initial House Viewings
The Austens viewed several properties in Bath during the spring of 1801. Below are some of the options they considered and the reasons they were rejected.
I found this 'Map of Bath' useful in my research, which I purchased from No. 1 Royal Crescent.
axford's buildings
This was an extension of the Paragon and close to where Mrs Austen's brother, James Leigh-Perrot, lived.
The Austens stayed with him and his wife at No.1 Paragon Buildings on their arrival in Bath.
It was a respectable neighbourhood, but quite a distance out of town and up a hill. As Mr Austen walked with a stick, and Mrs Austen had many health complaints, this is likely to be the reason for their lack of interest.
They may also have been reluctant to live there because it was too close to the Leigh-Perrots. They were much wealthier than the Austens and held frequent card parties for friends of a similar social status. Jane Austen did not enjoy these parties and her parents' lack of affluence would have been hard to disguise.
chapel row
This house stood on the corner of Chapel Row and Princes Street, overlooking Queen Square. Mrs Austen and Jane had enjoyed a happy month staying in lodgings over the road when they holidayed with Edward Austen two years previously.
When the lease came up for this property, Mrs Austen was keen but admitted she would not be convinced unless she looked inside.
The location was good but the rent would have been too high for their budget.
Trim street
Trim Street was in a central location but an unsavoury part of town. The low rent reflected this and the dark, narrow passages blocked the fresh air.
A range of businesses operated close by and the smell from slaughterhouses, stables, breweries and glue makers would have been overwhelming.
The Austens had already made up their minds before leaving Steventon that this was somewhere they wished to avoid, and so it was quickly rejected in their initial house-hunting plans.
As you will discover on the Bath Homes page, this was a decision they were forced to reconsider at a later date.
seymour street
Jane Austen and her Uncle Leigh-Perrot developed a preference for the Kingsmead area of town when they went for their daily walks.
It was some distance from the centre of town but boasted more spacious surroundings than the city centre and was close to the River Avon.
The house they viewed on Seymour Street was disappointing; the rooms were small even though the rent was high.
Today, Seymour Street has gone, but would have been in the location where Green Park Brasserie now stands.
Photo: Green Park Brasserie, formerly the location of Seymour Street.
New King Street
We do not have a precise number, but the Austens contemplated living in a house on this street. Its proximity to the attractions of town was appealing and the rent was within their reach.
After some discussion, they deemed the rooms too small for their needs.
Charles Street
Charles Street joins New King Street on the corner, and the newness of the houses and proximity to Kingsmead Fields made them a hopeful prospect.
In the end, they were also deemed too small to warrant further investigation.
green park buildings
The Austens looked seriously at two houses in Green Park Buildings and were highly tempted. The prospect was sunny and pleasant overlooking Kingsmead Fields, and the rooms were a comfortable size.
Two straight terraces (East and West) mirrored each other around the greenery and the river flowed nearby.
After further enquiries by the Leigh-Perrots (who had many contacts in the town) it was discovered that disturbing fevers were rife in the neighbourhood and the families who lived there were discontented by their situation.
In an attempt to secure the Austens as lodgers, the landlord of Green Park Buildings offered to raise the ground floors to stop the damp coming in. Unfortunately, this could never solve the issue completely and the proximity to the water would never go away, so they turned it down.
Despite this, as you will read on the Bath Homes page, the family still held an affection for these streets and returned a few years later.
Laura place
These were newly built properties when the Austens were house hunting in 1801 and Mr Austen was attracted to them. Living there promised a nice stroll into town over Pulteney Bridge and past the Abbey, which would have been a fashionable thing to do.
Unfortunately, these houses were far too expensive.
This new Bathwick development was, nevertheless, an attractive option. The family continued to investigate what was available further down Great Pulteney Street and at the end of May, 1801, an advert for a property in Sydney Place tempted them. This signalled the end of the Austens' need to view any more houses and they found their first home in the city. See Bath Homes for more details.
bath viewings EXTRacT
If you would like to read an extract from The Austens of Bath, linked to these house viewings, click here.
REFERENCES
Austen-Leigh W., Austen-Leigh R.A. and Le Faye D. (1989) Jane Austen: A Family Record. London: The British Library. pp. 115-120.
Le Faye, D. (2013) ‘1801: May 21, Thursday & May 28, Thursday’ in A Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.258.
Le Faye, D. (2011) 'Letters 29-37: Saturday 3- Monday 5 January 1801 to Thursday 21 - Friday 22 May 1801' in Jane Austen's Letters - Fourth Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.69-92.
Townsend, T. (2015) Jane Austen and Bath. Somerset: Halsgrove.
Worsley L. (2017) Jane Austen at Home. London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, pp.200-204.