Places to Visit

Chawton is of course famous for the fact that this is where Jane Austen did almost all of her mature writing.

Writing would have occupied a good deal of her time, but family life too had its pulls. The Austens were generally a close and loving family and there were frequent visits from brothers and young nieces and nephews.

To these Jane and Cassandra were much loved aunts. Jane, in particular, would get involved with their games, making up stories and playing songs for them on the piano.

The beautiful Hampshire village of Chawton is just 1.5 miles away. As well as the Jane Austen House Museum, Chawton has a village pub, The Greyfriars, St Nicholas Church and is home to the Chawton House Library.

Chawton House Library is a UK registered charity with a unique collection of books focusing on women's writing in English from 1600 to 1830.

This specialist 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 and inspires passion in readers of all ages.

Guests come from around the world to visit this unique collection which includes work by Penelope Aubin, Frances Burney, Maria Edgeworth, Eliza Haywood, Hannah More, Ann Radcliffe, Mary Robinson... and Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, published in 1818.

There has been a church on the site of the current St Nicholas Church since 1270. Much of the building was destroyed fire in 1871, but many memorials were saved and are still on the walls.

The church re-opened in 1872 and the tower was added shortly afterwards. A large number of the memorials relate to the Knight family, the forbears and descendants of Jane Austen's brother.

Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy and a visit to the Historic Dockyards is a great day out for all the family.
HMS Vistory
Lord Nelson’s flag ship at the battle of Trafalgar where he defeated the French and Spanish Fleets and thus ensuring that Napoleon could not invade Britain.
HMS Warrior (1860)
The world’s first steam and sail powered iron hulled warship and last remain surviving member of Queen Victoria’s Black Battle Fleet. Explore this four deck ship and experience what it was like to be a sailor aboard a Victorian warship.
The new Mary Rose Museum
The new museum dedicated to Henry VIII’s flagship opened in May 2013. The new permanent home for the Mary Rose was built at a cost of £27 million and will reunite the ship with many of the 19000 artefacts and give the visitor an real insight into life on a Tudor warship.