Is Jane Austen’s House Worth Visiting? Complete Review

Let’s go for a walk in Jane Austen’s countryside around Alton, Hampshire. She lived in a nearby village and the house she once occupied is open to the public. But is Jane Austen’s House worth visiting? Let’s find out!

After hiking through the Hampshire countryside and passing by the village where she grew up on the Overton Circular walk, it is time to explore another Jane Austen location: The Jane Austen House in Chawton.

Let’s find out if the Jane Austen House is worth visiting. For that, I paid (literally) it a visit and I go into more detail in this article about what you can expect.

Things you Need to Know About Jane Austen’s House

Logistics to Go Visit Jane Austen’s House

So now we covered the basics regarding Jane Austen’s House, let’s take a closer look at how to get to Jane Austen’s House from London.

Where in England is Jane Austen’s House?

The museum house is located in Chawton, near Alton, Hampshire. It might not right a bell at first but Alton is a lovely market town and the site of two important historical events:

• The Treaty of Alton was signed between William the Conqueror and Henry I of England in 1101
• The Battle of Alton took place on 13th December 1643, when the Parliamentary forces led an attack on the Royalists quartered in Alton

Not far from Alton is the village of Chawton, which lies in the South Downs National Park. The village’s prominent landmarks are Jane Austen’s House and Chawton Manor & Library inherited by Jane Austen’s brother, Edward, in 1794. The first one is where we are going today for a complete tour of the museum.

Related Content: Best South Downs National Park Walks

How to Visit Jane Austen’s House From London?

Here is what you need to know to go visit Jane Austen’s House if you live in London.

Alton to Chawton Walk

We start the walk at Alton train station. When you come out of the station, take right and then left onto Station Road. The street comes to an end and you need to turn left onto Anstey Road. Continue straight and then the street changes name to Normandy Street and after the roundabout, becomes the High Street. At the end of the High Street take the street ahead of you called Butts Road (Yes, this is not a joke).

You pass in front of the All Saints Church, built in 1873. The Church is on the Pilgrims’ Way linking Winchester to Canterbury. A little further down, the road divides in two. Follow the street on your right called The Butts (still not a joke).

At the crossing with Whitedown Lane, continue straight on Chawton Park Road. You cannot help but be amazed by the lovely thatched house on the way.

When you arrive at the Alton Sports Centre, turn left onto the road leading to the centre’s car park at the rear of the building. Find the footpath between the two car parks leading to Mounters Lane. Stay on this path until you reach the A31. Find the foot tunnel to cross under the A31 safely. Once on the other side, take Winchester Road ahead of you. The Jane Austen House is further down this road.

For the way back to avoid going through the same way, simply follow Winchester Road until it merges with Butts Road. From there, retrace your steps to the train station.

If it does not make sense, don’t worry and grab the GPS map below for free!

Jane Austen House Walk Map

Don’t get lost on your way to Jane Austen House! Download the map below and follow my step-by-step guide here to learn how to upload the map onto your navigation app.

What to do after the Visit?

Well, if you want to see more, take right onto Winchester Road as you leave the Jane Austen House. Follow the road and you soon arrive at Chawton House & Library where Edward Austen Knight, brother of Jane Austen, lived.

Have a Lovely Jane Austen Day!

What is Jane Austen’s House?

The Jane Austen House in Chawton is where the author lived from 1809 to 1817 when due to poor health she moved to Winchester to seek medical care. It is now a museum showcasing the house as it was during Jane Austen’s time.

The house was originally built in the sixteenth century as a farmhouse. It then became a carriage house until it was acquired by Mr Knight in 1769. He was a close family friend of the Autens. He and his wife did not have children so they donated the house to Jane’s brother, Edward.

In 1809, Edward gave the house to his mother and sisters and was himself staying up the road in the magnificent Chawton House. It is in this very house that Jane Austen wrote three of her most famous books:

• Mansfield Park
• Emma
• Persuasion

Unfortunately, due to poor health, she had to leave Chawton for Winchester to get medical help. She died in Winchester two months later.

Related Content: Box Hill Walk – Complete Guide & Map

The house stayed in the Austen family until Cassandra Austen‘s death in 1845. It was then used for different purposes such as offices or even a men’s club. It is only in 1940 that a charitable local inhabitant, Dorothy Darnell, took on the mission to rehabilitate the house. With the help of a generous donator, Mr Carpenter, the house was turned into a museum and opened to the public for the first time in 1949.

Who Owns Jane Austen’s House?

Jane Austen’s house is owned and run by the Jane Austen House Charity. It continues to attract visitors each year as it is a treasure of literature and history. It is the home of an important collection of Jane’s personal belongings, from jewellery to furniture, including the table where she wrote and reviewed her books.

What can you See when Visting Jane Austen’s House?

So now we covered the basics, let’s get to the visit.

The Drawing Room

It was the first and only room the museum had when it opened to the public in 1949. In this very room, Jane would practise the piano in the morning before breakfast. The room was also used for the ladies of the house as a parlour, to play games in the evening or to receive guests.

Jane Austen In Love

Moving on to the corridor, you find two mannequins dressed in the traditional outfits of the time. The women of the house used to make all the clothes themselves. On the sign next to the mannequins, you can read about Jane’s lovers. She never married, though she had a couple of admirers, the most famous one being Tom Leffroy, who she met when she was living in Steventon.

You can learn more about their encounter on the Overton Circular walk, as the trail takes you to the house where they met during a Christmas Ball.

The Dining Room

You then move on to the Dining Room with the table set for breakfast. An interesting fact is that in the early nineteenth-century British countryside, the diner was served at 3.00 pm. The rest of the day and evening was used for conversing, playing games, reading and drinking tea.

The Lady’s Magazine

You entered a room with fashion drawings hanging on blue walls. They are extracts from old fashion magazines such as the Lady’s Magazine or the Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex. Inside these publications, you find drawings of the latest styles and the practice at the time was to recreate them at home.

The Stair Case

Just under the staircase, before you continue your visit to the next level, you find a sculpture representing Jane Austen. Created by Robert Truscott, the bronze is part of a collection of 9 pieces released to commemorate the 200 years of Jane Austen’s death. It represents Jane Austen writing at her table with a quill pen in her hand.

The Bedroom

Going up the huge wooden staircase, you arrive at Jane Austen’s bedroom. The massive white tent bed sits in the middle of the room. By the fireplace on the opposite side of the room, you find a cabinet with the toiletry tools of the time. A speaker placed on top of the fireplace reads out loud selected extracts of Jane Austen’s diary.

The Collection

The Jane House House museum is the home of an important collection of objects owned by the author. Under the glass of the display case, you can see silhouettes of the Austens’ family members as well as miniature portraits in pendants. On the top of the fireplace hangs a portrait of the author’s great great grandfather.

You can also find drawings, letters and maps.

In the same room, two women are crocheting and weaving. Take the time to discuss with them to learn more about these old activities and how they are keeping them alive at Jane Austen House.

Lingerie & Underwear

You then enter another bedroom dedicated to female underwear and lingerie of the early nineteenth century. Against the wall, you find two mannequins dressed in the female underwear attire of the area. During Jane’s lifetime, fashion moved from complex dressed with bell-shaped skirts to simple high-waisted Empire gowns. The latter is very often associated with Jane Austen’s heroines. These dresses were more flattering and comfortable to wear. With the waistline moving up under the bust, underwear also evolved with fashion and the stays were then designed to flatten the bust rather than reshape it.

Next to the fireplace, you find a window showcasing some of Jane’s pieces of jewellery.

Upstairs Corridor

In the corridor upstairs, you find a mannequin dressed in a long gown. Next to it, you can read about Jane Austen’s legacy and also learn more about her illness. It is unknown what she died of, also some theories pointed towards Addison’s disease or Hodgkin’s disease. However, none of the symptoms described in her letter to Cassandra matches either of these two diseases.

The Porch

You end the visit at the porch, with fruits, vegetables and loaves of bread on display. A mannequin is dressed up in a rural flower-printed outfit with a white apron on top.

The Garden

Before leaving Jane Austen’s House via the gift shop, take the time to roam around the garden. Back in the 1800s, Jane and the women of the house would grow vegetables and flowers in this very garden. You can sit on the benches in the corner of the courtyard or in the back garden looking at the house.

And so, this is where our visit ends.

Final thoughts On the Jane Austen House Visit

We came here to answer one question:

Is Jane Austen’s House Worth Visiting?

The answer is YES DEFINITELY!

The museum not only reproduces Jane Austen’s house as it was during her stay but is also the home of an impressive collection of rare items and manuscripts. You can acknowledge the work achieved by the Jane Austen Foundation to gather under one roof all these pieces which used to belong to the author.

This is an invaluable treasure of history and literature.

Visiting the house is pleasant and well-indicated. You find volunteers in each room always ready to share their knowledge of life in the early nineteenth-century countryside. The rooms have speakers reading out Jane Austen’s diary or novel extracts to re-create the atmosphere of the time.

The highlight of the visit is obviously the two ladies weaving and crocheting. Their passion for these long-lost forms of art is captivating. You can learn so much when speaking with them and seeing them demonstrating their skills with such ease feels like you are travelling back in time.

The downside of the museum is obviously this massive and quite unpracticable staircase. It was recreated to match the original and I feel for Jane who had to climb up and down these dangerous and uneven steps every day. If you have any mobility issues, the museum won’t be suitable for you to visit, unless you want to stick to the ground floor. Alternatively, you can attend a virtual visit from the comfort of your home. You can find more information about it on the website mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Happy Discovery!

Conclusion

What is your favourite Jane Austen book? Let me know in the comment box below.

If you are looking for more places to visit, check out the Strawberry Hill House review here,

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