Jane Austen 250: All the ways you can celebrate the anniversary of the famed English author’s birth Jane Austen 250: All the ways you can celebrate the anniversary of the famed English author’s birth

Jane Austen may have been writing about the landed gentry of the Regency era, but her works speak to universal truths, granting them mass appeal even today.

The English author certainly left her mark on the literary, and the wider, world, giving us the ever-popular enemies-to-lover trope and spawning numerous adaptations – from the 1995 Pride and Prejudice TV series with Colin Firth and the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film with Keira Knightley to more modern interpretations like the YouTube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries in 2012, and Netflix’s Persuasion in 2022. You’ll even find Austen on the £10 note.

Now, 250 years after her birth on 16 December 1775, the places she once called home are marking the occasion with special events throughout the year. Having been born in Steventon, Austen lived across Chawton, Bath and Southampton, before spending her final weeks in Winchester – with each place observing the anniversary year in different ways.

Jane Austen fan yourself? Here’s everything going on across the UK as part of Austen 250.

See Jane Austen’s travelling writing desk

Where? God’s House Tower, Southampton

When? Until 23 February

Many budding authors will no doubt have attempted to put themselves in Austen’s shoes in a bid to help with their writing – and while you won’t be able to physically sit at it, visitors to God’s House Tower can now see the author’s travelling writing desk until 23 February. Gifted to Austen in December 1794, this will be the first time the writing desk has returned to Southampton since she lived there between 1806 and 1809. On loan from the British Library, the desk will be on display at the heritage building just around the corner from Austen’s home.

More information: visit-hampshire.co.uk.

Jane Austen and The Art of Writing

Where? Jane Austen’s House, Chawton

When? Permanent exhibition

Another one for people looking to follow in Austen’s footsteps, Jane Austen’s House, where she wrote and published all six of her novels, has opened a new permanent exhibition to mark Austen 250. Entitled Jane Austen and The Art of Writing, visitors will get an insight into the physical and mental processes Austen used when writing, as well as see some of the objects that inspired her. The exhibition also features a full set of first editions of her books.

More information: janeaustens.house.

No. 8 College Street

Where? Winchester College

When? 4 June-30 August

The house in Winchester where Austen spent the final weeks of her life will be opening to the public for the very first time this summer. Inside, Winchester College has prepared an array of artefacts so guests can learn about Austen’s connections to Winchester, and how the weeks before her death on 18 July 1817 unfolded.

More information: winchestercollege.org.

‘The Most Tiresome Place in the World’: Jane Austen & Bath

Where? No. 1 Royal Crescent, Bath

When? 5 July-2 November

While Bath is named in all of Austen’s novels, and both Persuasion and Northanger Abbey are totally or partially set there, Austen had a complicated relationship with her city. While living in Bath, the author wrote very little, mostly letters and only one manuscript, yet the scandals and shallowness of the city gave her ample inspiration for her later works. The temporary exhibition at No. 1 Royal Crescent will explore this relationship, and will run alongside a contemporary artistic response.

More information: visitbath.co.uk.

Illustrating Austen

Where? The Holburne Museum, Bath

When? 11 September-11 January, 2026

The beauty of reading comes from building characters in your mind’s eye, and while we will all have different interpretations arising from the same descriptive passages, illustrated editions of works help bring everyone’s ideas closer together. At The Holburne Museum, you’ll be able to see the different illustrations accompanying Austen’s work over the years to see how they evolved, reflecting the changing times and new audiences in doing so.

More information: holburne.org.

An Audience with Lucy Worsley on Jane Austen

Where? The Forum, Bath

When? 27 May

Acclaimed historian Lucy Worsley will be looking at the meaning of home for Austen and her contemporaries. Sharing new research, Worsley will give an insight into the passionate women who fought for her freedom and refused to settle.

More information: bathforum.co.uk.

Jane Austen 2025 Balls

Where? The Guildhall / Pump Room, Bath

When? 31 May, 28 June and 13 December

Part of the wider programme of the Jane Austen Festival, the city of Bath will host two summer balls for the first time, as well as a Yuletide birthday ball in December. The event on 31 May will be nautical-themed, with a focus on Persuasion, while the ball on 28 June will be Sanditon seaside themed.

More information: janeausten.co.uk.

Jane Austen’s Country Fair

Where? Steventon Village Hall, Steventon

When? 6 July

While the building where Austen was born no longer exists, the site will host a Regency-themed Country Fair this summer. Expect performances by the Hampshire Regency Dancers and Mayfly Morris, themed talks, and all the traditional side shows and stalls.

More information: steventonhants.org.uk.

Jane Austen Week

Where? Topping & Company, Bath

When? 23-29 June

Booksellers Topping and Co. will be hosting a week of literary events this summer to mark Austen 250. Author Gill Hornby, best known for her book Miss Austen a fictional tale about Austen’s sister Cassandra, will be presenting the new sequel The Elopement on 23 June; on the following day, associate professor and chair of MA Fashion and Textile Studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York Hilary Davidson will her expertise on Regency fashion. Wednesday 25 June will see professor John Mullan will delve into the themes that make Austen’s books timeless, and on 26 June, Senior Research Fellow Kathryn Sutherland will present her biography Jane Austen in 41 Objects. The week will finish with a guided walk through the streets of Bath led by Kirsten Elliott and Andrew Swift of Akeman Press on 29 June.

More information: toppingbooks.co.uk.

Jane Austen Festival 2025

Where? Various locations across the city of Bath

When? 12-21 September

The 24th annual Jane Austen Festival will be extra special in 2025, with additional events to mark Austen 250. The exact details are yet to be announced, but so far we know the Grand Regency Promenade, a costume parade through the city centre, will take place on 13 September, and there will be a Sense & Sensibility-themed event on 14 September. Keep your eyes peeled for updates in the coming months.

More information: janeausten.co.uk.

Pride & Prejudice film screening

Where? Bath Abbey

Where? 13 September

Grade I listing building Bath Abbey will be hosting a screening of Pride & Prejudice (2005) in September, with guests encouraged to adopt Regency dress for the occasion. While the movie itself wasn’t filmed in Bath, one of the most iconic scenes (where Mr Darcy proposes to Elizabeth in the pouring rain, IYKYK) was shot at the Temple of Apollo in Stourhead, just an hour’s drive from the city.

More information: filmbath.org.uk.