JANE Austen’s House Museum ambassador Lucy Worsley paid a visit to Chawton last Wednesday to lay flowers from the garden at the site of the memorial plaque outside the front of the house.

The occasion marked the time 200 years ago when Jane Austen left her home in Chawton to depart on her final journey to Winchester where she died some weeks later.

Having been introduced by museum curator Mary Guyatt, the visiting historian, author and TV presenter paid an emotional tribute to Austen, speaking of her importance and reading the last letter she wrote from Chawton detailing her ill health and her plans to soon leave for Winchester.

The memorial plaque, which is a popular spot for visitor photographs, was originally unveiled on the centenary of Jane Austen’s death on July 18, 1917. With funding from the Jane Austen Society of North America, the plaque has recently been conserved by Plowden & Smith in time for the bicentenary commemorations.

Pavol Hudaçek, of Plowden & Smith, said: “The memorial had been displayed outside since 1917 and was substantially weather damaged. Re-patinating the corroded bronze plaque, re-gilding the worn lettering, rebuilding the missing section of the oak frame and repairing the copper roof has not only restored the appearance of the memorial for this 2017 bicentenary but will also help ensure the memorial survives for the tercentenary in another 100 years.”

Since last Friday, the memorial plaque has been the featured object in the museum’s ‘41 Objects’ exhibition, the story of Jane Austen’s life and legacy told using 41 objects from the museum.

Lucy Worsley is the author of Jane Austen At Home.