Jane Austen at WInchester

Two days after Jane Austen died on July 18, 1817, her sister Cassandra wrote to a relative “…her dear remains are to be deposited in the Cathedral…it is a satisfaction to me to think that they are to lie in a Building she admired so much…”

That “Building” was the great Winchester Cathedral where, today, visitors can pay homage to Austen, as well as admire the stunning nave and chantry chapels. A large ledger stone set in the floor in the north aisle of the nave marks the place where Austen is buried. The inscription, probably written by her brother Henry, reflects “the blended voices of a bereaved Christian family,” surmises English scholar Michael Wheeler, who wrote a slender booklet, Jane Austen and Winchester Cathedral a decade ago.

The inscription attests to Jane Austen’s character, “sweetness of her temper and the extraordinary endowments of her mind.” However, many visitors are surprised—as I was when I visited Winchester earlier this month—to see no mention of her literary fame on her gravestone.

At the time of her death at 41 (probably caused by Addison’s disease or cancer), Austen had published Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma; she was a recognized author, if not the acclaimed literary giant she later came to be considered. But Wheeler explains that many writers’ memorial stones did not mention their profession (Swift and Dickens, for example) at that time, and also argues that her spiritual gifts, not her worldly achievements were the focus of her tribute. Later additions to the area around her memorial stone—a brass plaque on the adjacent wall and a memorial window—do acknowledge her literary importance. The Cathedral also has erected a series of posters giving highlights of the author’s life, including her last days of illness in Winchester.

Austen probably was accorded burial in Winchester Cathedral, home also to the remains of Saxon kings and saints, because of her family connections, Wheeler speculates. It is known that her funeral took place in the early morning, to avoid conflict with morning prayer. The modest funeral party included her three brothers and a nephew, but not her beloved sister Cassandra.

 “…Women were not expected to attend funerals,” Wheeler remarks.