Celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday with year of special events in Reading

A year of special events is planned to celebrate the links between Reading and Jane Austen.

The writer was born 250 years ago, and to mark the occasion there will be town-wide events.

They include a rare chance to explore her former school room, said to be the inspiration for Mr Goddard’s School in Emma.

When she was nine, she started 18 months of education at the school, based in the former Gateway of Reading Abbey and opposite Forbury Gardens.

In addition to the youngster, the Reading Ladies Boarding School became home to her elder sister Cassandra and cousin Jane between the summer of 1785 and December 1786.

Her mother said: “Jane was too young to make her going to school at all necessary… (but) she would go with Cassandra; if Cassandra’s head had been going to be cut off Jane would have hers cut off too.”

School fees were £37 19s (£5,000 in modern money) per half-year.

This included board, tuition, washing, materials and dancing lessons.

Jane mentions her school days only once in her letters: “I could die of laughter at it as they used to say at School”.

Within a short period of leaving Reading, the 12-year old Jane was writing seriously.

It is widely thought that when she describes Mrs Goddard’s School in Emma she is recalling her own school: “A real old-fashioned Boarding school, where a reasonable quantity of accomplishments were sold at a reasonable price, and where girls might be sent to be out of the way and scramble themselves into a little education, without any danger of coming back prodigies.”

Guided visits to her school room will be held every Saturday from April to October as part of Reading Museum’s Abbey Quarter tours. 

Group tours will be available on other days by arrangement.

These are not the only events planned across the year.

Basildon Park

There will be visits to Basildon Park, the location of a film version of Pride and Prejudice.

The National Trust venue was transformed into Netherfield, the grand home of Mr Bingley, in the 2005 film of Pride & Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.

The 18th mansion house and estate is located just outside Reading and has a special exhibition, Visions Unreel, showcasing the many films and TV series Basildon Park has played a role in, including many period dramas.

Full details at: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/basildon-park

The Mill at Sonning

The Mill at Sonning will give the world premiere of Death Comes to Pemberley, based on a PD James novel. Pemberley was home to Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

The play will be performed from Thursday, May 1, through to Saturday, June 28.

Tickets cost from £63.75 and include a two-course meal before the show. There will be matinee performances across the run.

For more details, log on to: https://millatsonning.com/shows/death-comes-to-pemberley/

Talks, tours and workshops

On Wednesdays in May and June, there will be a series of talks, tours and workshops organised by Reading Museum celebrating Jane Austen and her time in Reading.

Time for tea at The Roseate

And after the tours and the talks it has to be time for tea.

The five-star Roseate Reading Hotel, located next door to Jane Austen’s schoolroom, is organising Jane Austen Afternoon Teas, which will take inspiration from a series of Georgian-period recipes.

There will also be a special rate for guests staying at the hotel, and its sister venue in Bath.

For more details, visit: https://www.roseatehotels.com/reading/theroseate/

And there’s more…

There will also be a series of walks, talks and other events in Reading throughout 2025 – still to be confirmed.

More information at www.visit-reading.com/janeausten