Jane Austen was born in Steventon, Hampshire and spent a lot of her live in the English county therefore there are a collection of brilliant spots connected to the famous novelist here.
We’ve compiled a useful list of some of them based on some of our previous visits.
👉 For those planning a longer visit, Hampshire provides some fantastic accommodation choices that come highly recommended
Steventon
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Steventon – Jane was born on the 16th December 1775 in the village of Steventon in North Hampshire where her father was the vicar of the small 12th-century church.
Steventon Rectory is where Jane spent the first 25 years of her life.
Unfortunately, the Rectory was razed shortly after Jane’s passing, but Steventon still proudly celebrates being part of her life with its iconic village sign, and a transformed telephone box celebrating the author.
👉 For those planning a longer visit, Steventon and surrounding areas provides some fantastic accommodation choices that come highly recommended
Nearby Oakley Hall Hotel
A family friendly stay at Oakley Hall Hotel in the Hampshire countryside near Basingstoke 
Oakley Hall Hotel is a luxury manor house hotel in the Hampshire countryside. With the nearby village of Steventon, the birthplace of famed novelist Jane Austen, oak hall has history which dates back to 1795 and links to her too.
We pulled up along the long driveway to the main hotel building and it was surrounded by green countryside and fields, kids excited to explore in the back! It’s a family friendly hotel as well as a dog friendly hotel too which is sometimes rare for luxury hotels. We could see there was going to be plenty of space to run around and enjoy, it’s for 315 acres of beautiful grounds, woodland and gardens.
After a swift check in at the reception with friendly staff, we headed to our family room which was of a great big size to relax in. Running over to the window, it also overlooked the grounds and a lovely running fountain too. Other highlights in the room included a very spacious bathroom, complete with rubber duckie ready for the bath, as well as speakers which play the music from the tv as you sit in your bath. All the other standard amenities in the room including fridge, coffee and tea corner, tv, storage space etc, the bed was massive and very comfy indeed.
They have 50 bedrooms, so along with the large grounds, it makes it a popular country wedding venue in Hampshire too. Oh, they are also dog friendly for their weddings too!
For our dinner and breakfast we headed to the hotels’ two AA Rosette Glasshouse Restaurant which has a focus on seasonal dishes highlighting locally sourced & home-grown produce, some of which come from their very own kitchen garden. Again, with the dog friendly aspect of the hotel, they had a separate area for guests with their pups which was well thought out. They had a kids menu and the staff were very attentive and patient with the children which is always appreciated for parents. The food was well presented and all dishes were delicious, cost wise’ it’s more on the fine dining side we would say. On the drinks menu, they serve up a very local and famous spirit, Bombay Sapphire Gin which has it’s distillery just ten minute drive away in Laverstoke where you can visit for a distillery tour or just pop into their gift shop or café and it’s located right on the river test, a stunning spot.
Breakfast was a big highlight, particularly the crispy hash browns, they had a self serve continental bar with all sorts including smoothies, and then you ordered a hot dish too. The bounding large hares outside on the lawn as we ate breakfast was an entertaining aspect too. Another bonus of a hotel in the quiet countryside.
Finally time to explore the outdoors to burn off that brekkie, the weather wasn’t that great with some light rain, so the colour hunter wellies available for guests to borrow at reception were most welcome. These small and simple touches always go down well for those with young ones as these sort of things can turn into a little fun game and finding a fave colour or those that fit and don’t.
Charging outside, the nice fountain first, then eyes on a large tree which hosted a swing to fly into the air on, including adults of course. The grounds featured a very interesting area of woodland areas with some pretty unique spots, including an area which had hedges resembling different creatures or animals frozen in time, a bit like the white witches garden in Narnia.
Overlooking an adjoined farmers field we spotted a herd of deer, before heading to the walled kitchen garden which dates back to 1860. As we were visiting at the end of winter, there wasn’t much in season, but we could see when it is the kitchen team and ultimaytely guests must love it as they use the seasonal vegetables and fruit in the menus, such as apples, peaches, figs, berries and plums.
Whether you are looking for a local getaway, a base whilst exploring more of Hampshire, a family or dog friendly break or even a wedding venue, than Oakley Hall Hotel makes a rather good fit.
Chawton
Chawton is where Jane once lived, a charming Hampshire village with pretty thatched cottages, you can visit two brilliant places linked to Jane, the house where she once lived which is now a wonderful museum and her brother Edwards House ‘Chawton House’ with its large grounds and woodlands you can explore.
Jane Austen’s House Museum
This is the famous writer’s 17th-century house (informally known as Chawton Cottage) in which novelist Jane Austen spent the last eight years of her life.
Explore the house and learn about the life of Jane, her family and lots of historical facts about the era she lived in. Kids are given a family trail activity to fill in as they move from room to room which they always enjoy, and you can even play some traditional garden games in the green space surrounding the house which was full of sweet flowers.
Psst! For a complete post on Jane Austen’s Chawton, head this way…
Chawton House
Chawton House is an Elizabethan Manor House that once belonged to Jane Austen’s brother, Edward. It’s just a few minutes walk from Jane Austen’s House in the lovely village of Chawton which has a lovely tea room, pub, and a great playground for the kids worth stopping by. Dogs are also welcome on the grounds!
From 1809 until 1817 Jane lived in the beautiful village of Chawton near Alton where Jane’s brother owned Chawton House.
Visit Hampshire
👉 Need a longer stay? The areas around Chawton House have got some amazing, highly-rated options to choose from.
Basingstoke
Jane Austen spent a good amount of time in Basingstoke, and attended social events at the Assembly Rooms in Market Place and regularly visited family friends at The Vyne, Oakley Hall and Ashe House.
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of her death, a statue of the novelist was designed and installed at the top of town, in front of the Willis Museum which is worth a visit too.
👉 Basingstoke also offers outstanding places to stay, ideal for longer-term visits.
Southampton
Jane Austen regularly visited Southampton and spent time walking along the medieval walls of Southampton and taking excurions to the surrounding area like the river itchen as well as Netley Abbey which is a 13th century church ruins.
One of our top reccomendations to learn about the history of Southampton and Jane and her visits of course, is to take a tour with ‘Seesouthampton‘. A group of knowledgable and friendly tour guides who for a small fee can take you on a group tour around historic old town Southampton, meeting at the iconic Bargate monument to start the tour.
👉 Looking for a place to stay a little longer? Netley Abbey and surrounding areas has you covered with its exceptional accommodation options!
Alton
Not far from Chawton is Alton, which hosts an annual 10 day festival in June called ‘The Jane Austen Regency week’ so if you are a big fan than do time your visit with this as there is a whole host of events with everything from a regency ball with guests dressing up in period costume to a street festival and more.
You can also take a marvellous stroll around Alton with lots of historical buildings on show both in the high street and areas near the church.
👉 Alton offers highly-rated accommodation options for longer stays, too!
Winchester
In 1817 Jane became ill and moved to a house in College Street, Winchester with her sister to be closer to her doctor. Sadly after a couple of weeks at the age of 41, she passed away on the 18th July 1817. A few days later she was laid to rest in Winchester Cathedral.
Visit Hampshire
Today you can visit her grave inside the Cathedral with many well wishers and fans of Jane leaving their letters of thanks which you can read.
Her house is located at 8 College Street. The building looks rather ordinary, but look out for the blue plaque above the door, you would probably miss it! It’s now a private residence, so there is no visitor access but you can view it from the street outside as well as popping into PG Wells bookshop, one of Britains oldest book shops first opened in 1789, a few doors down which will most likely draw you in anyway with it’s photogenic front. Kingsgate village which is the area around the house has lots of lovely independents and feels like you have stepped back in time, which is also why many movies and TV shows have used the area as a shooting location over the years.
👉 Winchester boasts top-rated accommodations perfect for extended stays!
