Jane Austen Anniversary Service

To mark the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, Winchester Cathedral is holding a special service featuring beautiful music, readings and prayers in October.

The actors Joanna David, Susannah Harker, and Adrian Lukis – remembered for their roles in the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice – will give a dramatic reading of excerpts from this much-loved novel. The eminent cultural historian Professor Michael Wheeler will explore Jane’s legacy for us today. We will sing new words by the hymn writer Rosalind Brown, to a tune which Jane herself would have known. The service will be enriched by two specially commissioned anthems, settings of Jane’s own prayer, as well as by Benjamin Britten’s joyful setting of Psalm 100.

The service will be followed by the unveiling of a new Jane Austen statue in the Cathedral's Inner Close.

Worship at Winchester Cathedral is always free, but this event is ticketed. Doors will open at 1:15pm and all attendees must be seated by 1:45pm for the start of the service at 2:00pm.

Find out more and book your place here.