In the footsteps of Jane Austen

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.

Students at the Lewis School of English – both its main school in Southampton and its summer junior centre 20 minutes away in Winchester – will 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.

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. Visitors to Southampton 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!).

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 throughout the city, including at the Jane Austen Centre, and a costume-filled festival in September.

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? Learn more about Lewis School’s adult and junior programmes at www.lewis-school.co.uk.

Photo by Peter Trimming, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14042386