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The Royal Crescent, now and in Regency times, must be the most fashionable address in Bath. From the preservation trust website: Built between 1767 – 1774 to the designs of the architect John Wood the Younger, the Royal Crescent is justly considered one of the finest achievements of 18th century urban architecture and represents the highest point of Palladian architecture in Bath. No.1 was the first house to be built in the Crescent and originally provided luxury accommodation for the aristocratic visitors who came to take the waters and enjoy the social season. A former distinguished resident was the Duke of York, second son of George III.
The Jane Austen Centre, in Bath, which I hope to visit when I travel to England this year. The centre is not actually in the house in which Austen resided during her time in Bath, but is a short distance away on the same street.
There’s also an audio walking tour of Bath here.
The Roman Baths drew visitors to the city of Bath with the promise of health and vitality from the waters of the only hot spring in England. They met in the elegant Pump Room and signed the register to say that they had arrived for the season. Click here for a 360° panoramic tour.
The Upper Assembly Rooms in Bath are part of the National Trust and are still at the heart of the city’s social life. Click here to see a 360° panoramic tour of the assembly rooms. You will undoubtedly see images you recognize from film adaptations of Sense and Sensbility and Persuasion.
Visit Bath is the official tourism website for the city that Jane built, and the Austen connections are numerous. I have used this site extensively to plan our trip to Bath
If you’re going to create a website that explores all things Austen, you’ll need pictures of Bath, and the best source is the Victoria Art Gallery, a free public art gallery in that city. And be sure to browse their online art gallery to illustrate that Jane Austen pastiche you’re writing.
The Fashion Museum in Bath isn’t just about Jane Austen. Coming soon is What Will She Wear: The Enduring Romance of the Wedding Dress. Or just go for it and try on a replica costume complete with corset. The Fashion Museum is housed in the Assembly Rooms, see above.
Click here to see a video of the musem.
Jane Austen’s House Museum maintains Chawton House, the home where Jane Austen did most of her mature writing during the last eight years of her life.
Click here to see a video of the musem.
Chawton House Library is a UK charity with a collection of books focusing on women’s writing in English from 1600 to 1830. This collection, set in the home and working estate of Jane Austen’s brother, provides the opportunity to study and savour the texts in their original setting.
Charlotte and Jane will eat a prodigious amount of Bath buns in My Particular Friend, and of course the original Bath bun can be found at Sally Lunn’s House. I hope to give my personal opinion soon.
We know as much of Jane Austen as we do because of her letters to her sister. By the 1800s, the postal system was much improved, especially in Bath, by postmasters Ralph Allen and John Palmer, and you can view the progress of the postal system at the Bath Postal Museum.
It’s nowhere near Bath, but if in fact it is the finest Geogian House in England it deserves inclusion here. “Fairfax House was originally the winter home of Viscount Fairfax. Its richly decorated interior was designed by York’s most distinguished eighteenth-century architect, John Carr.’
“Britain’s architectural heritage is one of the nation’s greatest assets and the Georgian period (broadly 1700-1837) gave us some of our most beautiful buildings. The Georgian Group is the national charity dedicated to preserving Georgian buildings and gardens.”
Because of the success of the 1995 BBC adaptation, Lyme Park in Cheshire is probably the best known movie representation of Pemberley, the Darcy ancestral home in Pride and Prejudice. It is now part of the National Trust so you don’t have to sneak in like Elizabeth to visit.
From the website: “The Regency Town House is a grade 1 Listed terraced home of the mid-1820s being developed as a heritage centre and museum to focus on the architecture and social history of Brighton & Hove between the 1780s and 1840s.” It appears the site may be undergoing renovations but it still seems useful, especially the related site, The Bevan Family letters.
To my knowledge, Kentchurch Court has no Jane Austen connection, but it was the stately home used for Regency House Party. It is still a private home, but you can tour it or be a paying guest and live like a member of the haut ton, enjoying the 5,000 acres filled with deer. According to the website: “The entire House may be booked for special events such as weddings, anniversaries or birthdays” — or reality television programs.
