Our first stop in Bath was the Jane Austen Center. Be aware, this venue is not wheelchair accessible. Mother womanfully climbed three sets of stairs so we could have afternoon tea. I should mention how lucky we were with the weather. It was sunny and warmish. Just right for walking (and pushing-- remember the wheelchair lol)
This is the outside of the Jane Austen center. The woman is in fact a life size doll, the gentleman however is real. I have a couple of pictures of him, he looked just the part and had a wonderful Somerset accent.
The Center itself is devoted to Jane Austen, and we learned much about her life. I also bought some out of print books, and mother bought me a note book with characters from the novels on the cover. The center is located at number 40 Gay Street, in a Georgian house very similar to number 25 where Jane Austen lived for a few months after her father died.
They displayed games that people played at Christmas time, spillikins or pick up sticks, cup and ball, bullet pudding and snapdragon, this last consisted of putting raisins in a dish, covering them in brandy, set it light to it and then trying to grab a raisin from the flames without getting burnt. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME or anywhere else, for that matter. I suppose they were used to open flame with all those candles hanging about.
Here is my Regency gentleman again, this time inside the gift shop.
I did enjoy the museum, and took a picture inside of the models showing a couple of typical regency outfits, which I thought you might like. The green is obviously a walking dress. I like the little cape, just covering the shoulders. The other is clearly evening wear, a silk gown with a matching spencer. It could also be worn in the afternoon, to an at home.
This last picture looks down Gay Street from the top of the hill, almost at the circus. I will be telling you more about that next time, but as you can see, in Bath there be hills. And I was very glad of the brakes on that wheel chair, I can tell you.
Still, after all the good food in the tea rooms including a very rich hot chocolate, I needed the exercise.
Until next time, Happy Rambles.
This is the outside of the Jane Austen center. The woman is in fact a life size doll, the gentleman however is real. I have a couple of pictures of him, he looked just the part and had a wonderful Somerset accent. The Center itself is devoted to Jane Austen, and we learned much about her life. I also bought some out of print books, and mother bought me a note book with characters from the novels on the cover. The center is located at number 40 Gay Street, in a Georgian house very similar to number 25 where Jane Austen lived for a few months after her father died.
They displayed games that people played at Christmas time, spillikins or pick up sticks, cup and ball, bullet pudding and snapdragon, this last consisted of putting raisins in a dish, covering them in brandy, set it light to it and then trying to grab a raisin from the flames without getting burnt. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME or anywhere else, for that matter. I suppose they were used to open flame with all those candles hanging about.
Here is my Regency gentleman again, this time inside the gift shop.
I did enjoy the museum, and took a picture inside of the models showing a couple of typical regency outfits, which I thought you might like. The green is obviously a walking dress. I like the little cape, just covering the shoulders. The other is clearly evening wear, a silk gown with a matching spencer. It could also be worn in the afternoon, to an at home.This last picture looks down Gay Street from the top of the hill, almost at the circus. I will be telling you more about that next time, but as you can see, in Bath there be hills. And I was very glad of the brakes on that wheel chair, I can tell you.
Still, after all the good food in the tea rooms including a very rich hot chocolate, I needed the exercise.
Until next time, Happy Rambles.