By Gisele Rankin
In 2019, seeing the need to replace the old and mismatched benches in its gardens and install additional seating, Chawton House initiated a “Share a Bench with Jane” campaign. A number of JASNA-NC members banded together to sponsor a bench. After disappointing but unpreventable delays, eight of the 30 new benches now grace the grounds of Chawton House, including the one sponsored by JASNA-NC! The sponsor of each bench was able to select a quotation from any book that Austen may have read from among the titles in the collections of Chawton House. JASNA-NC chose the following quote:
“Genius has no sex.”
Germaine de Stael (1766-1817)
This quotation will be mounted professionally on our bench, along with our name, after all 30 benches are in place.
According to Chawton House, the elegantly proportioned benches are modeled on those designed in 1902 by Sir Edwin Lutyens, a leading British architect and designer well known in the Arts and Crafts movement. His work with celebrated garden designer Gertrude Jekyll set the style for classic English gardens, and similar oak benches can be found in stately gardens across the UK. Lutyens was also a close friend of Montagu Knight (the grandson of Jane Austen’s brother Edward who inherited Chawton Great House).
A photo of JASNA-NC’s bench and of the view that can be seen from it appear below, as does a map that shows its location on the grounds of Chawton House. Our bench is number 17, which is inside the Rose Garden along the North Wall.
