Join Caroline Jane Knight, Jane Austen’s fifth great-niece and the last of Jane’s nieces to grow up at Chawton House, for an exploration of how England’s great estates rose to power—and why they ultimately fell.
Through the remarkable story of Chawton, documented from the Norman Conquest to today, Caroline reveals the intricate systems that created and sustained these magnificent estates for centuries. Discover how heraldry, primogeniture, and entails shaped not just land ownership, but the very fabric of English society.
Chawton’s history mirrors that of estates across England: from medieval manor to Renaissance grandeur under the Knight family from 1578, reaching its zenith when Edward Austen Knight (Jane’s brother) inherited vast holdings spanning Kent and Hampshire. Yet by the 20th century, death duties, social upheaval, and economic pressures had dismantled most of these once-mighty estates.
Caroline witnessed firsthand Chawton’s final chapter as a family home while growing up in the heart of Jane Austen’s literary legacy. Her insider’s perspective illuminates both the grand historical forces and intimate family decisions that determined these estates’ fates.
From the traditions that built them to the challenges that broke them, this is the story of how England’s great estates shaped a nation and how a changing world ultimately transformed them forever.
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