A visit to Jane Austen’s House

19 March 2014

As Outreach Assistant at The Watermill Theatre, part of my role is to write an education pack for all the shows in the theatre. These education packs are free to download from our website and are suitable for school groups or anyone interested in the making of each production. When I was asked to visit Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire as part of a research trip with the cast of Sense and Sensibility, I jumped at the chance!

There was an air of excitement about the trip; during the journey the cast, who are now in their second week of rehearsals were learning their lines in the back of the minibus, while myself, Lawrence our Production Manager and Stage Manager, Victoria were playing games to pass the time.

This was an opportunity for the cast to see the house Jane Austen lived in whilst writing her most famous novels, discover the intricacies of her family and experience life from her perspective.
The director Jessica Swale commented that Jane Austen’s house has a real significance to Sense and Sensibility; in the same way that Marianne and Elinor inherited a cottage from a distant relative Jane and her sister Cassandra were generously given the house by their elder brother Edward. As we entered the main house one of the stewards encouraged Alice, Cassie and Sally who play Lucy, Marianne and Elinor to rehearse one of their pieces on the ornate piano in the drawing room. This traditional music seemed to set the mood as we wandered around the house reflecting on what it must have been like to live here some 200 years ago.

The cast were intrigued by the unusual facts we learned at the house. For example, the creaky front door was left unfixed so that Jane would know when someone was entering and could hide her manuscripts. We were surprised to see how intricate the details on the clothes were and we also explored the bake house where the women would have to wash the clothes and slaughter the animals.

Having taken lots of pictures, enjoyed the beautiful gardens and avoided having a spending spree in the gift shop, we all made our way over to Cassandra’s Cup tea shop for a much needed afternoon tea to reflect on our visit to such a magnificent house.

Now I am looking forward to the Calamity Jane education pack when I am hoping The Watermill will fly me out to South Dakota to find out what life is like in the Wild-West!

Heidi Bird
Outreach Assistant