Chawton House, Alton
Hampshire in Historic Houses UK

Built by the Knight family in the 1580, the house has undergone centuries of change and development as it has passed through different hands.

This makes it rich with quirky and fascinating features: from graffiti on paintings and ‘witch marks’ on walls, to heraldic stained glass windows and ornately carved fireplaces.

The house’s most famous association is with Jane Austen, whose brother Edward, inherited the estate in the 1780s.

Edward offered the bailiff’s residence, five minutes’ walk away, to his mother and sisters and it was there, now the Jane Austen’s House Museum, where Jane enjoyed the most prolific period of her writing life.

As well as numerous portraits and items associated with the Knight family, the house also features portraits of women writers, many of them famous in their day.

Visitors can also enjoy a continuously changing display of works from the library’s unique collection of women’s writing.