Austen fans attack plans for church plaque to ‘newcomer’
A CHURCH in Adlestrop, the Gloucestershire village which is thought to have inspired some of Jane Austen’s greatest works, has incurred the ire of her fans over plans to introduce a plaque to a woman from a family who are relative newcomers in the area.
Since the 16th century the Leigh family, Austen’s relatives, had owned Adlestrop Park, the house which is thought to have been the model for Sotherton Court, the estate in Mansfield Park. The house, which has been restored, is now owned by the Collins family, who are also donors to projects such as the refurbishment of the church’s five bells.
Now the rector and churchwardens have asked a consistory court to let Dominic Collins install a hatchment, a coat of arms display, in the church in memory of his late wife.
The idea was opposed by Victoria Huxley, a local historian and Austen expert, who said it was inappropriate to install a memorial to a family who were not the Leighs. She wrote: “Only a family which has strong ties over several generations should have such a display.”
She added that she believed such tributes were only appropriate to commemorate the “Lord of the Manor”.
But John Martin Robinson, a heraldry expert, told the court that “Lordship of this or that manor is no more a title than landlord of the Dog and Duck”.
June Rogers, chancellor of the diocese of Gloucester, ruled the plan could go ahead. She said: “The Jane Austen connection does not preserve in aspic this church. Another layer has been added to the life and continuity of this village.”