During Blogmas 2025, I will be sharing a different site related to Jane Austen. As 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of her birth, my recent trip to the UK was rather a pilgrimage for Austen. While I’ve visited other places that Austen lived, I had yet to visit Winchester. Given that she spent the last months of her life in the city and it is her final resting place, I made it a priority to get there. Luckily for me, I was also able to see the just unveiled Jane Austen statue at Winchester Cathedral.
Martin Jennings, Sculptor
Sculptor Martin Jennings is behind the new statue of Jane. If his name sounds familiar, in September 2025 it was announced that he will be creating a memorial of the late Queen for St. James’s Park. (It will be the official national memorial for Queen Elizabeth II.)
He was originally chosen to create a statue for Winchester Cathedral back in 2018, but it was scrapped in 2019 when the cathedral chose to allocate the funds needed for the statue elsewhere. However, in 2024, he was then asked to proceed with the statue. And luckily for us, he created the piece we now have today.
Jane Austen Statue at Winchester Cathedral
The statue is tucked away in the Inner Close. I almost missed it and had to wander around for a few minutes- it was somewhat hidden when I was there. There were small wooden booths set up for the upcoming Christmas market- if you are there in November or December, you may need to poke around a bit. (You could still see it fully, but it isn’t out in the open like it normally would be.
I think the statue may be one of my favourites, Jennings has captured Jane’s spirit well. In Jane Austen and Winchester Cathedral, Jennings explains,
Austen was fully aware of her abilities as a novelist, but she preferred to keep the act of writing private. I have represented her rising from her table at her home in Chawton as someone arrives at the door, moving in front of her work as if to disguise it.
I have carefully observed contemporaneous written descriptions of her physical appearance… I have aimed to give a sense not only of her acuity and wit but also of the moral vision running through her novels… through posture and grace.
If you are an Austenite and are able to visit Winchester, I would recommend allowing yourself some time to truly look at the statue. It deserves all of your attention, and is a wonderful place for reflection.
Have you seen the Jane Austen Statue at Winchester Cathedral?
Cheers,
The Historian
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