Jane Austen’s House in Hampshire, England. Austen spent her first 25 years in Steventon and returned in 1809 to this cottage, where she revised and worked on her six novels.Luke Shears/Supplied
Only 12 visitors at a time are allowed on guided tours through Jane Austen’s House, and about only half that number can fit into many of the rooms in this 17th-century cottage where the author spent eight productive years.
In 2025, it’s celebrating 250 years since Austen was born. In fact, there are events across the English countryside – but consider this Hampshire home and museum ground zero for hero worship.
The tours are intimate, and the guides are passionate Austen advocates. Museum director Lizzie Dunford sets the tone early.
“In terms of long-term cultural impact, Jane Austen is in the same league as Shakespeare,” she trills, rising up on her toes in enthusiasm, and leads us into the first room.
It’s cold and rainy on the day of my visit last year, and Dunford shivers noticeably when we enter the drawing room. She pulls her heavy woollen shawl closer, but “it’s not just the draft that gives me goosebumps.”
The Dining Room at Jane Austen’s House. Only 12 visitors at a time are allowed on guided tours.Luke Shears/Supplied
She says she always gets a thrill from standing in the room where Austen opened her early copy of Pride & Prejudice – perhaps her most important novel – and read it out loud to her family. Dunford points out the settee and chairs are period appropriate and makes sure we notice the original framed scrap of pale yellow wallpaper depicting nettle-leaves that would have covered the walls during Austen’s time here.
Rising up on her toes again, Dunford talks about how the vestibule we are about to walk through is likely exactly where Austen envisioned a scene in one of her novels. Led into the dining room, we come across Austen’s small, round walnut writing table in the corner by the window.
This is where it all happened, Dunford says, gesturing elegantly. She gives us a quiet moment to take in the significant artifact before taking questions. Then we move on to note Austen’s tea canister behind glass, see her topaz cross, ring and bracelet on display, with detailed notes about how these items likely inspired scenes and references in her novels. There’s even a lock of her hair, snipped after her death, as was the custom, on display.
About a five-minute walk from the cottage is Chawton House, often called the Great House, where Austen’s brother lived and she visited often.Visit Hampshire Travel/Supplied
It might all sound a bit over the top for casual readers of Austen’s work, but for devotees such as Dunford, Hampshire county is finally getting its due in this celebratory year. Move over, Bath: The spa town about two hours west that’s famous for its Roman baths and Georgian architecture is being asked to step back. For years its picked up most Austen fan traffic with its slightly cheesy museum, many themed tours and an annual Regency dress-up festival.
Dunford says Hampshire county is more relevant to Austen’s life and work.
Austen spent her first 25 years in Steventon, about a 35-minute drive north of the Jane Austen’s House museum, and returned in 1809 to this cottage where she revised and worked on her six novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. About a five-minute walk from the cottage is Chawton House, often called the Great House, where Austen’s brother lived and she visited often. It’s also open for tours and notes specific areas where she enjoyed to sit.
Austen lived in Chawton cottage until eight weeks before her death at 41, when her illness sent her to nearby Winchester to seek treatment. In Winchester, her fans can walk into P&G Wells bookshop, just three doors down from No. 8 College St., where she lived and died, and wander the book shelves where she shopped. The apartment (now owned by Winchester College) opens to visitors for the first time this summer.
Austen is buried in the north nave aisle of Winchester Cathedral. Today, her tombstone lies amongst the memorials of kings, queens and saints – but it may be the only one to gather flowers and cards, and a wicker basket fills daily with handwritten notes to the author who died July 18, 1817.
Austen is buried in the north nave aisle of Winchester Cathedral.Visit Hampshire Travel/Supplied
This year, many events celebrate the author. Here are just a few.
Jane Austen’s House museum – aside from daily tours, and showcase of a full set of Austen first-editions, the museum is running festivals all year long with events such as candlelight house tours, novel readings, scholarly talks, calligraphy and embroidery workshops, even a Regency gown making session in June – all themed to the author’s lived experience. The Sense and Sensibility Festival runs May 1-11; the Emma Festival runs July 12-20. In September, come for Persuasion & Poetry Sept. 12-21 and Jane Austen’s Birthday Celebration Week Dec. 13-21. For details: janeaustens.house
Chawton House – Austen-themed exhibits are found throughout the house, and in the summer, outdoor theatre groups perform in the garden: Sense & Sensibility (July 19), Emma (July 31) and Pride and Prejudice (Aug. 9). Visitors can also sleep over in the two-bedroom north wing apartment, booking through Airbnb. For details: chawtonhouse.org
Winchester Cathedral – pack your tailcoats and high-waisted gowns for the Regency Ball held in the nave, May 31. Also: Tea and Tours run in May and June, with scholarly talks running in the fall. A special anniversary church service will be held in October. For details on all Austen events: winchester-cathedral.org.uk
Winchester College, No. 8 College Street – the private residence where Austen spent her last days opens June through August, if you can land a ticket. For details: winchestercollege.org
Bath – The honey-coloured stone city has an Austen-vibe year round, walk the Royal Crescent, tour the Assembly Rooms (setting for balls in Northanger Abbey), sip tea on fancy china in the Pump Room, the Georgian see-and-be-seen hotspot. This year’s Jane Austen Festival runs Sept. 12-21. Three additional Regency-costume mandatory balls held in May, June and December in Bath are already sold out, and the waiting lists are full.
The Hampshire Cultural Trust is running other events, including showing Jane’s pelisse coat throughout the region (look for it at the Winchester’s City Museum, the Allen Gallery in Alton or the Willis Museum in Basingstoke during an art exhibit devoted to working women: Beyond the Bonnets runs Nov. 12 to Feb. 22, 2026). For details: hampshireculture.org.uk
