Basingstoke celebrates Jane!
250th Anniversary celebrations
December 2025 marked 250 years since the birth of Jane Austen, inspiring a year‑long programme of celebrations led by local organisations and showcased online by Love Basingstoke. Celebrations included Steventon Jane Austen Group’s country fair, exhibitions and services; an evening with historian Lucy Worsley at The Anvil; and the Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery’s major exhibition Beyond the Bonnets. The Vyne explored Austen’s connections to the estate through Regency Revisited, while Basingstoke Heritage Society unveiled a new blue plaque honouring John Ring, maker of Austen’s writing desk. Collaborations flourished too, from Whitchurch Silk Mill and Jane Austen’s House’s Riches to Ribbons weaving project to the Overton Jane Austen Trails, inviting visitors to walk and cycle through the landscapes that shaped Austen’s world.
Jane Austen Statue
The world's first sculpture of Jane Austen was unveiled, outside the Willis Museum, on Tuesday 18 July, 2017, to mark 200 years since her death. The bronze figure is a permanent tribute to the author and was created by Basingstoke sculpturer Adam Roud. It was designed to give the impression of Jane walking through Market Square, holding a pile of books.
Sitting with Jane
‘Sitting with Jane’ was a unique free public art trail during the summer of 2017, by Destination Basingstoke and partners, to celebrate Jane Austen’s connections with Basingstoke for the 200th anniversary of her death. It attracted wide media attention and showcased the importance of Basingstoke and Deane in Jane's life. The sculpture trail was formed of 24 ‘Book Benches’ around Basingstoke; all of which were uniquely designed and painted in a Jane Austen theme by professional artists. You can still find one of the benches by the Discovery Centre in Basingstoke town centre.
Steventon
Steventon gave their phone box a new coat of red paint, new windows and Jane Austen signage. Useful leaflets, maps and a book exchange have been placed inside the phone box, allowing visitors to the literary landmark to discover more about local history.
Blue plaque
Basingstoke Heritage Society has produced and funded 21 blue plaques over the last 23 years. One of the first to be created was a plaque celebrating the life of Jane Austen which was unveiled, to much publicity in 1993. It can be found on Barclays Bank, opposite the Willis Museum and recognises the site of the Assembly rooms where Jane is believed to have attended dances when she resided in Steventon.
