Literary Kennet & Avon
Soon after the River Kennet meets with the Thames, a right turn leads to the picturesque ruined walls of a 12th Century Benedictine abbey and its 13th Century gatehouse. Here, in the late 18th Century, Jane Austen went to school - spending two formative years in close proximity to the Kennet Navigation. It is claimed that this period of her life left Jane with a strong appreciation of romantic ruins.
Continuing along the K&A past Newbury, one soon reaches the town of Kintbury. Jane was a regular visitor to Kintbury, being acquainted with the inhabitants of Kintbury Rectory - Reverend Thomas Fowles and his family. Through the Fowles, Jane was brought into contact with Mr Charles Dundas; MP for Berkshire and the Chairman of the Kennet & Avon Canal Company.
16 miles after Kintbury comes the market town of Devizes (now famed for the Caen Hill lock flight), which was a frequent resting place on Jane's journeys from Hampshire to Bath. All evidence suggests that Jane was fond of the town. In 1799 she wrote to her sister:
“At Devizes we had comfortable rooms and a good dinner to which we sat down about 5 …the children made so delightful a supper as to endear the Town of Devizes to them for a long time.”
Sadly, at this time the canal was under construction and the Caen Hill locks did not open until December 1810.
Jane Austen's association with Bath - and her dislike of it - are well-documented. We know that she resented moving from her country home to the busy town, but unfortunately her surviving letters deal with largely impersonal subjects such as fashion and journey times. Only occasionally do we get any insight into personal activity, but one such gem gives us final proof that the great Jane Austen did come into contact with the waterways. In May 1801 she concludes a letter written to her sister from Bath, with the resounding words: “Last night we walked by the canal.”
Austen's relationship with the splendid city of Bath is far more tangible, and a stroll around the Georgian centre cannot fail to bring the writer and her celebrated heroines to mind. Both Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were written during Austen's sojourn in Bath, with many pivotal scenes set in the Bath Assembly Rooms.
Further afield, it is thought that the National Trust village of Lacock and the accompanying Lacock Abbey provided the romantic setting for Pride and Prejudice and Emma.
But Austen is not the only revered literary figure to be associated with the Kennet & Avon. By the romantic ruins of Jane's old school stand the (less romantic) remains of Reading Gaol. Oscar Wilde was incarcerated here for 18 months, from November 1895 to May 1897, during which time he wrote De Profundis. The later Ballad of Reading Gaol was written after his release.
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