We agree wholeheartedly with Elizabeth Proudman’s excellent letter in the Chronicle on December 7. 

Firstly we do not wish to have her statue, or indeed any statue, in the Close. 

After the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Market has died down should we not try to return to some semblance of the peace and quiet of the monastic life that it once had? 

There is plenty to remember her by already; her wonderful gravestone, the memorial window above it and the plaque in College Street, much frequented by tourists, where she died. 

We would agree that the present maquette is a great improvement on the previous one but it still bears no resemblance to Jane Austen. She would never have gone out without a bonnet for a start. 

There has been a great deal written about her over the years and we doubt if anybody has indicated that she would have gone striding purposefully off into the blue, as depicted by the maquette. 

Another point raised by Elizabeth Proudman, an acknowledged expert on Jane, is the question of cost. 

Surely there are far better ways of spending the money involved? What about solar panels on the cathedral roof for instance. An excellent step to save the planet. 

Julian and Guinevere Harvey,
Danes Road, 
Hyde,
Winchester

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