| Steventon | |||
| When the Domesday Survey was being carried out there
were two estates at 'stivetune' and soon afterwards they merged and
following some dispute about ownership the land became the property of
the des Roches family in 1260. The manor then passed by marriage into
the Brocas family in 1337 and it remained with them until Thomas Coteel
bought it in 1625. The Brocas then bought the manor back in 1635 but it
later changed hands on numerous occassions and at one stage was owned by
the younger brother of John Evelyn the diarist. In 1794 it was left to Edward Austen who was the elder brother of Jane Austen and he changed his name to Knight in 1814. In 1855 the manor was purchased by the second Duke of Wellington. The village is better known as the birth place of Jane Austen who lived here from 1775 to 1800, her father was the Rector here for over 40 years although nothing remains of the rectory where the family lived, It was while in Steventon that Jane penned Pride and Prejudice (1796-7) and Northanger Abbey (1798). In July 1975 there were celebrations to mark her bi-centenary and this included a masked ball at Oakley Hall, country fair and a flower festival in St Nicholas' Church and an exhibition in the village. The church of St Nicholas built in the 13th century remains practically unchanged by Victoria restoration work and most certainly Jane Austen would recognise it from her days here, There is an ancient yew which is hollow but has a large girth and a Saxon cross-shaft was found at Steventon Manor House and the parish has what remains of a deserted mediaeval village. What was the manor house built when Elizabeth I was on the throne has now been changed into a garage and on the walls of the new house to which it belongs has a Saxon cross on it.
|
