THE YOUNG CHARLES DARWIN
Public Domain Wellcome collection
Darwin House, situated on The Mount, is the house where Charles Darwin was born on 12th February 1809, surrounded by 7 acres of land, high above the River Severn in Shrewsbury.
It was built by Charles Darwin's parents Dr. Robert and Susannah Darwin. The Darwin family moved there in 1800.
Charles lived there with his brother Erasmus and four sisters, Marianne, Susan, Charlotte, and Catherine.
Charles spent his formative years in Shrewsbury. He loved exploring the countryside: collecting, reading and making observations of the plants and insects he found. He was also very happy assisting his brother Erasmus conducting experiments at home, in their own laboratory.
Charles was the one who meticulously wrote down each experiment, good experience for his later life .
He attended Revd. Case's Unitarian school in Shrewsbury and then went as a boarder to Shrewsbury School from 1818 to 1825. At 16 he joined his brother Erasmus to study medicine at Edinburgh University for two years before going on to Cambridge University where he obtained his degree in 1831.
He then embarked on his 5 year life-changing voyage around the world as the naturalist on HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836. Shrewsbury was the family home to which he returned between university terms and after his voyage on HMS Beagle.
In 1839, Charles Darwin married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood and moved to London, then on to Down House in Kent. He continued to visit Shrewsbury regularly until his father’s death in 1848.
The last time he visited his family home was three years after his sister, Susan Darwin died in 1866 when the house had been auctioned off with all its contents.
If you have any stories or artefacts connected to the Darwin or Wedgwood families, please let us know. To be kept in touch with developments at Darwin House, please email us at info@darwinbirthplacetrust.com or message us from this site.
Public Domain Wellcome Collection
Dr Robert Darwin
Dr Robert Darwin with his wife Susannah created Darwin House, as the family home and John Wedgwood, Susannah’s brother, the first Chairman of the newly formed Horticultural Society of London (now the RHS) in 1804, helped with the design of the garden.