The Abbey celebrated Jane Austen’s 250th Anniversary on December 16 and honoured the discovery of our school’s latest connection to the novelist.

Our librarian, Miss Wenman, uncovered this year that she is a descendant of Jane Austen’s ancestor. We were delighted for her, and what makes this even more special for us here at The Abbey, is that it strengthens our connections with Jane Austen even further.

Our school took its name in honour of Jane Austen, to keep the memory alive of the old house in Abbey Gateway, which was honoured to have the writer as one of its pupils. The Abbey proudly continues the tradition of all girls education in Reading, that stretches back to Reading Ladies Boarding School and Jane’s experience there.

We felt that we simply had to celebrate Joanne’s discovery and the 250th Anniversary of one of the greatest women writers – so we invited fellow enthusiasts and descendants to a glorious coffee morning in the Hardcastle Hall.

Miss Wenman’s 11th great-grandfather is Thomas Austen, also an ancestor of Jane Austen, which Miss Wenman explains, “That makes me sixth cousin six times removed from Jane Austen.”

Miss Wenman was intrigued to meet other relatives of Jane and delighted that over 15 other distant family members joined us, all enjoying sharing their connection.

We also welcomed local MP Matt Rodda, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire Lucy Zeal and Deputy Mayor of Reading Cllr Paul Gittings who shared their pride at Jane’s connections to the area.

Matt Rodda had our guests laughing as he said that, “I would like to celebrate Jane Austen’s Reading with great Pride – and without any prejudice!”

There was such a wonderful sense of local pride, heightened by our guests from the University of Reading, Reading Museum, Reading’s Museum of Rural Life, Reading Civic Society and more.

We enjoyed a short presentation from historian Joy Pibworth, who delved into Jane’s life and family connections to Reading and surrounding areas including Harpsden and Sonning. A huge Austen fan, fascinated by the historical background to her novels, Joy has delivered a wonderful range of talks for Reading Museum this year to mark the 250th Anniversary.

It was a delight to hear our poets laureate read out poems that they had written especially to mark the event. Ellanya’s Her Ink, Our Freedom, and Beatrice’s The world that she wrote captivated our guests and drew a huge round of applause.

We wanted to leave a legacy of this special event by commissioning a portrait of Jane Austen, painted by our artist in residence Mia Rosten. The portrait was revealed at the coffee morning and will be proudly hung in our aptly named ‘Jane Austen Wing.’

There was an infectious sense of occasion as guests mingled, chatting about a shared passion and connections over coffee and cake. We must say a huge thank you to our amazing catering team who produced a cream tea of dreams, including delicious triple chocolate fudge brownies, lemon meringue tartlets and spiced carrot & cardamom cake.

The joy of Miss Wenman’s story of discovery captured wider attention, including from the BBC. BBC Radio Berkshire broadcast live from The Abbey from 1000-1400, chatting to our guests and sharing the magical atmosphere. It was amazing to have their show broadcasting live from the Hardcastle Hall throughout the event. BBC South Today’s presenter, David Allard, also came along to film and it was so exciting to see the coffee morning on BBC1 at 18.30.

However, that wasn’t all. BBC 1’s Morning Live show had been to the school in advance to film a special feature all about Miss Wenman and her story. TV historian, Ruth Goodman, came to interview her and it was broadcast on BBC1 on the 16 December. Again, it was brilliant to see Miss Wenman on the TV, along with so many parts of the school from the library to the Chapel!

Miss Wenman says, “It’s been an amazing experience to have everybody here with connections to Jane Austen – and on her 250th Anniversary, that’s what makes it so gratifying.”

It was truly a morning to remember. A celebration of Miss Wenman’s discovery and our school’s proud links to Jane Austen. It was a 250th Anniversary celebration that united our community and brought people together through their appreciation of a novelist whose impact is profound and legacy clearly lives on.