Remembering Jane Austen- In Winchester July 18th

Today marks the 195th Anniversary of the death of Jane Austen, one of the greatest writers of the English Language and my favorite writer. On this day I was very honored to be in Winchester Cathedral where she is buried. It is an awe inspiring thing to be in this town today. I thought there would be more people, but there were a few other admirers visiting the place where she was buried.

Above is a plaque more recently erected that mentions her life as an author.

Fresh flowers had been placed there. Above the plaque, stained glass windows are placed in Honor of Jane Austen.

Here is a brief description of the windows:

In the head of the window is a figure of Saint Augustine, whose name abbreviated is Austen. In the center of the upper row is David with his harp. Below that is an inscription in Latin remembering Jane Austen. In the center of the bottom row is Saint John, holding a book, displaying on the open page the first sentence of his Gospel… “In the Beginning was the Word.” The figures in the other windows represent the sons of Korah (1 Chronicles 9;19) carrying scrolls inscribed with sentences in Latin from the psalms, indicative of the religious side of Jane Austen’s character.

We also went to see the home nearby where Jane Austen lived her last days.

In a small upper room in this house she died in the arms of her beloved sister Cassandra. There is a small lawn across the street and we were able to sit under the trees for a moment and contemplate the scene. Few other people were around and there was a definite feeling of reverence for us as we sat and looked at the small, unimposing home.

God Bless you Jane Austen. I can’t wait to find out what you’ve been writing in heaven!

-Lynnae