8 College Street, Winchester, where Jane Austen Died

8 College Street

Winchester

When Jane Austen's health deteriorated, she and her sister Cassandra went to stay in Winchester so that she could be attended by a Mr Lyford of the County Hospital, Winchester, who had treated her previously with some success. [continued below]

Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2009.

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The lodgings acquired for the sisters were right next to Winchester College, which would have been congenial to them: many of their nephews had attended the school, and one, Charles, fifth son of their brother Edward, was a pupil there at that time. After her arrival, Jane wrote to her nephew Edward, himself an old Wykehamite, "We have a neat little Drawing room with a Bow-window overlooking Dr Gabell's [the headmaster's] garden" (205). She also told him that his young cousin Charles had already visited them, and would be coming again soon. Sadly, despite Mr Lyford's attentions, Jane died here on 18 July 1817, and was buried close by in the north aisle of Winchester Cathedral.

Reference

Austen, Jane. Selected Letters, 1796-1817. Ed. R. W. Chapman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985.

Last modified 19 December 2009