Christmas at The Jane Austen Centre

Christmas arrived early at The Jane Austen Centre Bath this year, with a visit from Dame Emma Thompson, star and screenwriter of the 1995 Sense and Sensibility adaptation.

The team were delighted to meet her, particularly when she returned the next day with cakes for the staff; in the words of Jane Austen herself “You know how interesting the purchase of a sponge-cake is to me”. Emma Thompson’s letters to the Centre, alongside exclusive behind the scenes pictures from Sense and Sensibility (1995) and a signed copy of her script will be added to the permanent displays in The Jane Austen Centre from December 2021. 

Image - Dame Emma Thompson with the team at The Jane Austen Centre, Bath

Dame Emma Thompson’s visit marked just the beginning of December Festive celebrations at The Jane Austen Centre. The beautiful Georgian building and home to the Jane Austen Centre, 40 Gay Street, is full of holly, ivy, berries and other subtle decorations to mark the season. Did you know that Christmas looked very different in Regency England? Without a Christmas Tree in sight, you would find Jane Austen and her contemporaries at festive balls rather than the local pub. Based in a house just like one Jane lived in on Gay Street, you too can feel the same festive magic that she did (with a Christmas tree added for the 21st Century visitors!)…  

Of course, Christmas is not the only important date to celebrate in December. Born on 16th December 1775, Jane Austen is no stranger to having her Birthday and Christmas presents rolled in to one. Celebrate her life and join The Jane Austen Centre’s very own Mr Knightley (straight from the pages of Jane’s fourth novel Emma) on a festive walk on Saturday 18th December at 2:30pm. You will explore iconic Bath locations and the exact places where events from Northanger Abbey and Persuasion took place. If you weren’t feeling festive enough already, end your tour by heading back to the Jane Austen Centre and pick up a festive mulled wine and mince pie included in your ticket.

You can enjoy a sample of this very special Regency blend of mulled wine from The Jane Austen Centre Gift Shop for free throughout December, while you browse the Jane Austen themed gifts, including festive jumpers, books, and beautiful felt decorations of her best loved characters – and the author herself!

Visit The Jane Austen Centre at 40 Gay Street, Bath BA1 2NT.

Tickets for the Jane Austen Centre and Festive Walk can be found on their website www.janeausten.co.uk