Expatriate Magazine (13)

HI S T O R Y
CH A R L E S DA R W I N
In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, English Heritage has unveiled a new interactive
exhibition at his family home near Bromley in Kent, writes Laura Burrill.
arwin lived with his family at Down House
D
for 40 years until his death in 1882. It was
within the house and grounds, amidst the busy
bustle of family life, that Darwin carried out many of his
experiments, fastidiously studying their progress for many
months, sometimes even years. And it was here he wrote
his most famous and controversial of works, On the Origin
of Species – a book that rocked the world when it was
published in 1859, and which has changed our understanding
of the natural world ever since.
Down House was a lively family home. Darwin and
his wife Emma had ten children, seven of whom survived
to adulthood. Despite his constant work and unrelenting
illness, Darwin never reprimanded his children for
disturbing him; they were allowed to romp noisily around
the house and even to assist him with experimental work in
the gardens.
Visitors to the Home of Charles Darwin can gain an
atmospheric insight into Darwin’s life by exploring the
intimate family rooms on the ground ﬂ oor. A brand new
exhibition, Uncovering Origins, also charts the formation
of Darwin’s ideas and the controversy they provoked, whilst
oﬀ ering a unique view of family life at Down House.
UNIQUE COLLECTIONS
Visitors can now enjoy a fascinating range of rare
objects on display, including star objects such as pages
from the manuscript of On the Origin of Species and a ﬁ rst
edition of the book. Other highlights include Darwin’s
personal possessions – his hat, microscope and notebooks
– as well as objects given to him by others, including a copy
of Das Kapital inscribed by Karl Marx.
Images Clockwise: Down House
UNCOVERING ORIGINS
and the Victorian Gardens. The
Study in Down House. Christ’s
Upstairs, the exhibition takes visitors on a journey
College at the University of
through the years as it follows the progression of Darwin’s Cambridge where Darwin was
a student. Visitor viewing one
of Darwin’s rare manuscripts.
An ornamental sun dial in the
32 EX P A T R I A T E
garden.
Darwin.indd 32 6/11/2009 11:05:10 PM
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