A HOUSEBUILDING firm has donated £500 for repairs to a historic home.

Jane Austen's House Museum in Chawton were the lucky recipients of the donation from McCarthy and Stone - who gave the cash to help repair a bowed wall of the iconic building's courtyard.

The money will also go towards restoring the oven in the bakehouse.

It comes just months after the housebuilders named its new development on Lower Turk Street in Alton Austen Place, as a tribute to the author.

The donation is part of a year-long series of events and fundraising to mark the 200th year of the author’s death.

Museum curator Mary Guyatt said: “We’re incredibly grateful to McCarthy and Stone for its generous donation. We take every effort to take great care of Jane’s precious home, and we greatly appreciate the support from local businesses to help meet the costs of vital building repairs to the author’s Grade I listed former home, and to ensure that we can continue to welcome thousands of visitors each year.”

Kim Caldwell, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for McCarthy and Stone Southern, said: “It’s so important we celebrate this renowned author, in the 200th anniversary of her death, and protect this treasured local site for future generations to enjoy.

“We know our homeowners will really relish the opportunity living so close by, to come and visit the home of one of Britain’s most-loved authors and the place where she completed all her celebrated works. It’s one of the things that makes Alton such a magical and inspiring place to live, and we are honoured, having joined this fantastic community in the last year as we prepare to launch off plan sales from November; to help make sure these memories are kept alive for many more years to come. “