Part of the fun of analysing the works of one of Britain’s
most famous female authors, Jane Austen, is trying to work out what actual
locations might have been the inspiration for the aristocratic properties which
feature so heavily in her novels. In the
case of Mansfield Park, it has been necessary to apply some skilled detective
work to the job. An examination of the available clues leads to the
conclusion that the geographical setting for Mansfield Park was the county of
Northamptonshire. Not least the fact
that, while writing Mansfield Park, Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra and
asked her whether Northamptonshire was a “county of hedgerows” – a curious
thing to ask unless she was looking for an accurate description of the setting
for her novel. The question is, where in
Northamptonshire? Following the letter
to her sister, Jane’s enquiries about the county went the rounds of a number of
her acquaintances, leading to further clues.
The
first, and seemingly most popular, contender is Cottesbrooke Hall. Two of the individuals in Jane’s circle who
were involved in the enquiries about the area were Henry Sandford and Sir James
Langham, who were among those asked for their opinions of the finished novel. The Langham family were the owners of
Cottesbrooke Hall, which matches some of the details of Mansfield Park such as
the breakfast rooms and the library with adjoining billiard room. It is not known whether Jane herself ever
visited the property, but she could have got the description and/or plans from
her contacts there. The one fly in the
ointment is the fact that Mansfield Park is described as a spacious
modern-built house, whereas Cottesbrooke was built over a century before
Mansfield Park was written.
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| Cottesbrooke Hall Northamptonshire. Photo by Cj1340, via Wikimedia Commons |
However, a few years ago an academic threw doubt on
Cottesbrooke as the real Mansfield Park, and came up with an alternative
suggestion, arguing that Cassandra’s connection with the county was her friend
Elizabeth Chute, sister of the Marchioness of Northampton, whose husband
Charles Compton was the cousin of Spencer Percival, the only British Prime
Minister to have been assassinated, and an active supporter of the abolitionist
movement. The Marchioness himself lived
at Castle Ashby in the county, making this a likely contender for the role of
Mansfield Park. Mansfield Park’s Sir
Thomas Bertram had a slavery plantation in Antigua, and it is believed that
Austen used the story as a roundabout way of paying tribute to Perceval’s
anti-slavery campaign. Could this be a
sign that Castle Ashby was the inspiration for Mansfield Park? It is true that Castle Ashby is even older
than Cottesbrooke, but as is so often the case with these large properties,
many alterations have been made since the original construction.
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| Castle Ashby (35571730485). Photo by Airwolfhound, via Wikimedia Commons |
Either way, both properties are open to visitors and make a
worthwhile detour when in the area, although in the case of Castle Ashby it is
only the gardens which can be visited.
Cottesbrooke Hall and Gardens lies roughly midway between Northampton and
Market Harborough. The Hall, a Queen Anne house dating from 1702, can be
visited on a 45-minute tour in the afternoons and the house and gardens are
open to visitors from early May to late September. The landscaped park includes lakes which are
visited by Canada Geese, and there are both ‘wild’ and more formal gardens to
wander around. Castle Ashby, a short distance to the east of Northampton, is the
ancestral home of the 7th Marquess of Northampton, and there are 35
acres of gardens set within a 10,000-acre estate, including an arboretum, an
orangery and the Italian Gardens. The
gardens are open year-round, except for days when there are extreme weather
conditions.
Map of Northamptonshire.
Map of Northamptonshire.
