Clio O’Sullivan is the Communications and Public Engagement Manager at Chawton House. Alongside her work at Chawton, she studies part-time at the University of Southampton, undertaking a PhD in creative writing and the eighteenth century. Clio designed the plaques for the Jane Austen Garden Trail.

The Jane Austen Garden trail was launched at Chawton House in 2019 and is a unique walking route around the Chawton grounds, which allows visitors to follow in Jane’s footsteps. Each sign is located at an iconic spot around the gardens with a quotation from Austen’s writings.

The Jane Austen Garden trail was a campaign coordinated by NAFCH (North American Friends of Chawton House) in order to raise funds for Chawton House. Donors sponsored one of 20 possible garden spots and chose a Jane Austen quote to accompany them. We are immensely grateful for their support.

Join Clio on this tour of the sponsored plinths, which were prepared and placed around the grounds by Paul and Jeremy Knight, descendants of Edward Austen Knight.

Julia is the Gardener at Chawton House. She has been a gardener for 6 years and particularly enjoys working in historic gardens.

She says: “Chawton is a lovely garden to work in and has so much history which I’m looking forward to sharing with volunteers, visitors and local organisations to help Chawton become a bigger part of the local community.”

Chawton House Gardener, Julia Weaver, shows you how to get the best out of your potted succulents in this short tutorial, filmed on-site at Chawton House.

Pat joined Chawton House as a volunteer in February this year, enjoys spending time on her allotment and loves growing plants.

Join Chawton House garden volunteer, Pat Brough, on a tour of her allotment which she has been tending to during lockdown.

Are you grappling with your gooseberries or wrestling with your roses? Join the Chawton House garden team as they answer your queries on how to make the most of your plants and get the best out of your garden.

Gardener’s Question Time will be followed by a Twitter Q&A.

Join the Conversation: #ChawtonGardenFest

Julia is the Gardener at Chawton House. She has been a gardener for 6 years and particularly enjoys working in historic gardens.

She says: “Chawton is a lovely garden to work in and has so much history which I’m looking forward to sharing with volunteers, visitors and local organisations to help Chawton become a bigger part of the local community.”

Julia Weaver discusses an unusual plant found in the Chawton House gardens.

Claire Lewis is the in-house photographer for Chawton House. Claire has a passion for photography and a vast amount of knowledge gained from many years of experience. She has been capturing the beauty of Chawton House and its grounds since 2019 as well as running regular workshops.

Join Claire in the Chawton House gardens for a taster photography session as she provides hints and tips for getting the best images out of your digital SLR camera.

Buy notecards featuring Claire’s photography from the Chawton House shop.

Julia is the Gardener at Chawton House. She has been a gardener for 6 years and particularly enjoys working in historic gardens.

She says: “Chawton is a lovely garden to work in and has so much history which I’m looking forward to sharing with volunteers, visitors and local organisations to help Chawton become a bigger part of the local community.”

Julia Weaver discusses an unusual plant found in the Chawton House gardens.

Claire Lewis is the in-house photographer for Chawton House. Claire has a passion for photography and a vast amount of knowledge gained from many years of experience. She has been capturing the beauty of Chawton House and its grounds since 2019 as well as running regular workshops.

Claire Lewis has been capturing beautiful images of Chawton House and its grounds since 2019. She will be exhibiting her work at the house in 2020 when we re-open but, in the meantime, enjoy this taster slideshow of her images.

Buy notecards featuring Claire’s photography from the Chawton House shop.

Dr Kim Simpson is the Chawton House Postdoctoral Fellow, and also lectures in eighteenth-century literature at the University of Southampton.

Stephen Bending

Professor Stephen Bending lectures on eighteenth-century literature at the University of Southampton, and has written broadly on gardens, including Green Retreats: Women, Gardens and Eighteenth-Century Culture (2013), and an edited collection, A Cultural History of Gardens in the Age of Enlightenment (2015). He is currently working on a new book: Pleasure Gardens and the Problems of Pleasure in Britain, France and North America, 1650-1830.

Buy Green Retreats

Bex Partridge, the founder of Botanical Tales, is a nature-loving creative who works with dried flowers throughout her practice. Bex has always loved the seasons and the benefits that nature has on our wellbeing, both of which are at the heart of her creations.

Her new book, published in May 2020, Everlastings, is a celebration of the life of flowers, showcasing the ethereal beauty of dried flowers. The main section of the book features over 20 projects to try at home, all accompanied with beautiful photography.

In this video Bex Partridge will discuss her new book Everlastings, and the beauty of creating displays with dried flowers.

Buy the book

Bex’s talk was followed by a Zoom Q&A.

Kim Wilson is the award-winning author of three books, At Home with Jane Austen, Tea with Jane Austen, and In the Garden with Jane Austen. A popular speaker, Kim travels the country giving entertaining and inspiring lectures on a variety of topics, including tea, gardening, historic cooking, and Jane Austen.

In our headlining event, Kim discusses how gardens appear in Jane Austen’s novels, and how her characters react to gardens and nature.

Kim’s talk was followed by a Zoom Q&A.

Claire Thurlow is a writer and writing coach who is passionate about helping people who have an urge to write. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Sussex and is an experienced workshop facilitator, editor and published author.

Whether wandering in a country garden or tending a few cacti on a windowsill, living with plants is good for us! How can writers engage all the senses and increase their feeling of wellbeing?

Join Claire in this interactive writing workshop, a taster of the sessions she usually runs at Chawton House.