By Sara Tavela
This May, I had the great joy of returning to England for a long-postponed trip, eager to explore new parts of the UK and to revisit some favorite places too. While there, I truly felt the presence of JASNA-NC with me, as I travelled amongst places and spaces Jane Austen lived and wrote about. Here, I’m sharing photos and memories from my trip (the Austen-y bits), organized by location. I hope you enjoy coming on this Austen Adventure with me!
Chawton
The start of my journey included one of my very favorite places: Chawton in Hampshire, where Jane Austen wrote or revised all of her published novels. There’s just something in the air in Chawton that immediately imbues my spirit with a sense of calm and joy, perhaps because of the proximity to all things Jane Austen! A cup of fortifying tea from Cassandra’s Cup, and you’re good to go for all kinds of explorations at Jane Austen’s House and at Chawton House (and a ramble through Mingledown Woods). My stay in Chawton was three days long, staying in Farthings Cottage, which is a delightfully characterful cottage that Austen relatives likely stayed in when there was an overflow of guests to be had.
Steventon
While staying in Chawton, I took a jaunt to Steventon, Jane Austen’s birthplace and where she lived the first 25 years of her life. If you’ve never been to Steventon (it was my first time), as a heads up, it is rather a blip on the map, and you will want to prepare for single-lane driving (which is made more nerve-wracking when they have public works happening that divert traffic coming from the other direction!). Once in Steventon, though, the stillness and quiet are astounding, and it lends new insight into Jane’s supposed distaste for Bath living after living so long in such a peaceful village. St. Nicholas Church, of which Jane’s father and brother served as rector in her lifetime, bears the marks of Jane’s legacy: from needlepoint cushions, a prayer corner, informational materials, and Austen-inspired cards and gifts. Down the road from the church is the rectory (built after Jane Austen’s death), and across from a lime tree is a square of posts in a field that mark the spot the rectory Jane Austen knew. Rambling around Steventon and taking in the ambience of her beloved home village was a highlight of the trip.
Bath
While staying in the Cotswolds, we took a day trip into Bath to take in the sites Jane Austen visited, knew, and wrote about. We walked a large chunk of the city, following a Jane Austen self-guided tour (Here is the map I used, and here is the audio companion to the walk). On a previous trip, I visited the Assembly Rooms and the Jane Austen Centre, so this time in Bath, I sought to walk amongst different places. From the city center at the Pump Rooms, Cathedral, and Milsom Street, I walked up the Great Pulteney Bridge to get to 4 Sydney Place (where Jane Austen lived the longest) and the Sydney Pleasure Gardens, and then to St. Swithin’s Church on Walcot Street (where Jane Austen’s parents married and where her father is buried). From there, I headed to the Royal Crescent, then along the famous gravel path above Victoria Gardens (where Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth renew their love for one another and cement their relationship), and finally to the Circus and Gay Street (where the Jane Austen Centre is and another residence Jane inhabited). It was a whirlwind of a day, but seeing so many spaces Jane walked or wrote about was a true delight.
Lacock
When driving back to the north Cotswolds, there was time to stop in Lacock, a delightful village that has been a filming location for a number of Austen adaptations and other notable films and shows. Lacock served as Meryton in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice, as well as Hartfield for the Kate Beckinsale 1996 Emma. Lacock may also look familiar to you from Harry Potter films, the final season of Downton Abbey, and Cranford. So many period dramas rent the village for filming, so I know I missed other sites. This blog post gives a rather comprehensive overview of where Lacock has been featured in Austen adaptations and the like.
Lyme Regis
The final Austen leg of my trip consisted of a day in Lyme Regis, a seaside town that Jane Austen visited and makes famous in Persuasion. While Lyme Regis today is rather more built up than Jane Austen experienced, the vestiges of the Lyme Austen enjoyed on family trips remain. In Persuasion, Austen writes, “The principal street almost hurrying into the water, the Walk to the Cobb, skirting round the pleasant little bay, which, in the season, is animated with bathing machines and company…are what the stranger’s eye will seek.” Jane had the right of it, and the Cobb truly takes center place in a visual purview of Lyme Regis. On this visit to Lyme Regis, I had the pleasure of popping in the Lyme Regis Museum that has not only a fantastic fossil collection and installation based on the work of Mary Anning but also a writer’s room with collections based around author’s inspired by Lyme Regis. In this room is a Jane Austen collection, gifted to the museum by Austen descendent Diana Shervington, which contains artifacts passed down through the Austen family. In this collection is Jane Austen’s Cockade, a red feathered accessory women wore on their hats to celebrate Nelson’s victory over the French at the Battle of the Nile. Also in the collection are Cassandra Austen’s glasses and gloves, as well as other objects from the family. Artist Annie Ward’s Jane Austen Bonnet “She Wears it Well” is made from printed pages of Persuasion with other materials. The museum is well worth a visit; it was a wonderful surprise to find a new Austen collection. Walking on the Cobb, avoiding death by NOT going on Granny’s Teeth, and taking in the beautifully sunny day was a fantastic way to cap off a fabulous trip to England.
It has been a pleasure to share some Austen highlights from my trip to England with you! If you are going on an Austen Adventure (whether one in the real world or an adventure of the imagination and intellect), we welcome the stories of your adventures and would love to share them on a future installment of Austen Adventures!