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BIOGRAPHY Early years Harris Bigg-Wither was born on 18 May 1781 at Chilton Folliat, the second youngest of nine children, and was named after his grandmother (Jane Harris). He became his father’s heir of Manydown Park and other land holdings in 1794 at the age of thirteen, when his elder brother Lovelace Wither Bigg died 3rd March 1794 as a student at Winchester College , aged fourteen. A letter of his father's, Lovelace Bigg-Wither, to Mr. James Blackstone, dated 7 July 1799, shows great anxiety about Harris' future education, especially as he suffered from a speech defect. He was educated by a private tutor called Mr Wallington, and eventually finished his education at Worcester College , Oxford . Proposal to Jane Austen History records that on the night of Thursday 2 November 1802 when Jane and Cassandra were staying at Manydown Park, Harris proposed to Jane Austen . Jane accepted his proposal but the next morning decided to break the engagement off. That led to what must have been a sad and embarrassing confrontation ending in the Austen sisters demanding that their brother James must abandon his duties as a clergyman and escort them back to Bath . Had she not changed her mind, she would have become the wife of a good man and mistress of a fine large house and an extensive country estate. Jane would have also secured a comfortable life for her siblings. Marriage to Anne Howe Frith Less than two years after the rejection from Jane Austen, Harris married on 2 November 1804 at East Dean , Sussex . His wife was Anne Howe Frith, only daughter of Beddington Bramley Frith, of Carisbrooke , Isle Of Wight , Lieutenant-Colonel of the North Hampshire Militia, by his wife, Jane Howe, heiress of Brook House. They then went to live at Wymering Manor, Old Wymering Lane, Cosham, Hampshire. This building is now operated as a Youth Hostel and reported to be haunted. Manydown Park On his father's death in 1813 , Harris took over Manydown Park. Here he lived as his forefathers had, the life of a country squire, diligent in his magisterial work, kind to the poor and beloved by his family. Manydown Park was a mansion with one wing dating back to the Tudor times, but a modernized interior with an elegant staircase leading to a grand first-floor drawing room which had a large bay window overlooking impressive grounds. Beyond were farm lands of 1,500 acres. The Manydown Park mansion was pulled down in 1965 . Issue of Harris Bigg-Wither and Anne Howe Frith The issue of Harris Bigg-Wither and Anne Howe Frith was five sons and five daughters. The seven eldest were born at Wymering, and four of the five sons took Holy Orders, all five daughters remained unmarried:-
THE BIGG-WITHER SISTERS IN JANE AUSTEN'S LIFE Jane and Cassandra Austen were great friends with three of Harris’s elder sisters, Elizabeth, Alethea and Catherine Bigg. Jane Austen’s family home, Steventon Rectory, was situated just 2 ½ miles from Manydown Park and the Austen sisters often stayed overnight at Manydown Park if the ladies had been out together. In May 1817, Jane was persuaded by Elizabeth and Alethea Bigg-Wither to seek medical advice from Mr. Giles Lyford, a celebrated doctor in Winchester . The two sisters found lodgings for Jane and Cassandra Austen with Mrs. David at 8 College Street. There Jane died on 18 July 1817 . NOTABLE RELATIONS OF HARRIS BIGG-WITHER Harris Bigg-Wither is related to some notable person's.
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