Stoneleigh ABBEY
In 1806, the Honorable Mary Leigh of Stoneleigh Abbey died, leaving behind a large legacy and a complicated will. Several members of the Leigh family laid claim to it, including Mrs Austen's brother, James Leigh-Perrot.
It was a magnificent building in picturesque grounds, so the negotiations around who should benefit were intense.
In the end, it passed to the Reverend Thomas Leigh (who was Mrs Austen's cousin) and then to his nephew, James Henry Leigh, who took over the estate after Reverend Leigh died in 1813.
Rev. Thomas Leigh was also one of the executors of Hon. Mary Leigh's will, and when Mrs Austen, Cassandra and Jane went to pay him a visit in Adlestrop in August 1806, their stay coincided with the need to sort out some legal affairs. The kind gentleman took the ladies with him to Stoneleigh where they remained for nine days, with a jumbled mix of distant relatives who had all come to be noticed whilst these new financial arrangements were being drawn up.
Mrs Austen wrote to her daughter-in-law Mary (James's wife) while she was there to describe the magnificence of the place. She was overwhelmed by its beauty, and although she had expected it to be fine, it surpassed all her expectations.
You can read the letter in full on the Jane Austen's World blog here
In Mansfield Park, the description of the chapel in Mr Rushworth's house (where Mary Crawford discovered Edmund's intent to become a clergyman) is widely believed to have been inspired by this visit, as the details are so similar to the chapel within Stoneleigh Abbey.
You will find an interesting post written by Brenda S. Cox for Jane Austen’s World that tells you more about Stoneleigh Abbey and how some of the passages in Jane Austen's novels may have been modelled from her visit there. You can read it here.
If you would like to visit Stoneleigh Abbey yourself, you can join a guided tour of the house or wander around the extensive gardens, woodlands and riverside walks. More information is available on the Stoneleigh Abbey website here .
adlestrop
Adlestrop is a pretty little village in the Cotswolds. The church of St Mary Magdalene was the living of Mrs Austen's cousin, Reverend Thomas Leigh, from 1763 until his death in 1813.
Reverend Leigh's rectory was the birth place and home of Mrs Austen's father as a boy and, in her own youth, Mrs Austen had been a frequent visitor to the village.
Mrs Austen, Cassandra and Jane stayed here in 1794, and then again during the time of our novel in 1806, when they were subsequently taken to Stoneleigh Abbey.
You can read more about the village of Adlestrop on its Wikipedia page here, which includes the poignant poem 'Adlestrop' written by Edward Thomas in 1914.
Local historian, Victoria Huxley has written a book about Jane Austen and Adlestrop, which also includes information about the squabbles surrounding Stoneleigh Abbey. To find out more, click here.
extract
If you would like to read an extract from The Austens of Bath where events take place in Stoneleigh Abbey, 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.41-42.
Byrne, P.B. (2014) The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things. London: William Collins Books.pp. 225-235.
Hill, C. (1901) Jane Austen: Her Homes and Her Friends. dodopress.co.uk: Dodo Press. pp. 109-114.
Huxley, V. (2013) 'Jane Austen & Adlestrop: her other family.' Moreton in Marsh: Windrush Publishing Services.
The Clergy Database (2023) 'Search - Leigh, Thomas (1758 - 1814)'. Available at: https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?PersonID=35088
Worsley, L. (2017) Jane Austen at Home. London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. pp.260-270.