THE ‘Sitting With Jane’ BookBenches, which for the past 10 weeks have transformed the area’s streets and parks into an accessible art gallery that celebrates Jane Austen’s life in the area, are now being removed.

While the majority of the 24 benches have been in Basingstoke, with a handful in Winchester and one on Crown Hill in Alton, and anther outside Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, they will all be on display at Milestones Museum in Basingstoke over the weekend of September 9-10, prior to being sold at auction when 75 per cent of the money raised will go to the Ark Cancer Centre Charity, leaving a lasting legacy that will help and support cancer patients and their families as the Ark is raising £5m toward a unique local NHS cancer treatment centre.

Merv Rees, Ark Cancer Centre Charity trustee, said: “Sitting With Jane has attracted a great deal of attention locally, nationally and internationally, and now the charity auction is set to provide a grand and fitting final chapter to this wonderful event.

“Hopefully, each of the BookBenches will raise several thousand pounds, which will make a significant difference to Ark’s campaign to help fund the new cancer treatment centre.

“If a business wants to support Ark, leave a lasting legacy, and own a unique piece of Jane Austen 200 history, then buying a BookBench is a great way to achieve all of these goals.”

‘Sitting With Jane’ visitors to Milestones over the weekend of September 9-10 can take advantage of free child entry with a paying adult.

It will be chance for anyone who missed out on any of the BookBenches to see them and to complete the app, by entering the number codes, and find all the BookBenches among the exhibits at the museum.

After the farewell event, the BookBenches will be removed ready for the charity auction on Friday, September 15, which will take place at The Ark Conference Centre in Basingstoke. Tickets, priced £10, are still available from the Ark Cancer Centre Charity and ticket holders will be able to visit the farewell event at a special free auction preview from 3.30pm-4.45pm on Friday, September 8.

The auction will be streamed live but to make an online or telephone bid, or to bid at the auction, potential bidders must register before the event. This can be done at arkcancercharity.org.uk/fundraising/sitting-jane.

* The Wild in Art project Sitting With Jane has been delivered by not-for-profit company Destination Basingstoke, and has been entirely funded through sponsorship, including headline sponsor Festival Place.

It is said to have brought thousands of visitors to the area, with 16,000 visits to the BookBenches being recorded through the event app.