SA Travel Diaries (Church Series) : St Nicholas' Church at Chawton, Alton, Hampshire
St Nicholas' Church, a little country church with a lot of history. It's wonderful how, even after all these days, I can still feel the beauty and peace that enveloped me when I first went to St Nicholas' at Alton. From an archaeologist like me, who aims to highlight the lesser known sites most of which are places of worship, this sort of romantic expression is both new and unusual but, it is what it is! "In vain have I struggled. It will not do so." Yes, I'm quoting Pride and Prejudice on Speaking Archaeologically and no, I haven't lost my mind! I'm being deliberate...a little too deliberate, because this Church and the Chawton House and the little cottage, are all inextricably linked to Jane Austen, who revised all her famous major works, ( Pride and Prejudice included) in Chawton! My excitement to see this place, was therefore, twice than it would have been in the normal circumstances. The chancel of the church, the only original part