Home of Charles Darwin - Down House

Down House, on the Kent and London border, was the home of world-renowned scientist Charles Darwin for forty years and the place where he wrote ’On the Origin of Species’,

It is filled with fascinating exhibits! You can even explore Charles and Emma’s bedroom with the large bay window looking out onto Charles’ garden.

The room features novels Darwin would have read, a soundscape to conjure the experience of Emma reading to her husband, and a dressing closet allowing both children and adults to dress up as Charles and Emma!

It was in the gardens at Down House that Darwin developed many of his groundbreaking ideas on evolution and natural selection. Take your time to enjoy their interesting features, including the famous Sandwalk, the inspiration for his ideas.

Visitors can still see twelve of his experiments which have been recreated in the grounds at Down, as well as his beloved greenhouses where he made his amazing discoveries!

Enjoy a wonderfully interesting day out and leave time for the award-winning exhibition and the free hand-held multimedia guide, narrated by Sir David Attenborough and Andrew Marr.