Chawton House

What a lovely place ! Didn’t go in the house but the gardens are delightful, huge rolling lawns with expansive areas of woodland. There is a large walled garden with a herb section, orchard and a separate flower garden. It has a relaxing and quiet feel, not completely wild but allowed to grow without excessive interference by the gardeners (hope that doesn't offend them !) Benches appear wherever you may want to rest and appreciate the views and stumps mark the different zones as shown on the map ... picked up at the coffee and ticket kiosk. These marker stumps all have Jane Austen quotes from her letters and novels; a smile at every stop ! Coffee and cakes are served in the tearoom which is through a small but perfectly formed courtyard. Apparently, food other than cake is available for those who don't like cake (wierd, I know !). Be prepared to take photos, this is a particularly beautiful part of Hampshire.

Lovely visit! Helpful staff with insight and understanding of the family/house history. Don’t miss the library! Beautiful Gardens and delicious tea room!

If you are a Jane Austen fan, add this to your must sees! Stop at the church to see the graves of Cassandra and Jane’s mom. Beautiful grounds, lovely house you can take your time in and explore, amazing volunteers with lots of knowledge. Check the website before your visit- they have some lovely ticketed events throughout the year.

Chawton House is a lovely Manor House set in beautiful gardens. Once owned by Jane Austen's brother Edward, it has been beautifully restored and maintained and gives a good feeling of how life would have been. The guides were all pleasant and knowledgeable, and their enthusiasm was clear to see. There is a lovely tea room - I had coffee and cake, of which there was a good variety. We combined our visit with a visit to Jane Austen's House - this worked out really well for us and we had a great day.

This place is just wonderful; full of history. I visited because I was doing a solo tour of Jane Austen’s England. Chawton House had been owned by her brother. However, there was much more to recommend it. It is a beautiful historic home and a center for the study of women’s literature. The exhibit that I saw was on Mary Robinson and it was excellent. When I first came in, one of the docents gave me a very interesting account of the time line and how the house came to be in Edward Austen’s possession. This woman clearly loved her topic and made it so enjoyable and she was informative on other topics as well. I spent a lot more time there than I anticipated and I regret not a moment of it. I did, in fact, stay until closing time!

Lovely historic house with connections to Jane Austin. A good number of rooms open to the public lots of paintings and period furniture with comprehensive information on the history from room to room .a number of staircases leading to the different floors. and rooms. Nice cafe selling coffee tea's cake and light lunches. Inside and outside seating Large gardens around the house with walks free parking with disabled parking by the house. Other parking on the road outside the entrance. Gravel Road to the house about 300 yards toilets available at the house.

A beautiful Elizabethan house full of history. A must visit for its Jane Austen connections but also for the building itself, its decor (which includes William Morris), paintings, library, exhibitions and extensive grounds. They celebrate proto-feminist women writers and highlight other successful women of the 17th-19th centuries. We bought annual tickets as we missed seeing the gardens, church and tearoom and would love to return.

My husband and I visited in the morning prior to afternoon reservation at the Jane Austen house down the street. Maggie greeted us and took time to explain the history of the house and people that lived there. She also pointed out some of the interesting items in the home. It was wonderful to gain context of Jane Austen’s life and family and we highly recommend a visit. After touring the house, we walked the gardens, wooded area, church and gravesites. Overall, a lovely, non-touristy site with very friendly and informative volunteers and staff. Tip: The savory scone and croissant sandwich are best in UK (home made, don’t miss it!).

This is for the house, not the library, as unfortunately we did not have time to see the library during this visit (but it is on the list of things to make time for on a future visit). This was our first time visiting a manor house, and it was amazing. From first walking to the end of the driveway/carriageway and seeing the house for the first time, I was enchanted. Everything is so well-preserved and/or restored so as to give a good sense of what it would have been like to have lived there in Jane Austen's time (they do recognize most of their visitors are Jane Austen fans, but really, if you have any interest in English country estates or manor houses, you can appreciate this house's history and beauty). The staff and volunteers are very passionate and knowledgeable, and they will share as little or as much as you want them to. The gardens are also peaceful to walk through, and worth the time. They also have The Old Kitchen Tearoom. We had not had a chance to eat that morning, so were pretty hungry by the time we finished the tour before walking through the gardens or down the road to Jane Austen's house. The tearoom was pleasant, with both indoor and outdoor seating available. It was a nice day, so we sat outside, and the small courtyard that makes up the outdoor seating was beautiful. We had the egg and bacon brioche sandwiches, which perfectly hit the spot and gave us the energy we needed for our future walks that day. In the future, I would just make sure to make Chawton a full day trip. Yes, it is a village and there is not a lot overall, but this house alone offers so much that you really need to give yourself the time to appreciate it. We were there for about 2 hours, but could have easily spent another 1-2 hours depending if we wanted to spend more time in the gardens, see the library, and/or see the church (which we did try to see, but was locked when we visited). Thank you to the Knight family for opening up your property for us to see, and to all those who have ensured over the years that this place is accessible to appreciate!

Just a short walk (five minutes) up a pretty country lane from Jane Austen's cottage in Chawton, you will find a stately surprise in the form of a Tudor manor house, built in the 1500's. Chawton House and estate were owned by Jane's wealthy brother. She called it "The Great House". Today it is a working educational site (the Centre for the Study of Early Women's Writing, in partnership with the University of Southampton), yet is open to the public and a must-visit for Austen fans. Chawton House is one of the Knight estates inherited by Edward Austen, who was lucky enough to be adopted by rich relatives in need of an heir. He changed his surname from "Austen" to "Knight." The manor house interior has been beautifully restored. There is a church on the grounds (Jane's mother and sister are buried in the church yard) - and an attached farm. This grand house is probably where Jane spent a lot of time with family when she needed to get away from the cramped cottage. By the way, it's only recently that Chawton House been available for public tours; it has been a private facility for some 20 years. Happily we can now tour both the interior and the gardens. [Note: if you want to see one of the Pemberley-style estates Jane's brother inherited, go to the palatial Godmersham Park in Kent. Jane would have frequented this house, to visit her brother's family, as well. It's not quite Downton Abbey - but almost!] Finally, for Austenites, it's worth noting that Jane is buried inside Winchester Cathedral; and you can see the house where she died, not far from the Cathedral grounds. Winchester is only 15-20 miles from Chawton.

Just a lovely place to be. So full of history relating to the Austen family..that completely overwhelms you, if you are receptive to such feelings. It is a centre for Early Womens Writing covering a period from 1600 1830, and is open for visits and study. Director of Development, Eleanor Marsden and her team have done a fantastic job. Most people know of Jane Austen, but few understand the writers who influenced her and her writing. Chawton House also houses a farm that is run on an 18th Century basis. Not far from Jane Austen's House, which is also open as a museum. It is open for garden tours, conferences, study and relaxation. Well worth a trip..

Beautiful and inspiriting. The guides were friendly and knowledgeable and allow visitors to take their own photographs. We even got to view the impressive Chawton house library, which you have to ask to enter. The house has such great history and I especially enjoyed the ties to the Jane Austen family. The grounds are lovely. I could have spent two days here!