Local History Snippets
Jane Austen and the Prince of Wales at Kempshott Park
From her home at nearby Steventon Jane Austen would have been a regular visitor to many of the local large houses and she was on friendly terms with many local families. Kempshott Park with its large mansion and extensive parklands would have been very familiar to her. It had been leased at one time by the then Prince of Wales, later George IV. He had taken it as a country retreat, and stayed there first with his companion Mrs Fitzherbert, and then as a honeymoon home with his new wife Princess Caroline.
After the Prince relinquished the lease the estate was taken by Guy Carleton, first Baron Dorchester and Governor General of British North America. Jane Austen was a visitor to the house, attending balls and parties. In January 1799 she wrote:
‘I wore my green shoes last night, and took my white fan with me… I spent a very pleasant evening, chiefly among the Manydown party. There was the same kind of supper as last year, and the same want of chairs. There were more dancers than the room could conveniently hold, which is enough to constitute a good ball at any time’
The most part of Kempshott Park was demolished in the mid 1960s, with the coming of the M3. Some of the parklands remained, mainly contained within Basingstoke Golf Club on the A30, which is now being turned into a large housing estate.
Acknowledgments
Claire Tomalin, Jane Austen A Life
Christoper Golding, Kempshott Park A Princes Retreat
https://kempshottmanor.net/index.php
Hampshire Gardens Trust, Kempshott Park
http://research.hgt.org.uk/item/kempshott-park/
If you have any interesting stories/history about local places, or if there is somewhere or someone you would like to hear about – please get in touch editor@therabbiter.biz
