Jane Austen was born 250 years ago on 16 December 1775 in the north Hampshire village of Steventon.
Her death in 1817 came in Winchester where she is buried in the cathedral.
Her statue, unveiled this year, is outside although at the moment suddenly almost lost between Christmas Market stalls.
Advent, as she celebrated her birthday year by year, was a special season but, like Christmas, much more low key than now.
Jane would have only known one carol which was While Shepherds Watched. It was probably sung to the Old Winchester psalm tune.
This ‘Christmas hymn’ had been published in 1700 having been written by poet laureate Nahum Tate. He died penniless fifteen years later and was buried in the crypt of St George the Martyr church in Southwark.
(His body is now in Surrey’s Brookwood Cemetery.)
St George the Martyr in Borough High Street is the first church on the London branch of the Pilgrims’ Way which runs through many places known to Jane Austen.
One Christmas Day, when staying with her brother at Godmersham (on PW), Jane delighted in having Christmas Day dinner at the ‘grown up time’ of 4pm.
