Celebrate the holiday season and Jane Austen's birthday with an enchanting evening at Chawton House.

“This is quite the season indeed for friendly meetings. At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather.” Jane Austen, Emma

As Christmas draws closer, step into the warmth of our historic home, beautifully dressed for Christmas with handmade decorations. Enjoy having the House to yourself as you explore, and then from 6pm, enjoy fragrant mulled wine and freshly-baked mince pies in front of the roaring fire in the Great Hall, before a private view of some of our collections greatest treasures.

On 16 December, we celebrate Jane Austen's 249th birthday, but also the publication of three of her novels – Emma (23 December 1815), Northanger Abbey and Persuasion (20 December 1817). Our Curatorial team will transport you through time on this guided viewing, exploring Jane Austen’s connection to Chawton House and Godmersham Park through items from the Knight Family Collection. As part of this exclusive viewing, you will explore the very pages that Jane Austen once touched, with new acquisitions, loans, and works rarely on display. Immerse yourself in the world that inspired Austen’s writing. Our manuscript adaptation of Sir Charles Grandison, written in Austen’s hand, tells the story of amateur theatricals enjoyed with family. It will be on display alongside the copy of Emma that became the most expensive of the author’s works ever sold in 2022: a special presentation copy sent to her friend Anne Sharp, who was governess to her brother Edward Knight’s children at Godmersham Park.

Join us for this unforgettable evening of festive cheer, rare books and manuscripts, and the timeless magic of Jane Austen and Chawton House – the perfect pre-Christmas treat for literature lovers.

Tickets: £30

Includes House entry from 5.30pm, mulled wine and mince pies from 6pm, and a private view in the Library, 6.30-7.30pm.