The Jane Austen’s House Museum is located in the last residence of the renowned writer and where she worked on her novels. Jane Austen (1775-1817) was born in Steventon, Hampshire. Her writing talent was recognized at an early age, and with her father’s encouragement, she explored different genres before the age of 12. By 19, she wrote her first mature work, the epistolary novella Lady Susan (later published as Northanger Abbey). She wrote two more novels over the next seven years but didn’t publish them. In 1801, Austen moved with her family to Bath, and during the following decade, her productivity decreased. After her father died, she, her sister, mother, and their friend Martha Lloyd moved to Chawton Cottage, near her brother’s house, in 1809. There, she had both the surroundings and mindset that allowed her creativity to flourish. Over the next eight years, Austen revisited her early drafts, wrote new novels, and published four of her books – Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815). Austen died when she was only 41 years old, before publishing her last complete novel, Persuasion (published postmortem in 1818), and before completing the novel she was working on at the time, Sanditon. Austen’s literary works, even the unfinished ones, received widespread acclaim and have been adapted into countless movies, television shows, and plays. After her death, Austen’s mother and sister stayed in Chawton Cottage. Later, it was divided into small laborers’ apartments before it became a workman’s club in the early 1920s. In 1940, the Jane Austen Society received the cottage and turned it into a museum dedicated to the life and work of the famous author. Opened to the public in 1947, the Jane Austen’s House Museum hosts a collection of Austen’s personal items, including jewelry, letters, original furniture, her writing table, and the first editions of her novels. The museum also has temporary exhibitions which follow the Regency era and different aspects of Austen’s work, influences, and inspirations. Other Hampshire sites associated with Austen are the Jane Austen Statue in Basingstoke and her final resting place in Winchester Cathedral. Read more...

At Basingstoke’s Market Place stands the first commemorative statue of Jane Austen, one of the greatest and most celebrated English novelists. For the first 25 years of her life, Jane Austen (1775-1817) lived in Steventon, Hampshire, only a few miles from Basingstoke. From an early age, Austen showed literary talent, and by the age of 12, she wrote poems and stories, exploring various genres, from parody to prose. Her writing subjects were influenced by Basingstoke gentry life, where she attended social gatherings, went to the market, and visited friends. These experiences have been the basis of her first novels, including Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice. In 1801, Austen and her family moved to Bath. The relocation and her father’s death affected her creativity, and she stopped writing for a decade. In 1809, Austen, her mother, and her sister moved to Chawton, Hampshire. Back in the tranquil environment of her childhood surrounding, she returned to her writing, revisiting her novels’ drafts and writing new ones. In 1811, at 36, Austen published her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815). In 1815, while working on her next novel, Persuasion, she became ill with what is considered today as Addison’s Disease. She died at 41 before completing her last novel Sanditon. Austen published seven novels in her short life, and two were published postmortem. Her work gained universal acclaim, was adapted into hundreds of movies, TV shows, and plays, and inspired numerous sequels, prequels, and interpretations. The Jane Austen Statue honors Austen’s life and work and memorializes her connection to Basingstoke. Maria Miller, MP for Basingstoke, initiated the concept of creating the statue, and the Hampshire Cultural Trust commissioned it. The local sculptor Adam Roud won the commission, and the Countess of Portsmouth unveiled the statue on 18th July 2017 – the 200th anniversary of Austen’s death. The life-sized bronze depicts Austen as an ordinary person, walking through the market, clutching a book on her way to collect library books. A replica of this statue was unveiled at St Nicholas Church in Chawton on 8th June 2018. Other sites related to Austen in Hampshire are the Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, her brother’s Chawton House, and Winchester Cathedral, Austen’s final resting place. Read more...

Licoricia of Winchester was a successful Jewish businesswoman and a community leader in England during the 13th century. The first information found about Licoricia (early 13th century-1277) is from 1234, indicating that she was a widow moneylender who had three sons and a daughter. Licoricia married David of Oxford, the wealthiest Jew in England, and became his business partner in 1242. Their son, Asher, was born a year later. Tragically, two years into the marriage, David died. The kings held Licoricia at the Tower of London until the loans David gave were repaid. Licoricia paid 5000 marks to the king, which he used to build Westminster Abbey and a shrine to Edward the Confessor. Licoricia returned to live in Winchester, managed David’s business, and launched some of her own, expanding her assets across England. Her close connections with the king and the royal family, who were also her clients, helped the Jewish community. In 1277, she was murdered in her home, probably during a robbery. Life conditions for the Jewish community got worse due to high taxes, restrictions, and pressure to convert their religion. In 1290 they were forced to leave the country. In 2009, Suzanne Bartlet published the book Licoricia of Winchester about the story of Licoricia and the significant Jewish community who lived in Winchester during medieval times. It led to the incorporation of the Licoricia of Winchester Appeal on August 2017, with the mission “‘To educate the public about Winchester’s medieval Jewish community, its role in society and its royal connections, and to promote religious tolerance and understanding.” The Charity decided to commemorate Licoricia with a statue and chose the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley to create it. Due to the lack of photos or portraits of Licoricia, he researched medieval-era clothes and used his daughter and grandson as models. The sculpture depicts Licoricia in movement, wearing wealthy woman’s clothes. Her left hand holds Asher while her right holds the tallage demand, the high tax Jews had to pay. Asher holds a dreidel, a game that is played during Chanukah. On the bronze plinth, the words from Leviticus 19:18 in the Bible and Matthew 22:39 in the New Testament are inscribed in English and Hebrew ‘LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF’. It stands outside the Discovery Centre (library), close to the medieval Jewish quarter, where the city’s thirteenth-century synagogue and Licoricia’s house once stood. The sculpture was dedicated on February 10th, 2021. It was supposed to be unveiled by Prince Charles (later King Charles III), but at the last minute, he tested positive for Covid-19 and could not attend the ceremony. He arrived on March 3rd, 2022, to visit the statue. Read more...