings and small
rooms. The dining room window looked out on the busy coach road, which forked
at this spot to send half the coaches to Fareham and the other to Winchester.
The
traffic added to the daily excitement, especially the Collyer’s Flying
Machine—a stagecoach that passed daily on its route from Southampton to London.
It had six horses and passengers inside and on the roof, along with an armed
guard to protect from highwaymen. A man rode one of the front horses to keep
the team in order, and the coachman was Mr. Falkner, who lived nearby. (Jane
later dubbed it Falkner’s Car or ‘the Car of Falkenstein’ in a joke with her
niece, Anna.)
The Jane Austen House from the front.
The Jane Austen House from the backyard.