In the Birthplace of Jane Austen, Steventon House Seeks Author of Its Next Chapter

The wee village of Steventon, in Hampshire, England, is known among literature lovers as the birthplace of novelist Jane Austen. Because Mrs. Austen refused to do anything with her infant children, baby Jane was sent to live with a wet nurse and her family in the village. Jane therefore developed close ties to many of the villagers and it’s often assumed that much of her literary output stems from what she observed and overheard there. Steventon is where the wonderkind writer spent her formative years and where she thought she would spend the rest of her life.

It was also here, in the village rectory — her father was the local rector — that Jane wrote three of her six major novels, “Pride and Prejudice,” “Northanger Abbey,” and “Sense and Sensibility.” Situated within the grounds of the current estate, Jane lived in the old rectory from 1775 until 1801, until the age of 26, at which point her father retired and moved the family to Bath. The 16th-century rectory was razed around 1824 by Jane’s brother Edward, who had taken over as rector for the parish, and replaced with what is currently known as Steventon House.

Jane’s brother lived in the new Steventon House until 1855, when it was sold to the second Duke of Wellington. Today, extensively and beautifully refurbished to the highest standards, Steventon House and the surrounding 52 acres are for sale with a guide price of about $10.4 million through Ed Sugden and Steven Moore at Savills, and Edward Cunningham, Mark Potter, and Rose Lawson at Knight Frank.

Sugden, director of Savills country department, described Steventon House as “one of Hampshire’s, if not the UK’s, most significant country houses.” He additionally commented, “Many homes across the country can lay claim to having ties to some of Britain’s most historical figures; however only Steventon House was the birthplace of iconic author Jane Austen, where she wrote some of her most significant works. While the original house no-longer stands, what is there today is the glorious Georgian vision of her older brother Edward, which is very befitting of the world that Jane wrote about.”

Featuring restored period details, grand yet comfortable entertaining spaces and the best in modern amenities, the 6,900-square-foot main house includes six bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ground floor includes a large reception hall, a study, a drawing room, another sitting room, and a large eat-in kitchen. From the hall, steps go down to the cellar, which has storage space and a large, temperature-controlled wine cellar.

On the second floor is a large principal bedroom with a lavish ensuite bathroom and a dressing area replete with fitted closets. Two more bedrooms are also ensuite, while three further bedrooms and a family bathroom are located in the northeast wing. A huge attic provides plenty of storage and to the rear of the main house, a brick coach house has space to accommodate two cars.

Perfect for visitors, staff or as a vacation rental, the estate’s charmingly named Clover Cottage is a pretty two bedroom house located at the bottom of the drive. It offers an excellent kitchen, dining room, sitting room and utility room, as well as its own garden and drive.

As expected of a significant English country house, the gardens and grounds are beautiful. To the front of the house, a terraced lawn overlooks the horse paddocks and parkland and at the back of the house, a formal walled garden includes a wisteria-laden walkway that leads to the tennis court and a rose-lined path that leads to a rose garden. Also within the walled garden is a heated swimming pool with changing and shower room and to the west of the walled garden is a greenhouse, a vegetable garden and a wildflower meadow.