Jane Austen’s Steventon Rectory

jo1096
Oct 8
3 min read

Updated: Oct 9

Allowing for some artistic license, this is the first known representation, to date, of the Rectory in Jane Austen's time, approved by the Rectory Project Director and Lead Archaeologist Deborah Charlton.

"The unveiling of the Steventon Rectory painting marks a significant contribution to Jane Austen heritage and offers a new visual connection to the author’s formative years." Hampshire Chronicle

I spent considerable time researching and exploring the local area in order to produce a painting of Steventon’s Rectory, as it would have been 200 years ago.

In the words of Deborah Charlton, seeing the final painting for the first time was

“A very emotional moment—looking at Steventon Rectory, visible again after 203 years.”

The findings from the 2011 Archaeological Rectory Project, detailed in the book Archaeology Greets Jane Austen by Deborah Charlton (2017), have provided the foundation for a fascinating and extraordinary artistic endeavour to paint to paint the birthplace of Hampshire’s famous author, Jane Austen.

"The 2011 Archaeological Rectory Project brought together a multi-skilled community team comprising voluntary individuals, academic and professional organisations from a wide variety of areas, with the objective of intrusively exploring the below ground surface remains and to gain an insight, from the material culture, into the Austen home and their lifestyle. In conjunction with the physical archaeological investigation extensive research was undertaken of a wide variety of archives and published, unpublished works." Archaeology Greets Jane Austen (Published 2017)

Taking inspiration from the archaeological evidence presented in the book, and in-depth conversations with Project Director and Lead Archaeologist Deborah Charlton about Jane Austen's letters, and unpublished research from the Stevenson Rectory Project Archive, I began creating a historically informed visual reconstruction of Jane Austen's birthplace - Steventon Rectory in Hampshire.

The painting depicts the Rectory, incorporating factual elements from the Rectory project, including the

building’s proportions derived from the foundation layout, its appearance based on excavated structural materials found, and the positioning of key landscape features such as the sweep and horse chestnut trees.

At each stage, I sought feedback from Deborah Charlton.

When Deborah first saw the sketch, she confirmed that it matched exactly how she had imagined the Rectory from the results of the archaeological dig project.

A few much earlier drawings believed to depict the Rectory do exist, but their authenticity is uncertain and they often contradict one another. I wanted to depict the Rectory using facts from the Rectory Project, and what we know of the building's history, and the Austens' life there at the time. I combined this information together with my own photos of the landscape and local architecture, to design the final painting.

If you are expecting a typical Georgian-style Rectory, you might be surprised by the outcome!

It was a fascinating project, and I learned so much from talking with Deborah. I hope people enjoy seeing my interpretation of the Rectory, based on discoveries that have remained hidden underground for over 200 years.

Prints of the painting can be purchased from my webshop

About Jo South

Jo's paintings have been exhibited at the National Trust's 'Mottisfont' Open Art Exhibition twice, The Lights in Andover and featured in Liberty of London's 'The Liberty Book 2020'. She lives in the small but vibrant and beautiful village of Overton, Hampshire, UK. www.josouth.co.uk

About Deborah Charlton

MPhil, PGCert Adv Res Skills), BA (Hons) Rectory Project Director and Lead Archaeologist, Archaeo Briton.

“Archaeology Greets Jane Austen” (Published 2017) & “Archaeology Enlightens Steventon Rectory” (Publication Pending). Author: Deborah Charlton Email: archaeobriton@gmail.com to purchase copies of the book.

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