Jane Austen's 250th Birthday: 8 College Street, Winchester

A few weeks ago I was very lucky to get a preview of the new Jane Austen exhibition inside 8 College Street, Winchester (one of the perks of being part of Winchester Tourist Guides Association!).

It was in the rented rooms of 8 College Street that Jane Austen spent the last weeks of her life, nursed by her beloved sister Cassandra.

Here I am in costume reading from Jane Austen's letters outside 8 College Street, Winchester

All Winchester residents have seen visitors walk along College Street and stop at number 8 to read the plaque that commemorates Jane's time in the city.

But apart from the plaque, there was little else here to remember the great author who created the masterpiece that is Pride and Prejudice, pioneered realism, and almost single-handedly invented the modern romance genre.

Jane Austen's connections to Winchester College

This year, to celebrate Jane's 250th birthday, College Street is a little bit different. For the first time, 8 College Street is open to the public. Owned and sensitively restored by Winchester College, the exhibition inside 8 College Street explores Jane's many links to the city (8 of her nephews attended Winchester College) and what her final weeks were like, confined mainly to her bed.

Jane lived nearby in the Hampshire village of Chawton, but by May 1817 her health was failing and she was advised to move to Winchester to be cared for by the eminent Dr Lyford.

Some modern doctors think she had Addison's Disease, which causes weakness, fatigue, and ultimately kidney failure. Some doctors think lymphoma was the cause of her suffering. Neither Addison's Disease or lymphoma were curable in the early 1800s and Jane Austen died in the early hours of the 18th July, 1817. She was only 41.

"She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow" Cassandra Austen writing about her sister Jane, 20th July 1817

Peeling back layers of history to reveal the original paint colour

One of my favourite parts of the exhibition was the decor, with conservators painstakingly removing layers of paint and then colour matching the earliest paint colour they found. Quotes from Jane and Cassandra's letters are displayed on the walls, which is very effective and really quite moving.

Jane Austen's last days

Jane's sister Cassandra mourning her loss

Jane's Austen's connections to Winchester College

In one of her final letters, Jane writes about the little bow window overlooking Dr Gabell's garden, and you too can look out of the bow window at the view she enjoyed. Dr Gabell was the headmaster of Winchester College at the time.

“We have a neat little drawing-room with a bow window overlooking Dr Gabell's garden” Jane describing her 8 College Street lodgings, May 27th 1817

Winchester College Treasury

I have lived in Winchester since 2018 and have long wished for a permanent memorial on College Street. Tickets for the 8 College Street opening have sold out, so I do hope Winchester College considers opening the rooms again next year as there is certainly demand.

If you haven't managed to secure tickets this year, there is a small but fascinating exhibition about Jane in the Winchester College Treasury which is free to enter.

As you leave the house, you can add your reflections to a wall covered in notes of admiration left by Winchester College students and a few select fans, including Stephen Fry.

Stephen Fry's admiration for Jane Austen's fabulous sharpness

Get in touch to book a tour of Jane Austen's Winchester.

Written by Nicola James 2025.