Celebrating Jane Austen 250: reflections from local organisations

December marked 250 years since the birth of Jane Austen, whose story began right here in Basingstoke and Deane. To mark the occasion, local organisations have been working together on a year long programme of Jane Austen 250 celebrations. Love Basingstoke brought these activities together online, showcasing everything from community events to exhibitions and creative collaborations.

The Steventon Jane Austen group hosted a country fair, an exhibition with Basingstoke Heritage Society and special church services. Anvil Arts welcomed audiences for an evening with historian Lucy Worsley, while the Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery opened Beyond the Bonnets: Working Women in Jane Austen’s Novels which runs until 1 March 2026. At The Vyne, Regency Revisited explored Austen’s links to the estate, complete with first editions, Regency costume and themed tours. Basingstoke Heritage Society also unveiled a new blue plaque on Church Street, marking the home of 18^th century shopkeeper John Ring whose workshop produced Jane Austen’s treasured writing desk.

Alongside these, Whitchurch Silk Mill partnered with Jane Austen’s House on Riches to Ribbons, a creative weaving project inspired by the house’s collections. The Overton Jane Austen Trails invited visitors to explore the landscapes Austen knew so well, with permanent walking and cycling routes through Overton, Steventon and the surrounding countryside.

We spoke to Whitchurch Silk Mill and Overton Jane Austen Trails to hear more about the experiences of the celebrations so far.

Which element of your Jane Austen 250 activity did you most enjoy delivering and why?

Whitchurch Silk Mill told us: “Being able to see the ribbons come to life and to see them alongside their inspiration in Jane Austen’s House was really special. Visitors thoroughly enjoyed seeing the link between the two in our Riches to Ribbons space.”

Overton Jane Austen Trails shared how rewarding it was to bring the community together: “Involving our community in a celebration of Overton’s connection with Jane Austen and researching Jane Austen's links to this area.”

Was there a moment during your activity that made you smile or caught you by surprise?

Something that really shone through over the year was the global interest in the celebrations. Jane Austen fans from near and far found their way to our borough and the organisations involved certainly noticed how strongly that connection came through both in person and online.

Whitchurch Silk Mill told us how their Riches to Ribbons collaboration sparked a real wave of social media excitement: “Since the launch of the finished ribbons in collaboration with Jane Austen’s House, the Whitchurch Silk Mill Instagram followers have doubled, and Facebook followers have grown from 4,000 to 23,000! There has also been an increase in international visitors to the Mill as a result of learning about the Jane Austen project. The project has also been featured in The Times, Selvedge, ITV Meridian, Hampshire Life and even Handwoven (a US publication) amongst others.”

For Overton Jane Austen Trails, meeting visitors from across the globe became a highlight: “The interest from around the world has been a real delight and it has made us smile to meet people from as far afield as Australia and Tokyo, enjoying the Overton Jane Austen Trails and walking in Jane’s footsteps.”

Did you receive any memorable reactions or feedback from your audiences?

Whitchurch Silk Mill had plenty of lovely comments come their way when they launched Riches to Ribbons: “…we were blown away by the reaction. We received comments online including: ‘what a wonderful collab’, ‘such a fascinating and exciting way to celebrate Jane Austen!’ and ‘So lovely!!! Jane would be proud!!’.

Overton Jane Austen Trails shared a particularly touching story about the reach of their work: “We were contacted by a lady from Japan who had heard about the trails from an online talk we did for Jane Austen Society members, and she made a special journey to visit Overton and Steventon.”

What do you hope visitors will take away from your Jane Austen 250 contribution?

As a collaborative group we wanted the celebrations to shine a light on the borough’s heritage and help people feel more connected to the places that shaped Jane Austen’s early years.

Overton Jane Austen Trails shared that they’d love visitors to come away with a stronger sense of Jane Austen’s connection to the area: “Overton was a place Jane Austen knew, and it and the neighbourhood helped to inform her writing. To explore the countryside and villages around her birthplace in Steventon where she lived for 25 years is to get closer to Jane Austen, the woman and the writer.”

For Whitchurch Silk Mill, the hope is that the celebrations leave a lasting legacy and spark curiosity about the traditional skills they keep alive: “we hope this has grown awareness of the critically endangered crafts we preserve at the mill.”

If you’d like to explore these projects further, you can find out more about the Jane Austen inspired ribbons on the Whitchurch Silk Mill website and discover the trail routes on the Overton Jane Austen Trail website. For a borough-wide overview of all the anniversary activity, visit the Jane Austen 250 page on Love Basingstoke.