Fans of Jane Austen, the much-loved author of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma, are celebrating the 250th anniversary of her birth with an exciting range of events.
If you’re here on an adult or junior programme in at our main school in Southampton, or a summer junior programme in Winchester, 20 minutes away, you’ll be able to walk in the footsteps of this literary legend. Austen lived in both cities, and both are located in the county of Hampshire, known as ‘Jane Austen country’. Bath, another Austen location, is an easy train ride away.
Chawton
Jane wrote or edited all six of her novels in Chawton, an idyllic village a bus ride from Winchester. The pretty cottage where she lived with her mother and sister is now the Jane Austen’s House Museum. Her brother’s huge 16th-century manor house is also open to the public.
Before this, Jane had lived in Southampton, Bath and the village of Steventon.
Southampton
In Southampton, you can see the hotel in whose ballroom she celebrated her 18th birthday, and the site of her family home. This year there is an exhibition displaying her writing desk and another showing rare paintings, letters and personal items (in the SeaCity Museum, better known for its Titanic exhibition!) as part of the Jane Austen 250 celebrations.
Bath
Bath is a popular day trip from Lewis’s Southampton and Winchester schools. This beautiful UNESCO World Heritage city was her home for five years and still abounds with architecture from her era. There are exhibitions and events throughout the city, including at the Jane Austen Centre, and a costume-filled festival in September.
Winchester
Beautiful Winchester is Jane’s final resting place and events will take place all through the year, including formal dances, exhibitions and theatre. Jane moved to Winchester following a period of ill health and in 2025 her home will be open to the public for the first time. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral, a fittingly inspiring location for one of England’s best-loved writers.
Why not discover Jane Austen as you study English in 2025?
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Photo of Jane Austen’s House in Winchester by Peter Trimming, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14042386
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