Jane Austen Tour of Gore Place Mansion in Waltham
Gore Place, Between Richgrain and Lawndale (52 Gore Street Waltham, MA 02453)
- Full Price:
- $10.00 - $14.00
- Our Price:
- $5.00 - $7.00*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for Jane Austen Tour have expired.
The last date listed for Jane Austen Tour was Tuesday February 14, 2012 / 7:30pm.
Currently at Gore Place:
See the Gore Place in a New Light on Historic Full Moon Tour
- Full Price:
- $14.00
- Our Price:
- $7.00
By the light of the full moon, a tour guide dressed in period costume leads a monthly Full Moon Tour of the beautiful Governor Gore mansion. The tour, which includes views of the 1806 mansion, provides fascinating historic insight into life and practices of the era. Please see the event description for more details on these themed events, which cover subjects like the daily working lives of early Americans and how everyday activities were conducted before the advent of electricity. Learn More
Goldstar Member Tips
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Goldstar Member on Where to Park
Plenty of parking--get advance directions--off rt 20 in Waltham
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Goldstar Member on What to Wear
Casual clothes
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Goldstar Member on Where to Eat
Not part of this
21 Goldstar Member Reviews
Kelly Levy
The tour was great, very informative. In case you are wondering what Jane Austen has to do with it, well she doesn't have anything to do with it but a lot of quotes from "Sense & Sensibility" are spoken in the tour.Written on Mar 31 2008
They use Jane Austen sometimes because some of her works use the mansion as a setting. Jane Austen was before the mansion's time so it really has nothing to do with it but I can see where they make the link.
Don't worry about the tour being too crowded, they usually have 2 groups of 15 per tour anymore and not all people would be able to fit into the upstairs rooms.
I liked that the Director of this project was in fact a tour guide and that everyone except the person who takes your money for tickets is dressed in period clothing!
The grounds are beautiful, I would suggest going there to tour on a really nice day, we didn't tour the outside grounds because it was too cold.
I was amazed that this type of place existed in Waltham, it was like being in Newport for an afternoon just on this property.
For all history goers and people who like to tour this is really interesting and fun, my husband and I really enjoyed it and we are in our late 20's, so it is for all ages. I would not recommend that young kids go to this, they would not have the patience.
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Judy Horn
This was a very enjoyable tour. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I've passed by the Gore mansion hundreds of times but never visited it before. The Jane Austen aspect was charming but had no connection to the mansion. They were quotes of comments on English homes contemporary to the Gore mansion. I was mainly taken with the gorgeous wallpapers--exact reproductions of the originals. It was still very chilly when we were there and I was glad I had my coat on! The stair climbing was not difficult but there is no handicap access.Written on Mar 31 2008
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Carol Rourke
The Jane Austen tour was a great tie-in to Gore Place. I had never been there before, but I will definitely go back! While we were waiting for the tour, we noticed people coming in to rent snowshoes to go wandering on the property-who knew?!Written on Feb 26 2008
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Goldstar Member
I thought it was very ineresting and I thought the guide was terrific. Unfortunately, it was a very hot day outside, and therefore even hotter inside the mansion where the air just hung very heavily. Felt as if we were in a sauna, and that really detracted from the overall enjoyment. I suppose a spring or fall visit would work best in an old home with no air conditioning!!Written on Jul 22 2008
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More Information About Jane Austen Tour
Website
http://www.goreplace.org/austen-tours.htm
Description
Born in 1775, Jane Austen (Emma, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility) lived her entire life in England until her death in1817. Christopher and Rebecca Gore lived in England from 1796 to 1804. The grand mansion they built in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1806 features both French and English influence in the design and greatly resembles the manor houses described in Austen's novels.
During these special tours, a guide in period costume will use the famous author's own words to describe the decor of the mansion and the gracious lifestyle of the Gores.
The mansion at Gore Place was built in 1806 and served as a summer home for Christopher and Rebecca Gore where the Gores entertained such notable dignitaries as Daniel Webster and James Monroe.
Today the house and grounds are owned and operated by the Gore Place Society, a nonprofit members organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Gore Place.
Christopher Gore's political career began in 1788 when he was elected to represent Boston at the Philadelphia convention to ratify the new United States Constitution. A year later George Washington appointed Gore the first United States Attorney for Massachusetts. President Washington again appointed Gore to a diplomatic position in 1796. The Gores traveled to England and remained there for eight years while Christopher served on the Jay Commission that negotiated mercantile claims for American ships seized or destroyed during the war with Britain. Gore also spent two months as chargé d'affaires in London after his good friend Rufus King resigned from his post and before James Monroe, the new ambassador, arrived. The suit Christopher Gore wore when formally presented to the king and queen is on display at Gore Place.
Today the house is furnished with fine art and antiques of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Christopher and Rebecca Gore had no children, so after Mrs. Gore's death, in accordance with her husband's will, the house and all its contents were sold at auction. A few of their possessions survived in the hands of nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbors and have been returned to Gore Place. After 1834 Gore Place became home to several other families. In 1921 it passed out of private hands when the Waltham Country Club established a golf course and tennis courts on the grounds. During the Depression, the country club failed and the property fell into disrepair. In 1935, the bank was about to tear down the buildings and sell off the land for housing, when Mrs. Helen Patterson gathered her friends and the financial resources necessary to preserve it. The Gore Place Society was founded that same year. Over the past seventy years, Gore Place has been lovingly restored and open to the public as one of the great estates of the Federal era.
About the Ticket Supplier: Gore Place
Gore Place Society's mission is to preserve and promote the 1806 estate of Christopher and Rebecca Gore as a unique educational resource to inspire an appreciation of early 19th century America.