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Chawton House Unveils Programme for Jane Austen’s 250th Anniversary Celebration: Literature, Landscape, and Legacy 

We are delighted to announce the first part of our year-long programme to mark the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth in 2025. Under the theme Literature, Landscape, and Legacy, the programme will feature a vibrant array of events, exhibitions, and activities that thread Jane Austen’s influence through every season.

Visitors can look forward to an Austen-inspired twist on Chawton House’s traditional programming, including spring flowers, outdoor theatre, Gothic month, and Christmas festivities. New music and family programmes will also make their debut, and we are freezing ticket prices for 2025, with adult House & Gardens day tickets at £12.50 and Annual Tickets for just £25.

January: Pride and Prejudice Month

The anniversary year begins in January with a special focus on Pride and Prejudice to mark the publication month of Jane Austen’s most famous novel on 28 January 1813. Highlights include:

Library Display: Pride and Prejudice Through the Ages (January 17 – February 1)

Visitors will have the rare opportunity to see a first edition of Austen’s beloved novel on loan to us and displayed for the first time, alongside exquisite editions from the 201 years since its publication.

Friday 17 January: Film Screening: Pride & Prejudice (1940)

An intimate screening of a classic adaptation starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier in our atmospheric library.

Sunday, January 19: Jane Austen at the Great House Tour

Launching a brand-new guided tour that highlights Jane Austen’s connection to Chawton House. Throughout the year, we will offer monthly ticketed tours, and this tour is also available as an option for group bookings.

Friday, January 24: Pride, Prejudice & Politeness: Private View

A special after-hours private in the Library will take visitors on a deep dive into the novel, via the works by and about women in the Chawton House collection, discussing Austen’s influences and the works and ideas she drew on in the making of her most famous novel.

Friday, January 31: Pride and Prejudice in the Drawing Room

An evening of cocktails, comedy, and drawing room drama, as we read favourite scenes from Pride and Prejudice taken from the earliest adaptation of Jane Austen’s novels for the stage.

Spring: Bluebells, Blossom & Bonnets | Sisters of the Pen

Our Spring programme will include Bluebells, Blossom & Bonnets, welcoming family audiences with a bonnet-inspired kids trail in the gardens for Easter, and a series of craft workshops.

May: Sisters of the Pen Exhibition

Opening on May 1, Sisters of the Pen: Austen, Influence, Legacy runs until January 4, 2026, with an accompanying programme of tours and talks, onsite and online. This exhibition celebrates the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth by bringing to life the rich tapestry of works by women – then and now – which shaped and were shaped by Jane Austen’s literary world.

The exhibition comprises three displays: ‘in the Library’, ‘in the Drawing Room’, and ‘in the Garden’.

In the Library: Includes beautiful first editions of Austen’s novels, and a homage to the circulating libraries of the time, sharing the works of women in our collection who should be read by Jane Austen fans, but are not broadly known.

In the Drawing Room: A celebration of Regency-era amateur theatricals, drawing together works by female dramatists and accounts of family theatricals. On display is our star item: a light-hearted adaptation of Samuel Richardson’s lengthy novel Sir Charles Grandison (1753), written in Jane Austen’s hand, in collaboration with her niece Anna.

In the Garden: A look at the landscape and its influence on Austen’s work, particularly Mansfield Park, complemented by a history of how the Gardens at Chawton House developed under the hands of its 19th-century women.

Summer: Theatre, Cinema, and a Regency Ball

The Summer brings outdoor performances from returning and brand new companies, a film screening, and a grand celebration:

Saturday, July 19: Sense & Sensibility: The Musical, produced by Elora Leger

Thursday, July 31: Emma by This is My Theatre

Saturday, August 9: Pride and Prejudice by This is My Theatre

Saturday, September 6: Outdoor screening of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film adaptation, marking its 20th anniversary.

August: A spectacular Summer Ball to be announced.

Stay at Chawton House

Throughout 2025, we are offering a truly immersive experience with stays available in our North Wing Apartment, bookable through AirBnB. Annexed to the House, visitors have the chance to stay overnight at Chawton House, just as Jane Austen once did, and to walk to grounds that she once enjoyed and was inspired by.

Tours of the house and grounds are available for groups; visit our website or contact hire@chawtonhouse.org for more details.