Hampshire Villages
deane
During our novel, Deane was home to Henry Rice and his wife Lucy, who was the daughter of Reverend and Madam Lefroy. They moved there when they married during the summer of 1801.
Henry Rice was curate of All Saints Church in Deane, taking it over from James Austen, who took up the living at Steventon.
The original church in Deane has since been rebuilt and a newer one stands in its place.
The old rectory has also gone, but this small village still retains its quiet, rural charm.
If you would like to learn more about the history of Deane, British History Online has a very informative page that you can read here.
Ashe
Ashe was home to Reverend Lefroy and his wife Anne, known as Madam Lefroy.
Reverend Lefroy served as rector of St. Andrew's Church in the village from 1788 until his death in 1806, when he was succeeded by his son, George.
The church is not the same today as it originally stood, as major building work was carried out 1878. Nonetheless, the Lefroy graves and memorials to the family inside the church have been preserved.
Brenda S. Cox went to visit and find out more about the church and its history, which you can read in her article for Jane Austen's World here.
Madam Lefroy was an influential woman in her community and educated the children of the village at Sunday school and in a day school, teaching reading and writing. She also taught crafts such as needlework, basket weaving and knitting stockings, so that the children would have skills to earn their own wages when they grew up.
She was tireless in her determination to vaccinate the local villagers against smallpox, and worked under Dr Edward Jenner's guidance.
Despite her popular reputation, she was also an anxious mother who worried about her children. She had lost two sons and a daughter at young ages and never got over the loss. The importance of her family to her is evident in the letters that she wrote to her son, Edward, whilst he was away studying to become a lawyer on the Isle of Wight. These letters were preserved after her death and can be found in the collection shown in the photo, published by The Jane Austen Society. They provide a fascinating insight into daily life in rural Hampshire between 1800 & 1804.
In the spring of 1802, the youngest son, Ben Lefroy, rescued an abandoned baby squirrel and put it to his old white cat to suckle, which the cat took to remarkably well. The family wrote to the Gentleman's Magazine about this unusual event and their letter was printed in May 1802 (Vol.72, issue 5, p.414). You can read it online here.
When Madam Lefroy died from a fall from her horse in December, 1804, she was greatly mourned and obituaries appeared in several magazines. The Jane Austen Info blog has a detailed article on what was written. You can read here.
wootton st. lawrence
This was home to Manydown, the large estate belonging to the Bigg-Wither family who were close friends of the Austens. Jane and Cassandra Austen grew up with the three sisters: Elizabeth, Catherine and Alethea.
Lovelace Bigg-Wither was a generous host and would frequently invite neighbouring families to balls in his home.
The son of the family, Harris Bigg-Wither, famously proposed to Jane Austen on 2nd December 1802, and was rejected.
A few months later he joined the military, which took him away from home. He then married not long after and went on to raise a large family.
You can read After Jane Austen: The Harris Bigg-Wither Story on the Hampshire Archives and Local Studies website here.
There are memorials to some members of the Bigg-Wither family inside the village church of St. Lawrence.
Jane and Cassandra Austen remained close friends with the Bigg sisters throughout their lives, returning to stay at Manydown many times after moving to Bath.
Manydown Park was demolished in 1965, but you can find photos of it before it disappeared on the Lost Heritage website here.
Manydown also has a Wikipedia page that you can access here.
overton
Overton is the nearest small town to Steventon, and where the Austens would have gone for their shopping.
It was also where James Austen lived and served the parish of St. Mary's Church when he first became a clergyman in 1790, before moving to Deane and then on to Steventon.
The town still has many old buildings standing today and is proud of its links to the Austen family.
In conjunction with Overton Parish Council, a group of volunteers have created the Overton Jane Austen Trails, with a walking and a cycling route taking you from Overton to Steventon. You can find details on their website here.
The AllTrails website also offers a circular walking route taking in the villages of Overton, Steventon and Ashe. You can view those details here.
hurstbourne tarrant
St. Peter's Church in Hurstbourne Tarrant is the burial place of Mrs Martha Lloyd, who died at her home on 16th April 1805. Her daughters, Martha and Mary (James Austen's wife) were with her in her final days - as was Cassandra Austen who had come to offer her support.
Mary and James Austen also married in this church in 1797.
The house where the Lloyd family lived was in the nearby village of Ibthorpe.
They lived on on Horseshoe Lane and after Mrs Lloyd's death, Martha was forced to give up this house and moved in with the Austen ladies in Bath.
EXTRACT
If you would like to read an extract from The Austens of Bath, where events take place in one of these Hampshire villages, click here.
REFERENCES
Austen-Leigh, W., Austen-Leigh R.A. and Le Faye D. (1989) Jane Austen: A Family Record. London: The British Library. pp.121-122.
Lefroy, H. & Turner, G. (2007) The Letters of Mrs Lefroy: Jane Austen's Beloved Friend. Winchester: The Jane Austen Society.
The Clergy Database (2024) Lefroy, Isaac Peter George (1769 - 1788): Available at:https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?PersonID=35036
The Clergy Database (2024) Rice, Henry (1800-1828) : Available at: https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?PersonID=108647
Townsend, T. (2014) Jane Austen's Hampshire. Somerset: Halsgrove.