Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen

From the Pump Room to Persuasion:

Seven ways to celebrate Jane Austen at The Roman Baths and Pump Room

Celebrate the anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth with a must-see visit to the Pump Room and the Roman Baths. While the Pump Room is synonymous with the Regency author little did she know that beneath her feet lay the remains of a Roman bathing and temple complex and the hottest geothermal spring in the UK– now yours to explore.

Read on to find seven ways you can celebrate Jane Austen on your visit, including viewing an original poem penned by the author and now on display.

1. Follow in Jane’s footsteps at the Pump Room

“With more than usual eagerness did Catherine hasten to the Pump-room the next day, secure within herself of seeing Mr. Tilney there before the morning were over…” Northanger Abbey

At the social heart of the city, the Pump Room is a place Jane Austen would have been very familiar with and, not surprisingly, features in two of her novels: Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. The BBBC’s 1995 adaptation of the latter was also partly filmed here.

Today the Pump Room restaurant is one of the city’s finest dining experiences. Taste the spa water, as Jane Austen’s characters did, before enjoying morning bakery, brunch or a classic afternoon tea to the musical accompaniment of the Pump Room Trio or resident pianist.

Once refreshed, step through the Pump Room to the Roman Baths Reception Hall, originally built as a concert hall extension to the Pump Room. Here you can purchase tickets to explore the Roman site beneath your feet.

2. Indulge in a Jane Austen Afternoon Tea at the Pump Room Restaurant

3. Enjoy a Georgians to Romans Experience

4. See original poems written by Jane Austen

From 1st September, see two of Jane Austen’s handwritten poems, now in the collection of The Roman Baths Museum. On display to celebrate her 250th anniversary, it features a single side of paper with one full poem and part of another poem written by the author.

This copy of “When Strech’d on one’s bed” is the only surviving version of the poem in Austen’s hand. It is dated 27th October 1811. It is believed she was resident at Chawton, Hampshire at the time of writing, awaiting the publication of Sense and Sensibility.

Part of this original poem will be on display, along with the full poem “On the marriage of Mr Gell of East Bourn to Miss Gill”. Both poems will also be featured on the display board.

The poems can be viewed in the King’s Lounge, to the side of the Pump Room. Admission is free, via Stall Street.

5. Explore Bath’s healing past and see the King’s Bath where Georgians bathed

Although the Roman site as we see it today was largely undiscovered in Jane Austen’s time she would have been familiar with the smaller King’s Bath where people bathed.

Fed by the same thermal spring that has bubbled for thousands of years at a temperature of 46C (115F), the King’s Bath was renowned for its supposed healing properties. 18th-century visitors would have immersed themselves in the mineral-rich waters, seeking relief from various ailments: today, you can still see the bronze bathing rings and stone seats they would have used.

For those who chose not to bathe in the waters, they could always ‘taste them’ as Austen’s characters and contemporaries would have done. The Pump Room was opened in the 1700s to provide a place to drink these waters. For today’s visitors there are two fountains from which you can taste the waters: in the Pump Room, and at the end of your visit to the Roman Baths.

Explore Bath's world heritage

Other things to do in Bath

Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen

From the Pump Room to Persuasion:

Seven ways to celebrate Jane Austen at The Roman Baths and Pump Room

1. Follow in Jane’s footsteps at the Pump Room

2. Indulge in a Jane Austen Afternoon Tea at the Pump Room Restaurant

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3. Enjoy a Georgians to Romans Experience

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4. See original poems written by Jane Austen

5. Explore Bath’s healing past and see the King’s Bath where Georgians bathed

6. Win a Jane Austen-themed prize for two

7. Shop for a Jane Austen inspired gift

Explore Bath's world heritage

Explore Bath's world heritage

Other things to do in Bath

Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen

From the Pump Room to Persuasion:

Seven ways to celebrate Jane Austen at The Roman Baths and Pump Room

1. Follow in Jane’s footsteps at the Pump Room

2. Indulge in a Jane Austen Afternoon Tea at the Pump Room Restaurant

3. Enjoy a Georgians to Romans Experience

4. See original poems written by Jane Austen

5. Explore Bath’s healing past and see the King’s Bath where Georgians bathed

6. Win a Jane Austen-themed prize for two

7. Shop for a Jane Austen inspired gift

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