Many people are surprised to learn that Southampton was once an elegant and chic spa town, and that one of the city’s most famous residents during that time, was our famous novelist Jane Austen.
And with 2025 the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth in 1775, a guiding colleague, Christine, and I have put together a walking tour of Southampton, visiting the places Jane knew well, and exploring what life was like in Georgian Southampton.
With mineral springs discovered in 1740 and Frederick Prince of Wales, son of King George II, giving Southampton the royal seal of approval following a visit in 1750, visitors began to flock to Southampton – with elegant hotels and coffee shops built in the High Street, London shops opening Southampton branches, and streets and crescents of tall, gracious town houses constructed for the ever-growing population.
Some of those fashionable, elegant Georgian buildings were destroyed during the 1939-1945 Second World War, but there’s still plenty to see along with many of the landmarks so familiar to Jane.
Our two-hour walking tours start at 11am at the Westgate, Westgate Street,
SO14 2AY, with tickets £10 (accompanied children under 16 free) and take place on:
Sunday 9 March
Sunday 6 April
Sunday 4 May
Sunday 8 June
If you’ve any question, please just ask away – and we hope to see you at one of our Sunday morning walks.
Caroline Wigley 