Bath Postal Museum

In Pride and Prejudice, turning points of the book come through letters either posted or hand-delivered; the two most important being Darcy’s explanation for his actions and behaviour and Lydia’s elopement with Wickham. Estimates say that Jane Austen wrote around 3000 letters in her lifetime and a major understanding of her life has been derived from her letters to her sister Cassandra.
Bath played a vital role in the development of Britain’s fine postal system. This was a city of many firsts, the most important of which was the posting of the first stamp, also called a Penny Black, from here in 1840. This museum was founded in 1979 in the basement of Audrey and Harold Swindells’ house and in 1985, it moved to Broad Street. This was the site of Bath’s main post office from 1822 to 1854. Today, however, the museum is at a much smaller premise given rising rents.

There are many artefacts and exhibits on display that are worthy of your attention but the most interesting ones for a Jane Austen fan are the quills and ink wells. As you stand there looking at these writing devices in stark contrast to our world of computers and ‘backspace’, you cannot help but wonder how challenging it must have been to write an entire novel with such equipment. Jane Austen is believed to have told her sister in a letter in 1813, “I must get a softer pen. This is harder. I am in agonies… I am going to write nothing but short sentences. There shall be two full stops in every line.” You can also try writing with a quill pen like Jane Austen, though pre-booking is essential.