Jane Austen was a true Christian from a religious family of rectors, vicars and curates. She went to church every Sunday, unless the bad weather kept her away. She would then read prayers at home with her family, reading from her fathers bible out loud before the family retired to bed.
Her father, her brothers James and Henry, and four cousins were clergymen. She lived with her family in the parish rectory at Steventon until she was 25 years old.
Jane went to services at the churches listed for weekly services or for special occasions such as weddings or christenings. Listed by county, you can read a brief summary of Jane’s connection and a link to the church to plan your visit or read more from the comfort of your armchair.
Churches Jane Austen visited
Hampshire
St Nicholas Church, Steventon
The church of St. Nicholas, Steventon, played a significant role in Jane Austen’s life. She was baptized in the church on April 5, 1776, and attended worship there for 25 years. Her father, the Rev. George Austen, was rector of the church from 1761 until his death in 1805. Her brother James became curate of the church in 1801 when George Austen moved to Bath and succeeded his father as rector from 1805-1819. Her brother Henry was rector from 1820-1823, and her nephew William Knight followed as rector from 1823 to 1873, completing over 100 continuous years of Austen/Knight rectors at St. Nicholas.
St Nicholas Church, Chawton
The church of St. Nicholas, Steventon, played a significant role in Jane Austen’s life. She was baptized in the church on April 5, 1776, and attended worship there for 25 years. Her father, the Rev. George Austen, was rector of the church from 1761 until his death in 1805. Her brother James became curate of the church in 1801 when George Austen moved to Bath and succeeded his father as rector from 1805-1819. Her brother Henry was rector from 1820-1823, and her nephew William Knight followed as rector from 1823 to 1873, completing over 100 continuous years of Austen/Knight rectors at St. Nicholas.
St Lawrence Church, Alton
The church of St. Nicholas, Steventon, played a significant role in Jane Austen’s life. She was baptized in the church on April 5, 1776, and attended worship there for 25 years. Her father, the Rev. George Austen, was rector of the church from 1761 until his death in 1805. Her brother James became curate of the church in 1801 when George Austen moved to Bath and succeeded his father as rector from 1805-1819. Her brother Henry was rector from 1820-1823, and her nephew William Knight followed as rector from 1823 to 1873, completing over 100 continuous years of Austen/Knight rectors at St. Nicholas.
Winchester Cathedral, Winchester
In May 1817 Jane Austen moved with her sister, Cassandra, from Chawton to Winchester to receive medical treatment. Her health continued to fail, and she died in Winchester on July 18, 1817. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral in the north aisle of the nave. A memorial window overlooks the grave site, and the cathedral has created an educational display about Austen. Visitors come from around the world to pay their respects at her grave.
All Saint’s Church, Deane, Hampshire
The medieval church Jane Austen would have known was replaced in 1818 with a church in the gothic style. The parish is adjacent to Austen’s home parish of Steventon. Her father was Rector of Deane from 1773–1805. Jane Austen’s brother James was curate from 1792-1805.
Holy Trinity and St. Andrew’s Church, Ashe
Ashe is only a mile or so from Steventon, and Jane Austen was familiar with St. Andrew’s during her early life. (The name of the church later became Holy Trinity and St. Andrew.) The Rector Rev. George Lefroy and his wife, Anne, were friends of the Austens. Mrs. Lefroy, sometimes called “Madam Lefroy,” was a friend and mentor to Jane Austen. She was killed in a riding accident on Austen’s 29th birthday and is buried in the churchyard at Ashe.
There has been a church in Ashe since before Domesday (1086), but the present building dates from 1878. Currently, services are held twice a month.
Bath
St. Swithin’s Church, Walcot, Bath
St. Swithin’s Church is where Jane’s parents , George Austen and Cassandra Leigh, were married in 1764, and where George Austen was laid to rest in 1805. His gravestone was originally found inside the church before being moved outside to the churchyard. A plaque dedicated to him can be found mounted on one of the walls inside.
A church has stood on this hill since 971 in some capacity, and the one Jane would have known was completed in 1777, thirteen years before Jane moved here to Bath. The exterior was designed by John Palmer, who also designed the Lansdown Crescent, which is very much Georgian in style. You will find the interior modern inside, being open with large Art Deco style glass windows.
Kent
St. Lawrence the Martyr Church, Godmersham, Kent
St. Lawrence the Martyr is in the grounds of iGodmersham Park, the estate inherited by Jane’s brother Edward. Jane often came here to worship and was fond of the Reverend, who often came to dinner at Godmersham Park and whom she mentions in one of her letters.
When Jane Austen attended the services here she sat in the Knight Pew which was on the right and accessed by a staircase of steps. Jane would have entered the church on the West side which was blocked up in 1865.
A faded memorial on the outside of the church is dedicated to the nursemaid Susanna Sackree. She dedicated her life to care for Edward and Elizabeth’s children, which was even more important after Elizabeth died in childbirth after their eleventh child was born. Jane Austen mentions her in several letters. The text of the plaque outside has been transcribed onto an illuminated manuscript now displayed on the north wall inside.
St Margaret’s Church, Horsmonden, Kent
St. Margaret’s Church is the final resting place of many of Jane Austen’s forebears, including her great grandfather John Austen (1560-1620). The church has an Austen window and various railed tombs with the Austen crest. George Austen grew up in nearby Tonbridge, and Jane Austen worshipped here when visiting her Kentish relations.
St Peter and St Paul, Tonbridge, Kent
Jane Austen’s father, George, was born in Tonbridge, baptized in the parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul, and worshipped there as a youth while attending Tonbridge school and as an adult after returning from Oxford to be Usher of Tonbridge School. Members of the family of Jane Austen’s remarkable great-grandmother Elizabeth Weller are commemorated in the church, and her son William, Jane Austen’s grandfather, is buried there with her grandmother, Rebecca.
St Nicholas Church, Bookham, Kent
Jane Austen’s godfather, the Rev. Samuel Cooke, was vicar of St. Nicolas Church in Great Bookham. His wife, Cassandra Leigh, was a cousin of Jane Austen’s mother (also named Cassandra Leigh). Austen visited the Cooke family in Great Bookham in 1799 and again in June 1814, when she was writing Emma. Great Bookham is several miles from Box Hill and not far from Leatherhead, which is thought by some to be the model for Highbury. St. Nicolas is over 1,000 years old.
London
St Paul’s Church, London
Jane and Cassandra Austen worshipped at this church when visiting their brother Henry in nearby Henrietta Street (1813-1814). It is known as ‘The Actors’ Church’ because of it’s long association with the West End theatrical community.
Further Reading
Jane Austen wrote Prayers to read with her family each evening. Read more in Jane Austen’s Prayers
Read more about the Bigg sisters and Withers at Missing Manydown
