A Jane Austen Lover’s Guide To London

Few birthdays in history have been celebrated quite as extravagantly as Jane Austen’s 250th – especially when you consider she’s been dead for over 200 of them. While many of the anniversary celebrations are already well underway, the day itself doesn’t kick off until 16 December. But how to honour Austen in style? Though most Austenites pay homage to the Great British novelist through pilgrimages to her Chawton home and Winchester Cathedral headstone, there are many other routes through which to remember her literary legacy. 

Whether you’re more of a Colin Firth pond dive at Lyme Park fan or a Matthew Macfadyen marble bust in the halls of Chatsworth gal, there are plenty of iconic filming locations to explore. And though Jenny (as she was known by her close friends and family) much preferred her quiet village life and sojourns to the seaside to the busyness of Bath and London, she was known to occasionally venture further afield. If you’re looking for a weekend getaway to the ton, here’s your ultimate guide to exploring Jane Austen’s London.

How To Celebrate Jane Austen 250th Anniversary In Style

What To See

Austen first visited London with her brothers in 1796, reportedly sleeping at an inn on Cork Street in Mayfair. However, when Jane’s older – and favourite – brother Henry and his wife Eliza moved from the then rural Brompton to 64 Sloane Street, Austen returned to London to visit their home in 1811 and 1813 which you can still see the facade of today. Her favourite London spot of them all, however, was the site of Henry and Eliza’s second London home in Covent Garden. Having visited them at 10 Henrietta Street in both the summer of 1813 and March 1814, the spot is now commemorated in her name with a green plaque. 

Following the death of Eliza in 1813, Henry moved to 23 Hans Place where Austen stayed during her 1814-15 London visits. While preparing Emma for publication in 1815, she journeyed back to the city only to have her stay prolonged by her brother’s illness. Nursing him back to health, the trip would prove to be her last to London as she passed away in Hampshire 19 months later in 1817, aged just 41. 

During these adventures in town, one of Austen’s favourite spots was the original Twining’s Tea Shop on The Strand which you can still visit today. The oldest of its kind in London, Austen recorded in her diary that she had asked her mother and sister Cassandra to pick up some Twining’s tea to bring back home (followed in 1814 with a complaint that the price of tea had grown too high – oh how times haven’t changed). 

Other locations she’s known to have visited include the Prince Regent (later King George IV)’s library at Carlton House. Invited by the royal librarian James Stainer Clarke, it is he who suggested that Austen – much against her own wishes – dedicate Emma to the prince. Though the house itself was demolished the following decade, Carlton House Terrace was erected in its place. Another spot she’s known to have visited is 50 Albemarle Street – John Murray’s publishing house where Emma and the second edition of Mansfield Park were printed. 

Austen’s love for London was also written into the pages of nearly all her novels. It is in the lobby of Theatre Royal Drury Lane (a supposed favourite spot of Austen’s), for example, that Sense & Sensibility‘s John Willoughby learns of Marianne’s illness from Sir John Middleton, who himself has London lodgings at Conduit Street in Mayfair. Alternatively, you can stroll through Kensington Gardens where Elinor Dashwood’s walk is interrupted by Anne Steele, with gossip about her sister (and Elinor’s romantic rival) Lucy Steele.

Other Austen characters with London postcodes (to name a few) include Fanny Price (of Mansfield Park)’s cousin Maria Bertram who moved to Marylebone’s Wimpole Street with her husband James Rushworth; Bingley’s sister Mrs Louisa Hurst who lives in Grosvenor Street in Mayfair; and Berkeley Street in Mayfair where Elinor and Marianne stay with Mrs Jennings in Sense & Sensibility. Meanwhile, Emma’s sister and brother-in-law (Isabella and John Knightley) reside in Brunswick Square, which Isabella proclaims to be ‘very superior to most others!’. Emma fans should also be sure to visit the former site of Astley’s Amphitheatre, where Robert Martin and Harriet Smith’s reconciled. 

However, not all of Austen’s London locations have quite as happy connotations. Gracechurch Street where Elizabeth Bennet’s aunt and uncle (Mrs and Mrs Gardiner) live is erroneously dismissed as being located in the then aptly named Cheapside by Caroline Bingley, adding their less than desirable postcode to her list of reasons as to why her brother Bingley should not stoop so low as to marry Jane Bennett – a detail he gallantly ignores. Another spot for Pride & Prejudice enthusiasts is St Clement Danes: Mr Wickham’s parish where he and Lydia Bennet were discovered by Darcy, and the site of the church where they were eventually forced to elope. 

Once you’re done retracing the streets where Austen and her characters once strolled, head to the National Portrait Gallery to catch a glimpse of the famous Jane Austen portrait sketched by her sister Cassandra, before making a stop at The British Library to find Austen’s mahogany portable writing desk where she penned the first drafts of Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. Finally, end your tour of the ton by paying homage to the literary icon with a visit to her plaque at the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey. 

Stay & Eat

If you want the perfect spot to explore Jane Austen’s London this Christmas, check into One Aldwych – London’s first 5-star B-Corp hotel. Enter through the ribboned entryway, designed by resident florist Mark Siredzuk, to discover the decked halls within. Open novels, orange garlands, pinecones, flowers and foliage adorn the near-ceiling-height tree, while paper garlands crafted from torn-up books and Regency ribbons wrap around the surrounding balconies. 

On Saturday mornings, continue the Austen celebrations with a themed walking tour by historian and broadcaster Dr Matthew Green as he brings the local environs to life through stories of Austen, De Quincey, Dryden, Pope, Johnson and other literary stars who once frequented Covent Garden. In the evening, head to to the Lobby Bar to sample The Gin Austen (featuring dandelion and burdock with cinnamon and coriander-infused gin alongside apricot brandy and champagne), a Dark and Darcy (whisky, gingerbread, black walnut bitters and mulled wine) or a Pear-Suasion (a sweet cognac cocktail with Mozart white chocolate and pear spiced shrub served in a Martini teacup glass), before popping over to Austen’s beloved Theatre Royal Drury Lane for a show or having a relaxing soak in the spa.

On Sundays, enjoy One Aldwych’s brand new brunch option in its Indigo restaurant– a three-course extravaganza complete with antipasti; help yourself dessert; champagne; and choices spanning everything from fluffy pancakes, steak and triple-cooked chips, and roast with all the trimmings (we promise you’ll never notice it’s nearly all gluten and dairy free). The highlight? On select Sundays high society portraitist Charles Burn will be on hand to cut your silhouette in front of you while you sip, joining the cut-outs of Austen and her characters which adorn the tree. Don’t be scared if you’re a fellow side-profile hater; I enjoyed mine enough to prop it up for display back at home.

You can spend Christmas day itself at One Aldwych with a two-night stay and Christmas lunch at its Indigo restaurant, plus festive cocktails in the Lobby Bar; milk, cookie and carrots for Father Christmas; champagne and canapes in The Library on Christmas morning; plus a daily full English. Or, go all-out Austen with the hotel’s Covent Garden Christmas, spanning from 14 November to 27 December, including an overnight stay, Dr Matthew Green’s walking tour every Saturday, English breakfast, mulled wine and mince pies in The Library. 

Christmas stays start from £975 per night and Covent Garden stays from £760 based on two guests sharing a Superior Bedroom. Find out more at onealdwych.com