Archaeology on the birthplace of Jane Austen.

The Austen family moved into Steventon Rectory in 1768.  Jane Austen was born there on 16th December 1775.  It was to be her home for the next 25 years, and it was there that she penned the drafts of Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Northanger Abbey.  What we know about the Rectory building is drawn from historical documents and from memoirs of family descendants. Jane’s brother, James, and his family took over the Rectory in 1801 and, subsequently, her brother Henry for a short time before the house was demolished to the ground possibly during late 1822 or early 1823. Only the modern fenced Well position remains in the meadow where the Rectory once stood at the ‘T’ junction of ‘Church Walk’ and Frog Lane.

The archaeological project excavated individual objects of discarded and broken ceramic, metal, glass, animal bone, slate, shell and ceramic building materials. The final object recording and catalogueing is complete and the 'jig-saw pieces' total 10,864.

Reconstruction works have been undertaken for some of the ceramic tableware and storage objects.

The majority of the tableware sherds are from bowls and plates of underglaze blue transfer print, commonly known as ‘Willow’ pattern, from the Staffordshire potteries dating from about 1783.  One reconstructed ‘Willow’ pattern object informs us that soft boiled eggs must have been a ‘breakfast’ choice of the Austen family. Yellow ware, produced from 1800 onwards, is presumed to be from the time of James Austen and his family. The largest food storage bowls have a diameter of 36cm and height of 20cm and would have been heavy to lift objects. archaeobriton/janeausten

Look to a video here: bbc/news/uk-england-hampshire-

Interested to see from the photographs on the website that there were pieces of Willow pattern china discovered amongst the findings. Blue Willow was a very popular pattern during the eighteenth century. The pattern was inspired by the designs imported from China and were produced from the 1780s and 90s by Thomas Minton and Thomas Turner of Caughley. It was produced by transfer printing - the design was printed onto a sheet of thin tissue paper and then applied to earthenware or porcelain - a technique in use from 1750 in Birmingham. Spode, Royal Worcester, Adams, Wedgwood, Davenport, Clews, Leeds and Swansea followed.
Burleigh is one of the only companies left producing transferware in the traditional method - a favourite website of mine. Another favourite is Lovers of Blue and White where you can find examples of old and new blue and white transfer ware. historicalromanceuk