List of Abbreviations
CBK – Charles Bridges Knight
CEA – Cassandra Elizabeth Austen
CKS – Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent
EKR – Elizabeth Knight Rice, formerly Austen
FCK – Fanny Catherine Knatchbull, formerly Austen
GHB – Gweedore Hotel Book
HRO – Hampshire Record Office
JA – Jane Austen
JAHM – Jane Austen’s House Museum
JEAL – James Edward Austen Leigh
LGH – Lord George Hill
MAAL – Mary Augusta Austen Leigh
MK – Marianne Knight, formerly Austen
PRONI – Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Timeline
1775 – Birth of Jane Austen (JA) at Steventon, Hampshire, 16 December
The American Revolution begins
1779 – Birth of JA’s brother, Charles Austen
1783 – Adoption of JA’s brother Edward Austen (b.1767), later Knight, by Thomas and Catherine Knight of Godmersham, Kent
1785 – JA and Cassandra (CEA, b.1773) sent to Abbey School, Reading
1786 – Marriage of Arthur Hill, later 2nd Marquess of Downshire, to – Mary Sandys
1787 – JA begins writing
1788 – Birth of Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull Hill, later 3rd Marquess of Downshire, 8 October
1789 – The French Revolution begins
Arthur Hill becomes 2nd Marquess of Downshire
1791 – Edward Austen marries Elizabeth Bridges of Goodnestone Park, 27 December
1792 – JA’s eldest brother, James Austen (b.1765) marries Anne Mathew
CEA becomes engaged to Rev. Thomas Fowle
1793 – Birth of Anna Austen, later Lefroy, daughter of James
Birth of Fanny Catherine, later Knight (FCK), daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Austen, 23 January
1794 – Death of Thomas Knight
Edward Austen inherits estates at Godmersham and Chawton
Birth of Edward (later Knight), son of Edward and Elizabeth Austen
Death of Anne, wife of James Austen; Anna Austen makes prolonged stay in Steventon – Thomas Lefroy meets JA
1795 – Birth of George, later Knight, known to JA as ‘itty Dordy’, son of Edward and Elizabeth Austen
1796 – Attempted invasion of Ireland by Wolfe Tone, with the assistance of the French
Thomas Lefroy leaves for London
Rev. Thomas Fowle leaves for West Indies
1797 – JA’s novel, First Impressions (later revised as Pride and Prejudice), completed; Lady Susan begun
Birth of Henry, later Knight, son of Edward and Elizabeth Austen
James Austen marries Mary Lloyd
1798 – Rebellion in Ireland; Cornwallis succeeds Camden as Lord Lieutenant
Birth of William, later Knight, son of Edward and Elizabeth Austen, first to be born at Godmersham
Birth of James Edward, later Austen Leigh (JEAL), son of James and Mary Austen
1799 – JA’s brother, Henry Austen (b.1771) in Ireland, serving under Cornwallis
1800 – Birth of Elizabeth Austen, later Knight (EKR), daughter of Edward and Elizabeth, January
Rev. George Austen decides to retire as Rector of Steventon, December
1801 – Act of Union of Great Britain and Ireland, 1 January
Rev. George Austen moves his family to Bath; James Austen becomes Rector of Steventon
Death of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire, 7 September
Birth of Marianne Austen, later Knight (MK), 15 September
Birth of Lord George Hill, posthumous son of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire, December
1802 – JA accepts and next day refuses proposal of marriage from Harris Bigg-Wither of Manydown
Mary Sandys, widow of 2nd Marquess of Downshire, created Baroness Sandys in her own right
1803 – Arrest and execution in Dublin of Robert Emmet, following failed rebellion
JA’s novel Susan, later known as Northanger Abbey, sold to Crosky & Co., publishers
1804 – Birth of Louisa Austen, later Knight, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth, 13 November
JA thought to be engaged in writing The Watsons and Lady Susan
1805 – Death of Rev. George Austen at Bath; JA ceases writing
Birth of Caroline Austen, daughter of James and Mary, at Steventon, 18 June
1806 – JA, CEA and their mother move to Southampton, lodging with Francis Austen and his wife
Birth of Cassandra Jane Austen, later Knight, 16 November
1807 – Austens move to Castle Square, Southampton
1808 – Death of Elizabeth Austen, wife of Edward, following the birth of Brook John, 10 October
1809 – MK and EKR sent away to school in Wanstead, 30 January
Austens arrive in Chawton, 5 April; JA makes unsuccessful attempt to have Lady Susan published
Arthur Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire, comes of age; commits himself to efficient management
1810 – Sense and Sensibility accepted for publication
1811 – Beginning of the Regency period
Publication of Sense and Sensibility, September
Arthur Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire, marries Lady Maria Windsor, eldest daughter of 5th Earl of Plymouth, 25 October
1812 – Death of Catherine Knight, adoptive mother of Edward Austen
Edward Austen’s family takes the name of Knight
JA sells copyright of Pride and Prejudice to Egerton
Birth of Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, later 4th Marquess of Downshire, 6 August
1813 – Publication of Pride and Prejudice, 28 January
Knights spend four months at Chawton; JA returns with Knights to Godmersham, via London
1814 – Publication of Mansfield Park, 9 May
– Anna Austen marries Rev. Benjamin Lefroy, 8 November
1815 – Persuasion begun, 8 August
Illness of Henry Austen, nursed back to health by JA, October
Publication of Emma, December
Persuasion completed
1816 – JA begins to feel unwell
Failure of Austen, Maunde and Tilson, March: Henry Austen bankrupt; Edward suffers great financial loss
Henry Austen enters the Church
1817 – Death of James Leigh Perrot, 28 March; omission of Mrs Austen and her daughters grieves JA
JA makes her will, April
Edward Knight travels with EKR and George to Paris, May; EKR meets her future husband, Edward Royds Rice
CEA travels with JA to Winchester in hope of cure, 24 May; William Knight and Henry Austen accompany them; JA and CEA stay at 8 College Street, attended by Mr Lyford; Mary Lloyd Austen helps CEA nurse JA; CBK visits from WinchesterCollege
JA dies, 18 July; buried in Winchester Cathedral, 24 July
EKR coming out into society postponed until August following JA’s death
Posthumous publication of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, December, dated 1818
1818 – Lords George and Augustus Hill begin their Grand Tour of Europe
EKR marries Edward Royds Rice, of Dane Court, Kent, 6 October
MK enters society following EKR’s marriage; her cousin JEAL, still an impecunious undergraduate at Oxford, falls in love with her; dissuaded by his father, James Austen
1819 – Death of James Austen; JEAL and his family leave Steventon; Henry Austen holds the living until William Knight comes of age to take it over
Birth of Edward Bridges Rice, son of EKR; MK in attendance
1820 – Accession of George IV, formerly Prince Regent
Henry Austen marries as his second wife Eleanor Jackson, niece to Mr Papillon, former Rector of Chawton
FCK marries Sir Edward Knatchbull of Mersham le Hatch, Kent, 24 October; Cassandra Knight (aged 16) to share governess with Sir Ed
ward’s daughter, Mary Dorothea
MK takes over household management of Godmersham Park, aged nineteen
1822 – MK refuses proposal of marriage from Rev. John Billington, November
William Knight takes over Steventon living John Knight goes to school at Winchester; Henry Knight in 8th Light Dragoons; Edward Knight Jr Captain in East Kent Militia
1823 – Formation in Ireland of Catholic Association, under Daniel O’Connell
Edward Austen Knight supervises building of new Rectory at Steventon
1824 – Birth of Elizabeth Louisa Rice (Louisa), daughter of EKR
Birth of Fanny Elizabeth Knatchbull, first child of FCK
1825 – William Knight marries Caroline Portal
Birth of Marianne Sophia Rice, daughter of EKR
1826 – Edward Knight Jr elopes to Scotland with Mary Dorothea Knatchbull, FCK’s stepdaughter and Cassandra’s former schoolfellow, 13/14 May
1827 – Death of Mrs George Austen (née Cassandra Leigh), March
Cassandra Knight meets Lord George Hill (LGH) in London, while staying with FCK
Cassandra refuses a proposal from a Mr Burrows, June; LGH proposes, August; Cassandra accepts, but engagement called off after opposition by LGH’s mother, Lady Downshire
John Knight joins his regiment in Cork
1828 – Duke of Wellington Prime Minister
Thomas Lefroy, former friend of JA, founds club to preserve ‘integrity of the Protestant constitution’
Francis Austen marries, as second wife, Martha Lloyd, sister of Mary
Louisa Knight refuses proposal from Sir William Young
1829 – Peel introduces Catholic Relief Bill, 5 March, enacted 5 April
Daniel O’Connell not permitted to take his seat in House of Commons
Louisa Knight receives proposal from George C. Oxenden
1830 – Accession of William IV, 26 June
Daniel O’Connell first Catholic to take his seat in House of Commons
End of Louisa’s relationship with George C. Oxenden
1831 – Tumultuous Rising Act, following agrarian unrest in Ireland
LGH becomes MP for Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, 1831–32
1833 – Publication by Bentley of Collected Edition of JA’s Novels (the Steventon Edition)
Henry Austen’s revised Memoir published with Sense and Sensibility
Louisa Knight refuses proposal from Captain Stracey
LGH Comptroller of the Lord Lieutenant’s Household in Dublin
Death of Sophia Knight, née Cage, wife and cousin of Henry Knight
1834 – Melbourne dismissed; Peel forms Tory government
Cassandra Knight briefly engaged, July–August, to Musgrave Alured Harris; family disapproval ends engagement
LGH resumes his addresses August; marries Cassandra, 21October, St George’s, Hanover Square; newly married couple spend Christmas with Knights at Godmersham
1835 – Peel resigns; Melbourne PM
Death of Lady Salisbury (née Lady Emily Hill), maternal aunt of LGH, by fire at Hatfield House, 22 November
Birth of Norah Hill, first child of Lord and Lady George Hill, at Godmersham, December
1836 – Poor Relief Act in England, 31 July
Death of Lady Downshire, LGH’s mother
Death of Jane Leigh Perrot; James Edward Austen inherits Scarlets; takes name of Austen Leigh
1837 – Accession of Queen Victoria
Birth of Arthur Blundell George Sandys Hill, 13 May
Marriage of Arthur, later 4th Marquess of Downshire, to Caroline Cotton, daughter of 1st Viscount Combermere, 23 August
George Knight marries Hilaire, Countess Nelson
1838 – Extension of Poor Relief Act to Ireland, and Tithe Rent Act
LGH begins purchase of estate at Gweedore, Co. Donegal
Death of George Austen, brother of JA (b. 1766), in care since childhood
CBK leaves Godmersham to become Rector of Chawton
Death of Mary Knight (née Knatchbull), wife of Edward Knight Jr, following birth of William Brodnax
1839 – Irish Poor Law Unions (Workhouses) come into existence
Birth of Augustus Charles Edward Hill, son of Lord and Lady George, at Godmersham, 9 March
1840 – First great meeting to press for repeal of the Union, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, 26 July
Edward Knight Jr marries, as second wife, Adela Portal
1842 – Daniel O’Connell Lord Mayor of Dublin
Founding of The Nation
Opening of LGH’s Gweedore Hotel in Donegal
Death of Cassandra, Lady George Hill, following birth ofCassandra Jane Louisa at Gartlee, Letterkenny, Donegal, 14/15 March 1842; Louisa and CBK go to Donegal for funeral and burial of Cassandra at Conwal Cemetery, Letterkenny
Louisa takes charge of Hill children; LGH goes to London in April; takes house in summer at Updown, Kent, where Louisa continues to tend the children
Birth of James McFadden, future parish priest of Gweedore, at Carrigart, Co Donegal
1843 – Arrest of Daniel O’Connell; William Smith O’Brien joins the Repeal Association
LGH, in London at first anniversary of Cassandra’s death, taken ill and obliged to stay some days at house of FCK
1844 – Daniel O’Connell imprisoned, January
Agrarian movemement (‘Molly Maguires’) active in Leitrim, Longford and Roscommon
Death of Henry Knight, June
Death of Mary Austen (née Lloyd), August
Birth of Montagu George Knight, son of Edward and Adela Knight, 26 October
Birth of Arthur Wills Blundell Trumbull Sandys Roden Hill, future 5th Marquess of Downshire
1845 – Visit to Gweedore Hotel by John Mitchel, Charles Gavan Duffy and John O’Hagan
Widespread failure of potato harvest in Ireland, leading to Great Famine
Death of CEA at Portsmouth, home of her brother Francis; JA’s letters and MSS distributed among family members
LGH publishes Facts from Gweedore, account of his work in Donegal
Louisa Knight spends all summer in Ireland with Hill children
Death of 3rd Marquess of Downshire, following riding accident
1846 – Lord John Russell, PM, upholds policy of laissez-faire in Ireland despite widespread famine
Establishment of Famine Relief Commission; LGH, as chairman, requests further aid for tenants
Louisa Knight in Donegal and Godmersham with Hill children; commited to building of Glebe House for Protestant tenants of Gweedore
FCK asks former Godmersham governess, Miss Dorothy Chapman, to patronise LGH’s Facts from Gweedore to augment Louisa’s efforts
Birth of Lord Arthur Hill, 2nd son of 4th Marquess of Downshire
1847 – Irish Confederation formed under William Smith O’Brien
LGH launches appeal for Famine Relief
Marriage of LGH and Louisa Knight at Wandsbeck, Denmark, 11 May
1848 – John Mitchel sentenced to fourteen years’ transportation; Gavan Duffy and Smith O’Brien also transported
William Knight’s three daughters die of scarlet fever
Henry Rice, son of EKR, dies of cholera in Barbados, aged 27
1849 – Queen Victoria visits Dublin
Thomas Carlyle visits Ballyare, Gweedore Hotel and Bunbeg as part of Irish tour
Birth of George Marcus Wandsbeck Hill, 9 April, Dublin
FCK leaves Mersham le Hatch for Provender, following death of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 24 May
Fanny Margaretta Rice, daughter of EKR, marries George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea
1850 – Founding of Tenant League, 10 August
Death of Henry Austen, brother of JA
Hill family at Godmersham all summer
1851 – Census shows depopulation of Ireland of 19.85% since 1841, following Great Famine
Debate, House of Lords, over validity of LGH’s marriage to Louis
Marianne Sophia Rice refuses her cousin, Edward
Knatchbull-Hugesssen, son of FCK
1852 – Potato blight in Ireland
Thomas Lefroy Lord Chief Justice in Ireland
Death of Edward Austen Knight at Godmersham, November
Death of Charles Austen, JA’s brother, of cholera, serving on Irawaddy River
JEAL Rector of Bray
1853 – Edward Knight Jr lets Godmersham; MK goes first to Donegal to the Hills, then to live with CBK at Chawton Rectory
John Knight marries Margaret Pearson
Death of Henry Rice, son of EKR
1854 – Philip and Brodnax Knight, sons of Edward Knight Jr, at Sebastopol; death of Ernest Knight of cholera; Cecil Rice, son of EKR, at battle of Balaclava
1855 – George Howard, Earl of Carlisle, sworn in as Lord Lieutenant
MK begins her Garden Book, 16 April
Death of Maria, widow of 3rd Marquess of Downshire, 7 April
1857 – Indian Mutiny: Arthur Hill, Somerset Ward (veteran of Crimean War and future husband of Norah Hill), Philip and Brodnax Knight all serving in India
Marianne Sophia Rice marries T. Emilius Bayley (‘Derby’)
1858 – Founding of Fenian movement (Irish Republican Brotherhood, or IRB) in Dublin by James Stephens
Louisa Hill spends spring in Dublin with children; Norah and Cassandra Hill spend summer at Castle Ward, as guests of Lord and Lady Bangor, parents of Somerset Ward
1859 – Marriage of Norah Hill to Capt. the Hon. Somerset Ward, 8th Regiment of Foot, 26 April
1860 – Walter Rice, son of EKR, serving in Ireland
1861 – Beginning of American Civil War
Visit to Ireland by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
1862 – Edward Royds Rice, husband of EKR, paralysed after fall
Commission of Montagu Knight as Ensign, 21st Hampshire Rifle Volunteers, 21 July
1863 – Henry Knight, son of Edward and Adela Knight, visits Hills in Donegal