Statue of famous author Jane Austen to be built

This is what the finished statue will look like.

A statue of the famous author Jane Austen will be built outside Winchester Cathedral to celebrate the 250th anniversary of her birth.

Jane Austin was an 18th Century English author who wrote books like Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

Her books have sold millions of copies all around the world and have even been turned into TV shows and films.

The new statue of Jane will be made from clay, by famous sculptor Martin Jennings - who also made the statue of nurse Mary Seacole, and the new UK coins featuring King Charles III's picture.

Sculptor Martin Jennings has previously made lots of statues in the UK

Speaking about being chosen to make the statue, sculptor Martin Jennings said: "I look forward to producing a memorial to Jane Austen which will draw people from far and wide to celebrate her legacy and that of the great city and cathedral in which she rests.”

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Winchester, Sarah Greer, said: “This beautiful statue is a fitting tribute to one of England’s finest writers and Hampshire’s most beloved residents.

"It is a welcome and long overdue celebration of Austen’s contribution to English literature, reminding us poignantly of her essential humanity as well as her unparalleled talent."

The statue will be placed in front of Winchester Cathedral - where Jane Austen is buried - by September 2025.

Who was Jane Austen?

Jane Austen is a famous English writer who was born in 1775 in Steventon, in Hampshire, and had six brothers and one sister.

Jane grew up in a wealthy family, and fell in love with reading and writing from a young age, often putting on plays for the family with her older sister Cassandra.

During her lifetime Jane Austen wrote six novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.

Her first novel - Sense and Sensibility - was published in 1811, and she published it anonymously - which means she didn't put her name down as the author and kept it secret - saying it was written by 'a Lady'.

It was quite rare during this time for women to be published authors, as women did not have very many rights, they could not vote until 1918, or have control over their own money until 1870.

In her novels she regularly poked fun at how people expected women to behave at that time, and her female characters were witty and clever.

To this day many people still celebrate her work, and study it in schools and universities, and her face was even on £10 notes in the UK.

She died in 1817 in Winchester, in Hampshire, at the age of 41, and is buried at the Cathedral there.

How many statues of women are in the UK?

This statue of fossil hunter Mary Anning was unveiled in 2022

In recent years statues of women like fossil hunter Mary Anning, teacher Betty Campbell, and women's suffrage campaigner Millicent Fawcett have been unveiled in the UK.

However, a study in 2022 by the charity charity Art UK, found that of around 13,500 public sculptures in the UK, only around 17% were dedicated to women, with 77.5% dedicated to men, and 5.5% to men and women together.

They also found that just 2% of sculptures of named individuals in the UK are of people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Art UK also found that there were more statues of animals in the city of London, than there were of named women.