London Group : Events

The London Group of the Jane Austen Society meets on several Saturdays at St Columba's Church Hall, Pont Street, SW1. These meetings, of which one is free to members of the Group, feature either speakers or speaker-led discussions, sometimes with visual presentations. Tea and biscuits are included. Afternoon meetings start at 2.30pm, and full-day, three-speaker, meetings start at 10.30am with coffee. Members pay £5 for each of the talks/discussions they attend, non-members pay £8. In addition, there is a Group outing in summer and a Birthday Lunch on a Saturday early in December.

The Group has a stall at the main Jane Austen Society's AGM held each July at Chawton. On behalf of the Jane Austen Society the Group also looks after the grave of Eliza de Feuillide, Jane Austen's cousin, wife to her brother Henry and supposedly model for Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park. The grave is in the churchyard of Hampstead Parish Church. To find it, turn immediately left inside the gates on a little path along the wall, to a large horse-chestnut tree. The slab is on the right.

Membership of the London Group is around 130 and is not confined to residents of London districts. New members are always welcome. The annual subscription is £8 and runs from 1 April. This includes two Newsletters a year in spring and autumn. If you would like to join the London Group, please complete and return the application form via the 'How to Join' link in the left-hand column. Membership of the Group does not confer membership of the main/national Jane Austen Society, but it does give entitlement to a reduced subscription to it.

While priority at all events is given to members and their guests, non-members, including those from the national Jane Austen Society, are warmly welcomed and charged as guests.

Points of Contact:

Membership/Events

Anthony Finney, Oak Cottage, 17 Greenhurst Lane, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0LD. Telephone : 01883 717723.
E-mail : anthony.finney@ntlworld.com.

Newsletter

Maureen Stiller, 9 Nicola Close, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 6NA.
E-mail : london@jasoc.org.uk.

Other enquiries

Katharine Chasey Turton. Telephone : 020 7281 5074.
E-mail : london@jasoc.org.uk.

Events 2012

Saturday 24 March

AGM and Speakers

All-day event starting at 10.30am with coffee followed by the AGM.

11.00am

Vera Quin and Margaret Chittick's 2011 JASNA presentation on surprises in Sense and Sensibility

12.00

Interactive session on marriages in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

  1.00pm

Lunch (own arrangements).

  2.30pm

Fred Davies, Open University tutor, on how film versions fit in with the development of English film-making.

  3.00pm

Professor L Kaplan : 'Three or four families in an urban village'.

The first morning session is FREE to members. Afternoon sessions are £5 each for members. Morning lecture and afternoon sessions are £8 for non-members (reduction for non-members joining on the day). Price includes coffee, biscuits, afternoon tea and cake. Please complete London Booking Form.

Thursday 24 May

Summer Outing to Chatham Dockyard and Squerryes

  9.00am

Depart Embankment Tube Station. Coach to Chatham for Dockyard visit.

  1.30pm

Lunch at Dockyard (own arrangements).

  2.30pm

Coach to Squerryes, Westerham, Kent for a guided tour of the house and visit to the grounds.

  6.30pm

Arrive Embankment Tube Station.

Cost: £35 to include transport, entry to Dockyard, entry and guided tour of Squerryes.

Please complete London Booking Form NO LATER than 15 April.

Thursday 14 June

Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, Notre Dame University, London SW1

Arrangements are in hand for a short evening gathering at Notre Dame University (just off Trafalgar Square), with a mildly academic talk and drinks and nibbles.
Please register interest and we will send you further details as soon as possible.

The Jane Austen London Group can take no responsibility whatsoever for any personal loss or injury incurred on or during any of their events.