Family Homes
There are some places mentioned in the novel that are not central to the story. However, they still remain significant as they were the homes of some of the major characters.
Scarlets, berkshire
This was home to the wealthy Mr and Mrs Leigh-Perrot, in the village of Hare Hatch in Berkshire. Mr James Leigh-Perrot purchased the property in 1764, and he and his wife shared their time between here and a property in Bath.
Today Scarlets is a private house and cannot be visited, but a local newspaper, Berkshire Live, ran a feature about it in their Property Section when it was for sale in 2021. That article can be accessed here.
Norfolk street, london
When they first returned to London from India in 1765, Philadelphia, Tysoe and Betsy Hancock rented a property in Norfolk Street. That street no longer exists, but would have been on the site where buildings stand today between Arundel Street and Surrey Street.
The British Library has a georeferencer page online, where old maps of London can be overlaid onto a current map of the city. If you are interested in finding out what the different layouts would have looked like over the years, then the link for this site can be found here.
essex street, london
Warren Hastings accompanied the Hancock family on the same ship back to England in 1765 and he took a property in the neighbouring Essex Street. He lived here until his return to India in 1769. There is a good deal of Georgian architecture still evident today in the street, with modernisations to the base of properties for contemporary commerce.
It would have taken a matter of minutes for the Hancock and Hastings households to walk between each other's homes.
bolton street, london
When Tysoe Hancock and Warren Hastings returned to India in 1768 & 1769 respectively, Philadelphia and Betsy Hancock moved Bolton Street, just off Piccadilly.
There are still some Georgian properties in evidence today, alongside more modern buildings.
hertford street, london
In 1772, Philadelphia and Betsy Hancock moved to Hertford Street. This was a grander house than Bolton Street, which prompted Philadelphia to write and apologise to her husband, Tysoe, in India for being so extravagant.
A good amount of Georgian architecture remains in the street today.
cleveland row, London
Warren Hastings had a sister called Anne, who was married to John Woodman and they lived in Cleveland Row, just off the Strand. Mr Woodman was Warren Hastings' and Tysoe Hancock's lawyer. He was also the joint trustee of Eliza Hancock's trust fund alongside Mr Austen when she was bequeathed £10,000 by Mr Hastings in 1775.
It was here that Philadelphia, Eliza and the infant Hastings stayed when they were forced away from France due to the Revolution in 1789. There are still many Georgian properties in Cleveland Row today.
Hackwood park, hampshire
During the time of our novel, Hackwood Park was owned by the 6th Duke of Bolton. He would sometimes give private balls in his home which the Austen family were invited to.
In 1785, James Austen declared his love for the Duke's daughter, Lady Catherine Powlett, by writing her a sonnet. The romance did not develop and James soon moved on to write similar poems for someone else.
Today, Hackwood Park is a private residence, but the auction house, Barnebys ran a feature on the estate in their online magazine when it was for sale in 2022. You can read this article here.
the grey house, seal, kent
This is widely thought to be the home of the Walter family between 1785 and 1811. Mr William Hampson-Walter was Mr Austen's half-brother; his wife Susannah was a close friend and correspondent of Mrs Austen, and their daughter, Philly, was cousin and close friend to Eliza de Feuillide. Many of their letters still survive to provide us with valuable information about what the Austens discussed outside of Steventon.
The author, Terry Townsend, researched this location for his book Jane Austen's Kent. You can read an extract from that book and learn more about the house and the family on the website, The Rice Portrait of Jane Austen, which you can access here.
The Grey House is a Grade II Listed Building. There is an entry for it on the British Listed Buildings website here.
gabarret, france
Gabarret is a small town in the southwest of France. This was where the Comte de Feuillide owned a property called Le Marais, and where he obtained some land by royal grant for development.
Eliza, Comtesse de Feuillide, and her mother, Philadelphia Hancock stayed at the nearby Chateau de Jourdan between 1784 and 1786, whilst this work was taking place.
James Austen also visited the Comte de Feuillide in Gabarret in 1787 to help with the drainage of the land.
Eliza returned again with her mother in September 1788, taking her young son, Hastings, for him to meet his father. They remained in France until 1789 when the French Revolution forced them to flee to London for their safety. Le Marais was seized by the French Republican Government in 1797.
There are some articles on the Reveries Under the Sign of Austen website that provide more information and photographs from this area which you can read here and here.
Beaumont lodge, windsor
Warren Hastings purchased this impressive country house in 1786 after returning from India the year before. He resided there with his wife, Marian, and lived at this address until 1789. Philadelphia and Eliza were frequent house guests there.
Since then, the building has been used as a public school and today it is a hotel.
David Nash Ford's Royal Berkshire History page has more information about this property, which can be accessed here.
The website for the De Vere Beaumont Estate Hotel is here.
orchard street, london
Philadelphia, Eliza and her young son, Hastings lived in Orchard Street, close to Portman Square from 1786. Henry Austen also came to stay with them there in the spring of 1787. Edward Austen called there in June 1791, where he was surprised to discover the severity of his aunt's illness.
There is still much evidence of Georgian architecture in the area today, along with modern adaptations for commercial properties in the busy shopping area.
Philadelphia Hancock died in Orchard Street in February 1792. She was buried in the church of St. John-at-Hampstead on March 6th and her burial records can be viewed towards the bottom of page 20 (1792) in the Burial Records seen (here). There is also a wealth of information about the history of this church on its website which you can find here. In subsequent years, young Hastings and Eliza de Feuillide would be buried alongside her. The inscription can be viewed here within the Find a Grave website.
When Hastings de Feuillide was a baby, he was christened at nearby St. George's in Hanover Square on June 1st, 1787. You can find out more about this church on its website here.
Park Lane, London
This was the London residence for Warren Hastings between 1789 and 1797. It would have been his base during his lengthy trial at the Palace of Westminster.
The actual townhouse was called Somerset House but was demolished in 1915. During Georgian times, it was number 40, but the properties have since been renumbered. The site of his property at the time would be where 140 Park Lane stands today.
There is a plaque in Westminster Hall that commemorates where Mr Hastings' trial took place. If you would like more information, the London Remembers website has an image of the inscription. You can access the page here.
St.John the evangelist Church, ELKstone, gloucestershire.
This church was the first living for Fulwar Craven Fowle. He was officially rector of the parish between 1789 until his death in March 1840. However, in reality, he only served in person for the first five years and left in October 1794 to return to Kintbury.
St John the Evangelist was then left in the charge of his curate, Reverend Thomas Hooper who served there until 1845.
This would be the first marital home for Fulwar and his new bride, Eliza Lloyd, following their marriage in August 1788. The rectory where they lived still stands to the north of the church and is an impressive three-storey house.
Visitors are very welcome to visit the church, and Elkstone Village has an excellent website with more information. You can access the site here.
St. John the baptist church, allington, wiltshire.
This was the church where Tom Fowle served as rector from December 1793 until he sailed for the West Indies in January 1796. The living was not well-paid, which is why he and Cassandra Austen had such a long engagement. Tom Fowle was hopeful that he would be granted a more lucrative living on his return from his journey overseas, but this was sadly not meant to be as he died on the voyage home.
Later on, this church became the living for his nephew, Fulwar William Fowle, who served there for 60 years. More information about the church and its history can be found on the Friends of Friendless Churches website, which you can access here.
manydown, hampshire
Manydown Park was owned by Lovelace Bigg-Wither during the time of our novel, and Jane and Cassandra were friends with his daughters Catherine, Alethea and Elizabeth Bigg. (They also had a brother called Harris who we will hear more from in The Austens of Bath...)
Manydown was the place where Jane famously wrote to her sister that she acted in a 'most profligate' and 'shocking' manner with Tom Lefroy when she attended a ball at the house in January 1796.
The house and park are no longer there, but the Jane Austen Quickstep blog has a post dedicated to Missing Manydown, which you can read here.
The Hampshire Gardens Trust also has an informative page about the history of Manydown Park on its website which you can read here.
3 durweston street, london.
This was home to Eliza de Feuillide and her son, Hastings, when she returned from her holiday with Philly Walter in Brighton in October 1796. This was where Henry Austen called on them to renew his acquaintance after breaking off his engagement with Mary Pearson.
Eliza and Hastings remained here for only two months, during which time Eliza suffered ill health.
33 manchester street, london.
Eliza and Hastings moved to this property in December 1796, seeking a more comfortable residence than their previous one. Eliza stated in a letter to her cousin Philly Walter that the house was 'pretty and comfortable' and 'situated in one of my favourite streets.' She writes that she had lived in a property on the opposite side of the street previously, and the Georgian houses she speaks of are still there today.
It was from here on 31 December 1797 that Eliza married Henry Austen in her local parish church of St. Marylebone. The actual church where the wedding took place is no longer standing and has been replaced by a newer building nearby. Today there is a memorial garden where it once stood. If you would like to read more about the history St. Marylebone Parish Church, you can access its website here.
Shortly after the wedding, the newlyweds and young Hastings moved around to wherever Henry's militia regiment was stationed.
St. Michael and All Angels, Hamstall Ridware, Staffordshire
This was the living taken up by the younger Edward Cooper in 1799. He travelled there during the summer with his wife Caroline, eventually settling there with their four young children permanently in October 1799.
He was twenty-nine years old and by this time had lost his mother, his father and his beloved sister, Jane.
There is lots of historical information about this old church and its connections with Edward Cooper on the Ridware History Society webpage, including extracts from the diary of Edward Cooper's mother-in-law, Mrs Lybbe Powys, who recorded her days when she went to stay there. You can access this information here.
24 upper berkley street, london
This was the home of Henry and Eliza Austen from the beginning of 1801 when Henry resigned from the army and opened up the bank of Austen & Co with his business partner, Henry Maunde.
His bank was a short distance away in Cleveland Court, which was next to St. James's Palace (close to Buckingham Palace today).
Those offices are no longer there, but Henry and Eliza's house still stands as it was and is now a boutique hotel called Henry's Townhouse. It has been modernised and decorated as a tribute to Henry Austen and his family, with themed rooms to match their individual personalities. To browse the rooms or book a stay, you can find the website here.
London Maps
Southwark Council have an excellent free resource on their website where you can access old maps of London, and how the city looked in the 1700s. I have used the John Rocque's 'A Plan of London 1766' in my research for these London properties. If you would like to access this map yourself, you can find the link here
REFERENCES
1. Ancestry.co.uk (2023) 'Hastings Francis Louis Henry Eugene, Son of John Capot' in the Westminster, London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1558-1812'. ENTRY DETAILS: St. George - Hanover Square - 1767-1787. Baptisms June 1787. p.593 of 624. City of Westminster Archives Centre.
2. Ancestry.co.uk (2023) 'Philadelphia Hancock in the London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812'. ENTRY DETAILS: Camden - St. John At Hampstead - 1788-1812. p.112 of 175. London Metropolitan Archives.
3. Ancestry.co.uk (2023) Henry Thomas Austen in the England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973. SOURCE INFORMATION: England, Pallot's Marriage Index, 1780-1837, Lic.39, Marylebone 1797.
4. Austen Leigh, R.A. (1942) 'Letters: Elizabeth de Feuillide to Philadelphia Walter, 17 October, 1796 & 7 November 1796' in Austen Papers 1704-1856. Colchester: Privately printed by Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co. Ltd. Available online at: https://www.janeaustensfamily.co.uk/austen-reading/chapter-6/page-154.html.
5. Austen Leigh, R.A. (1942) 'Letter: Elizabeth de Feuillide to Philadelphia Walter, 13 December, 1796' in Austen Papers 1704-1856. Colchester: Privately printed by Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co. Ltd. Available online at:https://www.janeaustensfamily.co.uk/austen-reading/chapter-6/page-156.html
6. Austen-Leigh W., Austen-Leigh R.A. and Le Faye D. (1989) Jane Austen: A Family Record. London: The British Library, p.37 & 104.
7. British History Online (2019) 'Elkstone in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 7'. Available at: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol7/pp210-218
8. Georeferencer - Compare (2022) The LONDON DIRECTORY, or a New & Improved PLAN of LONDON, WESTMINSTER & SOUTHWARK; Phase 2. Available at: https://britishlibrary.georeferencer.com/compare#map/3cc98afc-eb3c-5360-abeb-e504b1654921
9. Le Faye, D (2011) 'Letter No. 1 to Cassandra Austen, Saturday 9 - Sunday 10 January 1796' in 'Jane Austen's Letters: Fourth Edition'. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.1.
10. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1764 – October 9th, Tuesday’ in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p27.
11. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1768 – Second half 1768’ in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p37.
12. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1769 – Spring - Summer’ in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p39.
13. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1770 – May 2, Wednesday’ in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p43.
14. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1772 – December 12, Wednesday’ in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p55.
15. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1786 - July 25, Tuesday’, in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p105.
16. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1786 -December 7th, Thursday’, in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p107.
17. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1787 - end April, in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 109.
18. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1787 - June 1, Friday,' in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 110.
19. Le Faye, D (2013) 'August 15, Friday', in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600 - 2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 117.
20. Le Faye, D. (2013) '1788 - ?mid September', in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 118.
21. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1791: June 19, Sunday', in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.134.
22. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1792: late ?-early March?', in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.140.
23. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1796 - October 12, Wednesday & November 7th, Thursday', in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.188 & 189.
24. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1796 - early December', in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.190.
25. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1797, May 3, Wednesday', in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 194.
26. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1799, October 13, Sunday', in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 230.
27. Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1800, September', in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 243.
28. Nokes D. (1997) Jane Austen A Life. California: University of California Press, p.35
29. Reveries Under the Sign of Austen, Two (2014) 'The Austen Papers, Steventon, the world into which Jane Austen was born. Available at: https://reveriesunderthesignofausten.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/the-austen-papers-steventon-the-world-into-which-jane-austen-was-born/
30. Selwyn, D. (2003) ‘Sonnet to Lady Catherine Powlet’ in The Complete Poems of James Austen: Jane Austen’s eldest brother. Chawton: The Jane Austen Society. Pp.14 & 152-153
31. The Clergy Database (2023)'Fowle, Fulwar Craven (1786-1798). Available at:https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?PersonID=92400
32. The Clergy Database (2023) 'Fowle, Thomas (1790-97). Available at: https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?PersonID=92701
33. Townsend T. (2014) Jane Austen's Hampshire. Somerset: Halsgrove, pp. 32-37.
34. Tucker, G.H. (1983) 'A Goodly Heritage'. Manchester: Carcanet New Press, p.40, 134-135.
35. Wikipedia (2023) 'Beaumont Lodge' Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaumont_College.
36. Wikipedia (2023) Somerset House, Park Lane. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset_House,_Park_Lane.