Talk: The Georgian Dining Experience

Wednesday 18 June 2025, 2:30pm

Venue: Window Gallery, Reading Museum

This talk begins by setting the scene for the Georgian period and explains how developments in agricultural practices, increasing industrialisation and improved transport systems enabled change and brought new innovations to the Georgian’s dining experience.

Jane Austen’s books tell us so much of her own experiences at the dining table and we will touch upon some of those as we consider the experience of the Georgian dinner guest. We will glimpse into the Georgian dining room and explore some of the more extreme table etiquette of the middle and upper classes and the dinner parties they enjoyed. We finish by glimpsing behind the scenes at the kitchen and the art of cooking, recipes and the new cookery books which were becoming increasing important.

About the Speaker

Catherine Sampson has been fascinated by history since her childhood in Norfolk and is particularly interested in how people lived in the past. She is a published author and a regular speaker on family and social history topics across the county and beyond. Catherine holds a Masters in English Local History from the University of Oxford and is currently chair of both Berkshire Family History Society and Project Purley, Purley’s local history society.

(after the talk we will offer exclusive access to the Abbey Gateway building, once part of the school where Jane Austen studied in her younger years)