48 moments

1. Birth at Steventon

   1775-12-16 · Steventon, Hampshire, England

   

   Austen was born at Steventon, the Hampshire rectory village that was her childhood home and the setting for her earliest writing and family theatricals. Settlement coordinate; the Steventon rectory no longer survives.

2. Education in Oxford

   1783-01-01 · Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

   

   Austen was sent with her sister Cassandra to Oxford for education under Ann Cawley before the girls later moved with Cawley to Southampton. Year precision is supported; the particular school site is not specified.

3. Illness while schooling in Southampton

   1783-01-01 · Southampton, Hampshire, England

   

   Later in 1783, Ann Cawley took Austen and Cassandra to Southampton, where both girls became ill and were sent home in the autumn. Year precision is supported; the lodging is not identified.

4. Boarding school at Reading Abbey

   1785-01-01 · Reading Abbey Girls' School, Reading, Berkshire, England

   

   Austen attended the Abbey School at Reading with Cassandra during her brief period of formal boarding-school education. Representative coordinate for the historic Reading Abbey school area.

5. Kent and London family journey

   1788-01-01 · London, England

   

   Austen traveled with her parents and Cassandra on a summer visit to Kent and London, an early documented journey beyond Hampshire. London representative coordinate; the itinerary also included Kent.

6. Visit to Ibthorpe House

   1792-10-01 · Ibthorpe House, Ibthorpe, Hampshire, England

   

   Jane and Cassandra Austen visited the Lloyd family at Ibthorpe House near Hurstbourne Tarrant. Coordinate is a representative point for Ibthorpe House locality.

7. Visit to Southampton cousins

   1793-12-01 · Southampton, Hampshire, England

   

   Austen and Cassandra visited their Butler-Harrison cousins in Southampton. Settlement coordinate; the cousins' house is not specified.

8. Midsummer visit to Adlestrop

   1794-01-01 · Adlestrop, Gloucestershire, England

   

   Austen and Cassandra visited the Leigh family at Adlestrop in Gloucestershire. The source gives the seasonal date only.

9. Visit to Rowling House

   1794-08-01 · Rowling House, Kent, England

   

   Austen and Cassandra visited Edward and Elizabeth Austen at their Kent residence, Rowling House. Month is explicitly uncertain; coordinate is representative for the historic Rowling estate locality.

10. Tom Lefroy's visit at Ashe

    1795-12-01 · Ashe Rectory, Ashe, Hampshire, England

    

    During the Christmas season Austen was at Ashe rectory, where her recorded flirtation with Tom Lefroy took place. The event spans December 1795 to January 1796; this card is dated to its beginning.

11. Visit to Harpsden

    1796-04-01 · Harpsden, Oxfordshire, England

    

    Austen and Cassandra visited the Cooper family at Harpsden in Oxfordshire. Village coordinate; the Coopers' house is not specified.

12. Journey through London to Rowling

    1796-08-01 · London, England

    

    Edward and Francis Austen took Jane Austen to Rowling by way of London; she returned to Steventon in late September or early October. The source directly records London as part of the route but does not identify a London address.

13. Visit to Rowling

    1796-08-01 · Rowling House, Kent, England

    

    Austen traveled with Edward and Francis Austen to Rowling, Edward Austen's Kent residence. Coordinate is representative for the historic Rowling estate locality.

14. Visit to Bath

    1797-11-01 · Bath, Somerset, England

    

    Austen traveled with her mother and Cassandra to visit the Leigh-Perrots in Bath, before the family later made Bath its principal residence. Settlement coordinate; the Leigh-Perrots' address is not specified.

15. Godmersham family visit

    1798-08-01 · Godmersham Park, Godmersham, Kent, England

    

    Austen visited Godmersham, her brother Edward's Kent estate, a recurring family destination and an important source of domestic experience for her fiction. Coordinate represents Godmersham Park.

16. Late-summer visit to Great Bookham

    1799-01-01 · Great Bookham, Surrey, England

    

    Austen joined a late-summer circuit of family visits that included the Cooke family at Great Bookham in Surrey. The source gives only a seasonal date and describes a multi-stop family circuit.

17. Arrival in Bath with Edward and Elizabeth

    1799-05-01 · Bath, Somerset, England

    

    Austen arrived in Bath with her mother and Edward and Elizabeth Austen during a documented family visit. The source provides a date range; this card uses the supported starting month.

18. Visit to Oakley Hall

    1800-10-01 · Oakley Hall, Oakley, Hampshire, England

    

    Austen visited her friends the Bramstons at Oakley Hall near Steventon Rectory. Coordinate is representative for Oakley Hall's locality.

19. Extended visit to Ibthorpe

    1800-11-01 · Ibthorpe House, Ibthorpe, Hampshire, England

    

    Austen visited the Lloyds at Ibthorpe from the end of November into mid-December. The visit extended into December; card date records the supported beginning month.

20. Move from Steventon to Bath

    1801-05-01 · Bath, Somerset, England

    

    Austen left her childhood home at Steventon when the Austen family settled in Bath, beginning an unsettled period of frequent travel and rented residences. The family's initial Bath address is not stated in this timeline entry.

21. Visit to Godmersham

    1802-09-03 · Godmersham Park, Godmersham, Kent, England

    

    Charles Austen took Jane and Cassandra from Steventon to Godmersham on 3 September 1802. Coordinate represents Godmersham Park.

22. Marriage proposal at Manydown

    1802-12-02 · Manydown Park, Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, England

    

    While visiting the Bigg family at Manydown, Austen received and initially accepted Harris Bigg-Wither's marriage proposal, which she withdrew the next day. The prior entry records that Jane and Cassandra were visiting the Biggs family at Manydown; coordinate is representative for the former Manydown estate.

23. Visit to Lyme Regis

    1803-11-01 · Lyme Regis, Dorset, England

    

    Austen was with her family on a November visit to Lyme Regis, a coastal town later echoed in Persuasion. Settlement coordinate; lodging is not specified.

24. Return to Bath

    1804-10-25 · 3 Green Park Buildings East, Bath, Somerset, England

    

    The Austens returned to Bath and moved into 3 Green Park Buildings East, where Austen continued work during her Bath years. Coordinate is a representative point for Green Park Buildings East.

25. Visit to Godmersham via Steventon

    1805-06-01 · Godmersham Park, Godmersham, Kent, England

    

    Austen, her mother, and Cassandra traveled to Godmersham by way of Steventon, taking her niece Anna with them. Coordinate represents Godmersham Park.

26. Autumn stay in Worthing

    1805-09-01 · Worthing, West Sussex, England

    

    Jane and Cassandra Austen traveled to Worthing for an extended autumn stay after George Austen's death. The source gives a date range; card date records the supported starting month.

27. Stay at Hamstall Ridware

    1806-08-01 · Hamstall Ridware, Staffordshire, England

    

    Austen and her mother and sister visited the Cooper family at Hamstall Ridware from mid-August into mid-October. The source gives a date range; card date records the supported starting month.

28. Journey to Stoneleigh Abbey

    1806-08-05 · Stoneleigh Abbey, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England

    

    Austen traveled from Adlestrop to Stoneleigh Abbey with her family and Thomas and Elizabeth Leigh. Coordinate represents Stoneleigh Abbey.

29. Move to Southampton lodgings

    1806-10-01 · Southampton, Hampshire, England

    

    The Austen family took lodgings with Francis Austen and Mary in Southampton, beginning the family's Southampton residence. Settlement coordinate; the first Southampton lodging address is not given.

30. Castle Square residence

    1807-03-01 · Castle Square, Southampton, Hampshire, England

    

    The Austen family moved into a house in Castle Square, Southampton, where Jane lived until the move to Chawton in 1809. Coordinate is a representative point for Castle Square.

31. Stay at Kintbury

    1808-01-01 · Kintbury, Berkshire, England

    

    Jane and Cassandra stayed at Kintbury with the Fowle family during a winter and early-spring circuit that also included Steventon and Manydown. The source gives a three-place date range; exact dates at each stop are not specified.

32. Journey to Godmersham

    1808-06-14 · Godmersham Park, Godmersham, Kent, England

    

    Austen traveled to Godmersham with James and Mary Austen and returned to Southampton on 8 July. Coordinate represents Godmersham Park.

33. Move to Chawton Cottage

    1809-07-07 · Chawton Cottage, Chawton, Hampshire, England

    

    Austen moved with her family and Martha Lloyd into Chawton Cottage, her permanent home for most of the rest of her life and the place where she published her major novels. Coordinate represents Jane Austen's House, the surviving Chawton Cottage.

34. Stay with Henry in London

    1811-03-01 · London, England

    

    Austen stayed with her brother Henry in London while correcting proofs of Sense and Sensibility. The specific London address is not identified in this source.

35. Visit to Steventon

    1811-11-01 · Steventon, Hampshire, England

    

    Austen visited her brother James at Steventon after the publication of Sense and Sensibility. Settlement coordinate; James Austen's rectory address is not separately identified.

36. Visit to Steventon

    1812-06-01 · Steventon, Hampshire, England

    Austen visited Steventon with her mother for more than two weeks in June 1812. The source gives a date range; card date records the supported starting day.

37. London visit to Eliza de Feuillide

    1813-04-22 · London, England

    

    Austen went to London to attend her dying sister-in-law and cousin Eliza de Feuillide, who died three days later. The source does not identify Eliza de Feuillide's London address.

38. Return to Chawton

    1813-05-01 · Chawton Cottage, Chawton, Hampshire, England

    

    Austen returned to Chawton after her April London visit to Eliza de Feuillide. Coordinate represents Chawton Cottage.

39. Last visit to Godmersham

    1813-09-01 · Godmersham Park, Godmersham, Kent, England

    

    Austen traveled with Edward Austen via London to Godmersham for what the timeline identifies as her final visit there. Coordinate represents Godmersham Park; exact travel dates are not specified.

40. Return to Chawton via London

    1813-11-13 · Chawton Cottage, Chawton, Hampshire, England

    

    Edward Austen took Jane Austen back to Chawton by way of London after her final Godmersham visit. Coordinate represents Chawton Cottage.

41. Visit to Great Bookham

    1814-01-01 · Great Bookham, Surrey, England

    

    Austen visited the Cooke family at Great Bookham during midsummer 1814. The source supplies a seasonal rather than calendar date.

42. London stay with Henry

    1814-03-01 · London, England

    

    Henry Austen took Jane Austen to London during the period in which she was writing Emma. The London address is not specified.

43. Christmas stay in Winchester

    1814-12-25 · Winchester, Hampshire, England

    

    Austen and Cassandra stayed in Winchester with Mrs. Heathcote and Miss Bigg on Christmas Day. Settlement coordinate; the hosts' house is not identified.

44. Nursing Henry in London

    1815-10-04 · London, England

    

    Austen moved to London to nurse Henry Austen, then returned to Chawton in December. The specific London address is not specified.

45. Visit to the Prince Regent's Library

    1815-11-13 · Carlton House, London, England

    

    Austen visited the Prince Regent's library at Carlton House, where she received the invitation that led to Emma's dedication to the Prince Regent. Carlton House was demolished; coordinate represents its historic site near Pall Mall.

46. Trip to Cheltenham

    1816-05-22 · Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England

    

    Austen and Cassandra traveled to Cheltenham via Steventon during Austen's final year of declining health. Settlement coordinate; the lodging is not specified.

47. Final move to Winchester for treatment

    1817-05-24 · Winchester, Hampshire, England

    

    Cassandra took Austen to Winchester for medical treatment as her illness became terminal. Austen's final lodging was at 8 College Street; settlement coordinate used because the timeline entry gives only Winchester.

48. Death in Winchester

    1817-07-18 · 8 College Street, Winchester, Hampshire, England

    

    Austen died in Winchester at age forty-one after moving there for medical treatment. Coordinate represents 8 College Street, identified in the same biography as the house where Austen lived her last days and died.