For fans of Jane Austen’s period dramas, with all their mannered elegance, a rare opportunity has presented itself to the picture. Steventon House in Hampshire – the site where the author wrote some of his best-loved novels, including Pride and Prejudice– just signed up for £8.5m ($10.2m).
A historic gem, the Georgian mansion was erected in the early 19th century by Austen’s older brother, Edward, to replace the house where she was born and raised. The author resided in the original house from 1775 until 1801, when his father, village rector for over four decades, retired and moved the family to Bath.
“Steventon House was the birthplace of iconic author Jane Austen,” said Ed Sugden, director of Savills, the estate’s rating agency, with Frankish Knight. “Although the original structure has since disappeared, the Georgian masterpiece that now stands, envisioned by his older brother Edward, is perfectly suited to the milieu Austen captured in his writing.”
Steventon House, former home of Jane Austen. Courtesy of Savills.
Austen spent most of her life in the original Steventon House, where she composed some of her most canonical works, including Sense and sensitivity (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), and Northanger Abbey (1817).
Evoking the majestic settings of his books, the white stucco structure topped with a slate roof nestles in verdant hills shrouded in verdant forests. Several gardens dot the property’s 52 acres, accessed via a tree-lined driveway and featuring a tennis court, heated swimming pool, greenhouse and brick shed, as well as a Charming two bedroom structure, Chalet du Trèfle.
Inside, Steventon House’s 7,000 square feet have been tastefully renovated over the years. The house offers six bedrooms, four bathrooms and four reception rooms, filled with ornate period features such as carved fireplaces and high ceilings adorned with elaborate cornices and moldings. It has also been furnished with sophisticated contemporary fittings including bespoke kitchen units and a temperature controlled wine cellar.
Steventon House, former home of Jane Austen. Courtesy of Savills.
The Austen family lived in the original mansion thanks to a relative, Thomas Knight of Chawton, who helped place Austen’s father, a reverend, as rector of St. Nicholas. Austen’s brother, Edward Austen Knight, razed the 16th century structure in 1826 to erect the new Steventon House. He lived there until he sold the property to the second Duke of Wellington in 1855.
It’s “an exceptional opportunity,” Sugden told Tatler“to reside in one of the most remarkable country houses in Hampshire – and indeed in the UK.”
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