Elizabeth Weller was Jane Austen’s great-grandmother. She came from a Tonbridge family whose origins go back to the Civil War. As a child she lived at Chauntlers, a substantial house in Bordyke now divided and renamed as The Priory and The Red House. Elizabeth married John Austen in 1693 and bore seven children before he died unexpectedly eleven years later, leaving her with considerable debts. As a widow and single parent with little financial support she showed resourcefulness and strength of character in raising her large family. To achieve this she took employment as housekeeper to the bachelor headmaster of Sevenoaks School, thereby enabling her sons to be educated there free of charge. (There was no vacancy for a housekeeper at Tonbridge School as the headmaster there was married.) Elizabeth Weller died in 1721 and is buried at Tonbridge parish church, though no memorial can now be found. She is commemorated by a plaque at Sevenoaks School.
Elizabeth Weller was Jane Austen’s great-grandmother. She came from a Tonbridge family whose origins go back to the Civil War. As a child she lived at Chauntlers, a substantial house in Bordyke now divided and renamed as The Priory and The Red House. Elizabeth married John Austen in 1693 and bore seven children before he died unexpectedly eleven years later, leaving her with considerable debts. As a widow and single parent with little financial support she showed resourcefulness and strength of character in raising her large family. To achieve this she took employment as housekeeper to the bachelor headmaster of Sevenoaks School, thereby enabling her sons to be educated there free of charge. (There was no vacancy for a housekeeper at Tonbridge School as the headmaster there was married.) Elizabeth Weller died in 1721 and is buried at Tonbridge parish church, though no memorial can now be found. She is commemorated by a plaque at Sevenoaks School.
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