The Galapagos Islands is the laboratory where Charles Darwin began developing his theory of evolution in 1835 . It took him more than 20 years of mulling, prodding from geologist Charles Lyell and botanist Joseph Hooker and competition from Alfred Russel Wallace for him to actually write “On the Origin of Species.”
We returned to the Galapagos in February and today we visited Down House, Darwin’s home in Kent, where he wrote “Origin.”
Photography isn’t allowed at Down House but only science nerds like us would care. Darwin and Emma’s family life took second place to actually seeing the study where he wrote one of the most important and controversial books ever. There were many example of Darwin’s journals but his handwriting is nearly illegible. There were even some of the Galapagos finches that helped him solidify his hypothesis that future generations keep inherited traits, like the shape of a beak, that are beneficial for survival.
Eltham Palace and Gardens is an example of a different kind of evolution—from medieval royal residence to Art Deco elegance. The original estate was given to Edward II in 1305 and remained a royal residence for two centuries. Edward IV built the Great Hall in the 1470s and the future Henry VIII grew up at Eltham.
After the English Civil War Eltham passed to the family of John Shaw where it remained until the end of the 19th Century.
In the 1930s Stephen and Virginia Courtauld signed a 99-year lease on the property and began its evolution. They restored the Great Hall and commissioned a modern home to be attached to it. They furnished it in the Art Deco style popular at the time, sometimes taking it to extremes. To keep Eltham homey they interspersed the glitz with mementos from their adventures—Stephen was an avid mountaineer and sailor—and were fond of sharing photos and movies of their travels. Their pet ring-tailed lemur, Mah-Jongg, is even portrayed in one of the ceiling rosettes. If the audio guide is to be believed, they also threw lavish parties with the A-listers of the day.
When the Courtaulds moved to Rhodesia in 1944, they turned Eltham over to the Royal Army Educational Corps. English Heritage took over management of Eltham thirty years ago and began major repairs and restorations of the interiors and the garden.
While fossil evidence shows Darwin’s version of evolution spanned 3.7 million years, Eltham Palace’ transformation took only seven centuries and only the Great Hall and the 15th Century bridge are original artifacts
