Six of us visited the National Trust House, the Vyne in Hampshire last week, mainly to do the Jane Austen tour which is running this summer to celebrate her 250th Anniversary. In the morning we had a walk round the extensive grounds, finishing in the walled gardens which include a lovely wild flower meadow.
After lunch we joined the tour of the house. Although there is only one piece of written evidence that Jane visited the house, the tour explored connections between the Chutes, who owned the house then, and the Austen family who lived only 20 miles away in Steventon where Janes father was the rector. The tour guide used her wide knowledge to point out various rooms and objects which may have been the inspiration for particular scenes in Jane’s novels, as well as some characters who may have been based on those who lived there at the time.
