For the first time in history, visitors can step inside the house where one of England’s most beloved authors, Jane Austen, spent the final weeks of her life.

The modest home on College Street in Winchester, where Austen died on 18 July 1817, has been opened to the public by Winchester College as part of worldwide celebrations marking 250 years since her birth.

This rare opportunity allows fans and literature lovers to walk the very halls where Austen penned her last letters and final poem.

Open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 4 June to 30 August, the house features displays and artefacts that offer a poignant glimpse into the final chapter of Austen’s life.

“It’s very exciting,” said Dr Richard Foster, keeper of collections at Winchester College.

“Jane Austen is an author who means so much to so many people, and I think visitors will be moved to stand in the space where she lived and died.”

Austen moved to the College Street residence with her sister Cassandra in hopes of receiving medical treatment in Winchester. Though her time there was brief, just eight weeks. Dr Foster believes the house has changed little since the early 19th century, maintaining a style and atmosphere that Austen herself would have recognised.

This quiet corner of Winchester now joins the literary map as a must-visit destination for Austen admirers, offering a touching, intimate encounter with the writer’s final days.