So where did it come from? I can't remember. I do remember that I went to the 1995 JASNA AGM in Madison. I was a member then, but for how long I don't remember. I loved it even though the subject was as Mansfield Park, my least favorite of the novels.
Among the people there was Sandy Lerner and I found out about her project at Chawton House, hoping to save it and create a library for the study of early English women authors. She is a co-founder is Cisco Systems and upon leaving the company, acquired a large fortune. Part of it she has spent on Chawton House, doing a beautiful restoration project. The interior of the house is beautiful, including the kitchen. Many paintings of women writers are on the walls.
Shire horses graze in the pastures and the gardens are gradually being returned to their productive best, as they were int eh late 18th centuries.
Chawton HOuse was basically Turdor but added to over generations until it was quite a mish-mash of styles. It still is, but at least the roof is sound and the paneling is restored. 
Nearby, just on the edge of the estate is the cottage owned by Jane Austen's brother who was later to change his surname to Austen-Knight. He inherited two large estates from his adoptive parents, relatives of his mother. In 1809, Jane Austen, her mother and sister Cassandra moved here and she did most of her revision and writing here.
The cottage is good-sized but very modest. At one time, it was an inn. It had extensive outbuildingds amd a garden in which many vegetables were grown, now mostly flowers. though modest, it was comfortable and Jane loved it.