Tonbridge
The Austen family originated in the Horsmonden area, and the Reverend George Austen was born in Tonbridge, attended Tonbridge School, and returned for a time as a master.
The Upper School at Tonbridge School, where George Austen taught tonbridgehistory
His widowed and penniless grandmother, Elizabeth Weller, showed great resourcefulness in taking up a place as a matron and housekeeper at Sevenoaks School to ensure that all her sons received a good education.
Jane's brother Edward was adopted by the Knight family as a child and grew up on Godmersham Park Estate. He inherited Godmersham Park and with his wife Elizabeth, made it his family home. Jane was a frequent visitor to Edward's home and the inspirational surroundings and social environment it had to offer. She was particularly fond of Edward and Elizabeth's eldest daughter, her much loved niece Fanny with whom she exchanged intimate correspondence. Copies of some of Jane's letters to Fanny are on display at The Godmersham Park Heritage Centre, along with other interesting treasures which have been collected and conserved for the Parishes of Godmersham and Crundale, which the Centre has been established to serve. (Visits to the Heritage Centre can be made by arrangement with the Administrator as follows: Rebecca Lilley tel: 01227 732272
Email: heritagecentre@btconnect.com)
Some of Jane’s letters written from Godmersham give the flavour of the place as it was in those days:
""We live in the Library except at Meals & have a fire every Eveng … I am now alone in the Library, Mistress of all I survey – at least I may say so & repeat the whole poem if I like it, without offence to anybody … At this present time I have five Tables, Eight and twenty chairs & two fires all to myself … Yesterday passed quite à la Godmersham … James and Mary are much struck with the beauty of the place … The Comfort of the Billiard Table here is very great. – It draws all the Gentlemen to it whenever they are within, especially after Dinner, so that my Br Fanny & I have the Library to ourselves in delightful quiet … Half an hour before breakfast – (very snug, in my own room, lovely morng, excellent fire, fancy me) … In another week I shall be at home – & then, my having been at Godmersham will seem like a Dream … But in the meantime for Elegance & Ease & Luxury.” jasna.
tonbridgehistory
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Edward (1767-1852) was was adopted in the early 1780′s by rich childless cousins of the Austens, Thomas and Catherine Knight. He was sent by them on the “grand tour” of continental Europe in 1786-1788, and eventually inherited their estate of Godmersham, Kent, and took the last name of “Knight”. In 1791, he married Elizabeth Bridges. Two years later the couple welcomed their first child, Fanny. Unfortunately for the happy couple, Elizabeth died when Fanny was not yet sixteen (shortly after her 11th confinement). Fanny’s aunts, Cassandra and Jane, who had once been occasional visitors, now took on a much more involved and motherly role in the lives of their nieces and nephews. Cassandra, especially, spent months at a time at the family estate, Godmersham, tending to the needs of her young charges, while her brother grieved the loss of his wife.For Jane, the plight of young Fanny was especially worrisome, as she considered her new role in the family:
Soon after his wife’s death, Edward inherited a house and property in Chawton and was able to offer the nearby cottage to his mother and sisters. This close proximity to the family they loved so much must have only deepend the intimacy of the two. fanny-austen-knight-knatchbull