Down House Gardens
Details
Down House was bought in 1842 by Charles Darwin, who needed more space and countryside for his growing family; it remained the family home until his death in 1882. The house survives little changed today with its family portraits, furniture and personal possessions.
Venue
Down House, Luxted Road, Downe, Kent BR6 7JT
Event Organisers
Sarah Bowles and Philippa Barton
Cost
Cost of the visit is £114.00- plus Eventbrite booking fee
Cost of the visit with Freedom Pass is £98.00 - plus Eventbrite booking fee
Cost of the visit for English Heritage Member is £98.00- plus Eventbrite booking fee
Cost of the visit for English Heritage Member with Freedom Pass is £82.00 - plus Eventbrite booking fee
The visit is limited to thirteen people.
Programme
09.40 am
Meet at Charing Cross Station
09.56. am
Train departs for Orpington, Kent
11.00 am
Coffee
11.30 am
Visit to Down House
Down House, dating from the early eighteenth century, was bought in 1842 by Charles Darwin, who needed more space and countryside for his growing family; it remained the family home until his death in 1882. He and his wife, Emma, extensively remodelled the house and it survives little changed today with family portraits, furniture and personal possessions. It was here that Darwin developed his theory of evolution and wrote his groundbreaking work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, which was published in 1859.
12.45 pm
Light lunch
2.15 pm
Tour of the Garden
The gardens and greenhouses, restored to their appearance in Darwin’s time, were central to his work; he used them as an open-air laboratory, conducting numerous investigations and experiments.
4.20pm
Train departs for London (arriving Charing Cross at 4.45pm)