Reverend John Austen 1777-1851 Rector of Chevening

Chevening Saint Botolph (image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) is one of 68 churches in England dedicated to Saint Botolph who is patron saint of travellers along what we nowadays call the Pilgrims Way. The church is Saxon in origin and is first mentioned in the document which records payment of Easter dues to the Diocese of Rochester The Textus Roffensis refers to the parish of  Civilinga,the Anglo-Saxon name for the parish now called Chevening.
In 1813 The Reverend John Austen was appointed Rector of Chevening and as a life long lover of his cousin Jane Austen's works it is a pleasure to transcribe John's entries in the Chevening parish registers. For the most part John's handwriting poses few challenges for the transcriber and I have been able to make rapid progress on the initial entries in the burial register from 1813. My transcript is available at Kent Online Parish Clerks Chevening parish page  here.
The Austen family are a long established Kent family and John was born third son of  Francis Motley Austin (1747-1815). John was baptised on 17 July 1777 at Wilmington in Kent. He was born on 6 June 1777.
He was educated at Oriel College Oxford where he matriculated in 1794 graduated BA 1799 and was awarded MA in 1803. He was ordained a deacon in 1800 and a priest in 1801.
In 1806 he became Rector of Crayford Kent and served there until 1813.
In 1813 he was appointed Rector of Chevening and remained until his death in 1851. In addition in 1806 he was appointed as domestic Chaplain to the fourth Duke of Dorset at Knole and in 1817 as the
domestic Chaplain to the fourth Earl Stanhope at Chevening.
He married on 7 September 1813 at Seal Kent Harriet Lane (1785-1873),daughter of Thomas Lane of  Bradbourne Kent. The couple had 7 children all baptised at Chevening:
John Francis Austen 1817-1893
Charles Wilson Austen baptised 20 September 1818 at Chevening.He became a Lieutenant Colonel in 1858 and died 7 December 1863 from wounds received in action in New Zealand.
Elizabeth Austen baptised at Chevening 11 July 1820.She married at Sevenoaks 11 September 1856 Major General Terrick Fitzhugh JP (1827-1910).
Catherine Frances Austen baptised at Chevening 19 August 1821 who lived at The Old House Sevenoaks and died unmarried 4 October 1907.
Henry Morland Austen baptised at Chevening 6 March 1823. He was educated at Winchester and Christ Church Oxford matriculated 1841 BA1845 MA 1849 ordained deacon 1847 priest 1848. He was appointed Rector of Crayford Kent 1851-1873 and served that parish longer than his father had.
Henrietta Louisa Austen baptised at Chevening 30 May 1824.
Marianne Austen baptised at Chevening 31 October 1825 and lived with her sister Catherine at Old House Sevenoaks;she died there 31 March 1892
John appears in 1807 to have inherited a family property at Horsmonden under the terms of the will of his first cousin once removed John Austen (1726-1807).
Reverend John Austen died at Chevening Rectory 22 September 1851;his will was proved 6 October 1851 and can be read at the National Archives website. He was buried on 27 September at Sevenoaks parish church aged 74. The burial was conducted bt the Rector of Sevenoaks.
Jane Austen's familiarity with Sevenoaks,Seal and the Westerham area  are recorded in  he writings.The 12 year old Janes stay at the Red House Sevenoaks where her uncle was agent for the estate at Knole. She would through her uncle's law practice specialising in land (and the land Tax) no doubt have met many families who were landed and in her writing she describes a large house with a deer park; almost certainly Knole.
I am personally not persuaded that the fictional Rodings in Pride and Prejudice is based upon Chevening House. The novel began under a working title First Impressions and was written in 1796-1797 and published in January 1813;before Reverend John Austen had left Crayford. It is likely that during her stay in Sevenoaks she became acquainted with the Sackvilles at Knowle (and possibly the Stanhope Family at Chevening)and her themes of inheritance and the landed gentry may originate from her juvenile stay in Sevenoaks with her sister.

© Henry Mantell Downe and Farnborough Online Parish Clerk 2013-2020