Friday's Flashback: Church of St. Nicholas at Steventon

In my last post about the church at Steventon I mentioned a man that I assumed was a church member who showed us how to get in the church.  KJ informed me, though, that he wasn't a church member, but his wife was buried there, and he just came to check on her grave.  I think they had a conversation while I was wondering around taking pictures.  We were so glad he showed up, though.  He was able to direct us to where Jane's brother, James, and his wife, Mary, were buried.

If I remember correctly, Mary was his second wife he married after the death of his first, and from everything I've read it seems that she wasn't the most kind-spirited of women.  Her sister, Martha Lloyd, was a good friend of Cassandra and Jane, and lived with them at Chawton Cottage.

This made me so sad, three daughters gone in the same month.

the remains of William's first wife and their infant daughter

I'll have to look up exactly how he is related to the Austens, but I know the Knight family were the relatives that adopted Jane's elder brother, Edward, and made him their heir.  I'm fairly certain these Knights are from the same family; they're buried right beside the James Austens.

the remains of Mary, wife of William Knight, and the mother of the 3 daughters above

PLUS a memorial to his third wife

Can you imagine three wives in a lifetime?  I wonder what those women were like.  It would be interesting to know their stories.  Without the protection and support of a husband or brothers or some other kind family member there weren't many options for supporting themselves.  I feel sorry for the Reverend Knight.  I wonder if he had any surviving children in the end.  Life was hard.

my own Reverend in the pulpit

I'm not sure if I approve of his remarrying in the event of my death.

a memorial to Jane's brother, James

I believe this must be James' first wife.

(Also, if you have trouble reading, back in the day you substituted the "s" for an "f."

I don't remember the reason for this.)

view from the...Chancel??

I tried to look up all the correct names.  This might be from the crossing.

Southern Baptists don't really use this terminology.

I love this picture.  Oh, my.

KJ got really excited when he saw this.

It IS very, very old.

The 800s were quite a long time ago.

"Do you realize how OLD this is, Lynn??"

This was our first day to break out the tripod.

There were some postcards in the church, one of which had a picture from the outside with the doors opened.  KJ thought that looked cool, so we took a few.

The day was wearing on, and we needed to be on our way.  Day 3 had been so pleasant and refreshing.  We were thoroughly enjoying Hampshire.  I think we got back in the car, snacked on a few biscuits from our room at The Three Horseshoes and discussed our options for the evening.  Stay tuned.