In the autumn of 1805, Mrs Austen, Cassandra and Jane spent several weeks here following the death of Mr Austen earlier that year. They were joined some of the time by Edward and Elizabeth Austen, their daughter Fanny, and her governess, Ann Sharpe.

Later, Martha Lloyd came to stay and became part of their permanent household, following the death of her own mother.

The party stayed in Stanford's Cottage in Warwick Street, which was convenient for the centre of the town. Today it stands in Stanford Square, and there is a blue plaque to commemorate the occasion.    

The house has an interesting history of its own,  beyond  the Austens, which you can read about in an article written by Antony Edmonds for Sussex World here.

Worthing was in the process of being developed in the early 1800s and is widely believed to be the basis for Jane Austen's fictional town of Sanditon. Antony Edmonds wrote at length for the Jane Austen Society Annual Report in 2010, detailing several compelling reasons to support this opinion. You can read his full article, 'Edward Ogle of Worthing and Jane Austen’s Sanditon' here.

Worthing was not a large resort in 1805 and there was no market, church or Assembly Rooms. It was mainly agricultural in character but growing rapidly from its former status as a fishing village. Seaweed was an unsightly and smelly problem at the time, as large amounts of it were washed ashore whenever there was a storm. 

The church that locals and visitors would have attended was St Mary's (map) 

At the time of our novel, this would have been in the neighbouring village of Broadwater, although today it is contained within the wider town. 

A tour guide to the town, printed in 1805 when the family visited, was entitled Picture of Worthing. This would have been available for them to learn about the sights and can be read today on the Hathi Trust website here.

Janet Clark provides more details about the Austens stay in the town in her article, 'Jane Austen and Worthing' for the Jane Austen Society Annual Report 2008, which you can read here.

extract

If you would like to read an extract from The Austens of Bath where events take place in Worthing, click here.