4.16.5 Down House, Bromley, Kent

Down House before and after restoration

This was the home of Charles Darwin from 1842 until his death in 1882. It was here that he wrote On the Origin of Species in which he set out his ground breaking theory of evolution. The house has been a museum since the 1920s but in 1995 it was desperately in need of repair and renovation. EH acquired the property and is now restoring the Victorian ground floor interiors and installing new interpretative displays on Darwin's work on the first floor. The restoration also includes works to his greenhouse, laboratory, and garden. EH have contracted Keystone Historic Building Consultants to research the historic development of the house from the seventeenth century to the present day. The project requires the detailed study of the fabric combined with documentary research of the vast quantities of Darwin correspondence and other material. Their report will provide an insight into how the Darwins lived in the house and made it their own through alteration (see also section 4.14 ).