Southampton’s unknown pride: Author and Historian, Dr Cheryl Butler lifts the lid on why not more is known about Jane Austen’s time in Southampton.  

“Southampton’s notoriety as a tourist destination didn’t start with the cruise ships or with neighbouring Paulton’s Park, but rather hundreds of years ago. In the mid-1700s and into the 1800s, Southampton was a premier watering place and spa town, one that rivalled that of Scarborough or even Bath. The wealthy and the well-connected would spend their leisure time in the town, and this is what brought Jane Austen to Southampton on the eve of her 18th birthday. Although from a gentry family, the Austens were neither part of high society nor the incredibly wealthy, but the vicar’s daughter had an affinity for Southampton, that, for many years, has been overlooked until now.  

“As the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth looms, it feels right to share more about her time here, in a town she visited and lived in.  

“There’s not much known generally about Austen’s time in Southampton, indeed it’s completely overshadowed by her time in Bath and Chawton, yet she visited and stayed in Southampton three times over the course of her life and there is good reason to believe she preferred this city to Bath.  

“Most people in the city know that Austen danced at the Dolphin Hotel in the city’s Old Town, there are other plaques baring information near the water’s edge, and it’s fairly well known that she liked the ruins of Netley Abbey. But what people don’t know is that Jane lived in Castle Square, and was the town’s champion when it came to convincing her family that moving to the town was in their best interests.  

“But before all of that came Jane’s first visit to Southampton which happened when she went away to be educated, along with her sister Cassandra, at Mrs Crawley’s boarding school, first to Oxford and then moving to Southampton. The party lodged on the High Street.  

“Austen later used this childhood experience in her sadly unfinished novel Sanditon when the character Miss Lambe moves with her school to that resort. Austen’s visit was cut short, as Southampton was also a military base, and at the time of the visit, there was an outbreak of the often deadly endemic typhus. Jane and Cassandra caught the highly infectious disease, which meant their mother came to take them back home. 

“But that wasn’t to be Austen’s last visit. On the eve of her 18th birthday, Jane returned to the town, staying with relatives. The Butler Harrisons were wealthy and part of the town elite, and had connections to the many East India Company families living in the town.  

“Jane’s third visit happened when her sailor brother, Francis, known to the family as Frank, moved to the town in 1806. Jane’s father had died and she along with her mother and sister were struggling financially.  Frank, a newly married naval officer, also found himself on half-pay following on from the success of Trafalgar and Britain no longer being at war. The logical move was to pull together all of the family money and rent a property together. This was to be in Castle Square; The square was dominated by the gothic castle of their landlord, the Marquis of Lansdowne. The Austens managed to rent a large property and found themselves living close by to several rich plantation owners. Castle Square still stands today next to a section of the city’s medieval walls – not far from Westquay Esplanade and Bargate – although the houses have gone.  

“I have been in touch with a number of descendants of families that knew Jane, and I’m working on something quite special, that will also feature next year. With the anniversary of Jane’s birth being celebrated in 2025, it’s a great time to delve back into history and find out more about the author’s fantastic connections to the city. A good place to start is the upcoming exhibition at God’s House Tower where fiction fans can go and see Jane Austen’s travelling writing desk.”  

For more information about the Jane Austen exhibition visit: godshousetower.co.uk 

The exhibition at God’s House Tower will run from 15th of November 2024 until February 2025, it will mark the start of a dedicated programme of events and activities that will run throughout 2025.