Welcome to the blogpost detailing my final adventure outside of Oxford. It is incredibly sad that we will be leaving soon, so I consoled myself with a trip dedicated exclusively to Jane Austen.
Last Saturday (I'm a bit behind on my posting schedule) my friend Rachel and I took the train to Winchester to visit the Cathedral and then go to Chawton. (Side bar: how cool is it that my friends are willing to come on trips with me where I nerd out about one of my favorite authors?)
The front of Winchester Cathedral.
Winchester is about an hour south of Oxford, so we hopped on a train and were on our way. We really lucked out with a beautiful sunny day, so there was no worry of rain. Our first stop on the visit was Winchester Cathedral. Our tickets included an hour long tour, so I now know a lot more than I did about Winchester.
I tried to get all of the Cathedral in one photo (it didn't work).
On the left you can see Roman architecture and on the right Norman architecture.
The tour was absolutely fascinating! Harry, our tour guide, obviously loved his job and really enjoyed sharing information with us. We learned a lot, so I won't go into all of it-just some highlights. Did you know that Winchester Cathedral is the longest Gothic cathedral in Europe? Also, Winchester Cathedral hosts the site of the burials of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Mary I was married there and the cathedral was almost destroyed during the Glorious Revolution.
Passage for pilgrims to visit the reliquaries of St. Swithuns (patron saint of Winchester Cathedral).
The sepulchre chapel.
The screen in the Presbytery.
The grave of Stephen Gardiner (he married Queen Mary I and Phillip of Spain in Winchester Cathedral).
In addition to all this, when visiting Winchester Cathedral you can see examples of all four popular styles of cathedral architecture. It is very cool! I would love to go back and explore more.
The point in the Cathedral where you can see all four forms of cathedral architecture.
The statue in the Crypt of the Cathedral.
At this point you are probably wondering, where does Jane Austen come in? Well don't worry, Jane Austen is buried in Winchester Cathedral. Honestly, the only reason I went to the Cathedral was to see her grave, so the excellent tour was a bonus. I've read a lot about the politics of her burial in Winchester so it was absolutely fascinating to see it in person.
Jane Austen's grave in the Cathedral (notice how it doesn't say anything about her writing).
A plaque about Austen donated after her death.
After a quick lunch in Winchester, Rachel and I hopped on the bus to Chawton. It's about a half hour ride from Winchester to Chawton so we were able to get a bit of a rest in. In Chawton is the Jane Austen House Museum, I was warned by several professors that I would be disappointed if I didn't go, so it was the obvious last stop for me.
Road-sign in Chawton.
The Jane Austen House Museum in Chawton.
The sign and front door of the museum.
The museum was fantastic! It is housed in the last house Austen lived in before she died and is set up as closely as they can to the conditions she would have been living in. There aren't a ton of artifacts surviving from Austen's life, so the exhibits are set up in terms of "maybes," "perhaps," and "could haves." Despite the fact that there aren't a ton of artifacts, I really enjoyed the museum! My highlight was seeing Jane Austen's writing desk, I may have gotten a little too excited about a desk. Rachel and I also made lavender bags and wore replica Georgian bonnets, so it was a great day all around.
The gardens of the museum.
The view from Jane Austen's window.
Rachel and I rocking our Georgian bonnets.
Jane Austen's writing desk.
I am so grateful to have wonderful friends that will let me nerd out for a whole day. It was a wonderful final trip out of Oxford!
We made this on an anagram board in honor of our study away.
Madeline
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