Bath Viewings Extract / Bath Viewings | Diane Jane Ball The Austens of Bath

extract from chapter 3

1801: Bath

Photo: Green Park Buildings East, Bath.

When two properties came up for lease in Green Park Buildings, Jane’s enthusiasm returned. She knew of their position already from her walks with her uncle as they were close to the riverside path, and Mr Leigh-Perrot was as keen to investigate them as Jane.

‘You will like these, Mama,’ Jane promised. ‘The terraces look over some pretty meadows and are only a few minutes from Queen Square.’ She was optimistic of a good outcome at last, and the initial viewing went well.

‘The rooms are a good size, I grant you,’ said Mrs Austen. ‘And they have a sunny aspect. They are nicely divided, too, allowing plenty of space for us all.’

As they took the slow walk back to the Paragon, Jane had already moved into Green Park Buildings in her mind. She was imagining which items of furniture she would put where and which bedroom she would claim for herself and Cassandra.

Photo: Green Park Buildings East, Bath

Author's own photo.

‘I’m worried about the damp,’ she heard her mother complain to her uncle as the pair walked on in front, and she watched her uncle nod in agreement. Jane knew it would be a hard task to persuade them, but she was sure she could win them over in the end. This was the best property they had seen in the whole time they had been in Bath and was at a price they could comfortably afford.

‘I will ask around and see what I can find out,’ Mr Leigh-Perrot promised, and he made enquiries amongst his large network of acquaintances in the city. Someone would have a relative who lived there, he was certain.

'There is much discontent in the area,’ he said a few days later, after returning from a visit to the Pump Rooms. ‘The landlord will raise the floor for you if you wish to prevent flooding, but I fear the damp will still seep in regardless. I’ve been warned by more than one informant that coughs and fevers are rife along the row.’

Author's own photo.

This was enough for Mrs Austen to lose interest, and Jane became despondent anew; every good point they had seen for themselves was pushed aside because of hearsay and gossip. Mrs Austen’s stubbornness was getting worse, and Jane could not wait for her father to arrive and make her mother see sense.