EMMA Thompson, who wrote the screenplay and starred in the 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, has come out in support of an urgent appeal to keep Jane Austen’s ‘Great House’ open.

The Elizabethan manor house, now known as Chawton House Library, is in jeopardy following a sudden cessation of annual funding by the Founding Patron’s trust, the Bosack Kruger Foundation, which contributed up to 65 per cent of the organisation’s annual income.

Speaking about the appeal, the actress said: “As someone who has engaged in great detail with Jane Austen’s work, particularly Sense and Sensibility, I understand how special Jane Austen is, and will continue to be, for readers and writers around the world. That’s why securing and enhancing her ‘Great House’ is so important – not only because it’s an important part of her heritage but also because it places her in the context of a whole community of early women writers.”

The charity, which has developed a world-renowned reputation in academic circles as a research centre, now plans to redevelop the site to make it more financially viable as a visitor destination. The team are actively investigating new ways to improve the visitor facilities such as the café, shop and exhibition spaces to attract and accommodate a much wider visitor audience. They are appealing for £150,000 over the next 18 months to keep them going while they work on major funding bids to organisations like the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England.

The quintessentially English manor house was owned by Jane Austen’s brother, Edward, and is a short walk from the cottage – now Jane Austen’s House Museum – where he offered a home to his mother and sisters. Austen was a regular visitor, referring to dining and ‘dawdling away an hour very comfortably’ at the ‘Great House’ in her letters. With an idyllic estate maintained in the English landscape style, spanning 275 acres, the property is well placed to host visitors from around the world wishing to explore the village which was home to Jane Austen during the final, productive years of her life.

The library’s collection includes Austen family heirlooms as well as some 10,000 volumes of early women’s writing, which range from novels, poetry and drama to travel journals, history, medicine and political debate.

Many of the authors were famous in their time but have since been forgotten outside of academic circles. With contemporary schoolgirls as young as six believing that genius is a male trait, the library’s team is keen to emphasise that raising awareness of this under appreciated legacy is important.

This September, as the Jane Austen £10 notes entered circulation, the Chief Cashier of the Bank of England, Victoria Cleland, visited Chawton House Library to present them with a special Jane Austen £10 note featuring the number ‘1809’ the year that Jane Austen moved to Chawton, which will remain in the library’s permanent collection. She also presented them with a signed print of the original artwork, which the charity will be auctioning as part of its fundraising campaign. Despite this, and other innovative fundraising efforts, including getting different regions of the Jane Austen Society of North America to bid for the chance to fly their state flag over the ‘Great House’ for the day – an initiative that has raised over £12,000 so far – supporters of the campaign are keen to point out there is still a long way to go. Emma Thompson, who received an Oscar for her screenplay adaptation of Austen’s Sense and Sensibility says, “The ‘Great House’ has the makings of a major cultural visitor destination but it needs our support to reach its full potential.”

The charity’s latest fundraising push is its new #BrickbyBrick campaign, where supporters donate £25 to ‘buy a brick’ and contribute to saving the ‘Great House’ one brick at a time. Participants receive a certificate and progress will be marked by a virtual ‘brick wall’ on the charity’s website. To donate, visit janesgreathouse.org.