An independent girls’ school in Reading has celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of the legendary poet and writer Jane Austen.
The Abbey School in Reading marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, who was born on 16 December 1775 and wrote Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.
The independent girls’ school marked the day with poetry recitals, speeches and a cream tea. Joanne Wenman, the school librarian and a descendant of one of Austen’s ancestors, attended with 15 other distant family members.
“We held a special celebration to mark the occasion by inviting some of Jane Austen’s descendants, including our very own librarian, Miss Wenman to our school.
“We had such an amazing day celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th with our guests who enjoyed a lovely cream tea, listened to speeches celebrating Jane’s links to the local area and we even had our own Artist in Residence Mia, commission a portrait of Jane Austen to be proudly hung in our “Jane Austen Wing” at The Abbey.
“To finish the morning off we invited Elora Sutton, former poet in residence at Jane Austen’s house in Chawton and two of The Abbey’s very own Poet Laureate’s Beatrice and Ellanya to perform their poetry based on Jane Austen’s life.”
The event was attended by Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for Reading Central, Lucy Zeal, the deputy lord lieutenant of Berkshire, and the deputy mayor, councillor Paul Gittings (Labour, Coley).
Mr Rodda said: “It was wonderful to attend the event to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen.
“Abbey School students and teachers did an amazing job of celebrating the anniversary together with parents and descendants of Jane Austen.
“It was important to celebrate the impact her school days at the predecessor to the Abbey had on her writing and to hear more about how they influenced two of Jane Austen’s novels.”
The Abbey School has a special association with Jane Austen, who attended the Reading Ladies’ Boarding School at the Abbey Gateway; the current school says it continues the tradition of women’s education.
Miss Wenman said: “It was an amazing experience to have everybody here with connections to Jane Austen, that’s what makes it so gratifying.”
Dr Sarah Tullis, the headteacher, added: “The whole school is delighted for Joanne.
“We already knew what a huge fan of Jane Austen she is and how much this connection would mean to her. What makes this even more special for us here at The Abbey is that it strengthens our connections with Jane Austen even further.
“We felt that we simply had to celebrate Joanne’s discovery and the 250th Anniversary of one of the greatest women writers!”
The event took place on Tuesday, December 16.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
