In the steps of Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin (outside the library -
former Grammar School where
Darwin was educated)

And so to Shrewsbury, the second leg of my holiday. From Church Stretton the journey by train is around fifteen minutes. My first port of call was the hotel where I left my luggage (too early to check in) and asked for a town map. With that I set off to explore and made my way towards the Tourist Information Centre. I love these places. Sadly many have closed to be replaced with stands offering leaflets and maps, but one survives here in Shrewsbury. Located in the Museum and Art Gallery building (once a music hall), it also houses the museum (of course) and a lovely cafe where I had a pot of tea and spread my map and leaflets around armed with a pen. I enjoy planning!

This post is really about the walk we took (I met hubby off the train from London at 2.15pm) the following day, and though some points were visited on other days I have grouped them together here. Firstly, a little about Charles Darwin. He was born Charles Robert Darwin on 12th February 1809 at The Mount, Shrewsbury, a house built by his father Robert. Darwin grew up here, spent 27 years here, and it was from here that he set off on his travels - more of that later. He married Emma Wedgwood (yes, that Wedgwood family) in 1839. They were first cousins and they had 10 children. Sadly not all survived, only seven lived to adulthood. Charles was a geologist and natural historian. Famous for his book On The Origin of Species as well as two other books, and his standing on evolution was ridiculed by the church.  You can read more about Charles Darwin here along with links to Emma, his wife, and her family.

On the Darwin Trail it seemed natural to first visit where he was born. Setting off across the Welsh Bridge we headed into the area known as Frankwell. It is a short walk to The Mount, the house where Darwin was born. Now offices (Surveyors) there are two plaques on the gates, and as long as you are discreet it is possible to wander up the driveway to take a photo of the house. From up here the Darwin's would have had a wonderful view across the town.

The house built by Robert Darwin

The road down from the house through Frankwell towards the Welsh Bridge

Back into town the next part of the trail leads you to Darwin Gate in Mardol, a street name meaning 'Devil's Boundary'. The gates, tall pillars inspired by elements and design of St Mary's church they mimic ecclesiastical arches, are modern and look different depending on where you stand.

Darwin Gates

The Bellstone

To find The Bellstone you need to walk into the entrance to Morris Hall Yard. The stone is a granite boulder and was Darwin's first introduction to geology. Leaving there we headed up Claremont Hill to the old Manse (now a private house) where Darwin was educated by a Unitarian minister (the Rev. Case) before going to Shrewsbury Grammar School. At the top of the hill is St Chad's Church. This replaces the old St Chad's (ruins are to be seen not far away). The old church collapsed and when they came to build the new one the plans got mixed up and soon it became obvious that it was to be round in design. It would have cost too much to change so it was completed. I loved this church, and the roundness certainly appealed to me. The organist was having a practice way up in the balcony which added to the atmosphere. It was here that Darwin was christened and  you can see the font in which Darwin was baptised. A side here is the fact that a version of A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) was filmed here in the 1980's. In the churchyard there is a headstone inscribed with Ebeneezer Scrooge. Apparently an old head stone where the writing was so old and obliterated was used for this and was left behind after the film crew left. In fact many locations around Shrewsbury were used in the film. Well, it does have 600 listed buildings and whole rows of beamed structures.

The Font at St Chad's

Taken from the balcony, St Chad's

The Quarry and Dingle were close to our hotel, just a stroll along the river. On the river bank itself is was is known locally as the Slinky, a structure costing £1m which looks like a backbone. Running around it is a timeline for evolution. Quarry park  is where young Darwin would often fish for newts. The park has a Victorian Bandstand and the Dingle was later designed into a beautiful garden by Percy Thrower, who also lived in The Lodge house. The annual flower show is held here and Shrewsbury has won Britain in Bloom for many years. I can understand that for there are flowers everywhere. More about that in the next post.

The Slinky

Victorian Grandstand, Quarry Park

Up until the age of eight, when Darwin's mother died, the young boy attended the Unitarian Church in the High Street. I'd heard of the Unitarians but knew little about them. However, I got chatting to one of the stewards and learned that they are free thinkers. They have no doctrines and do not believe in the Trinity, seeing Jesus as fully human. This doesn't go down well with the Christian community! However, for the first time I began to understand Darwin's thinking and the struggles he later had between science and religion. It was an age when religion was master of everything and Bible taken as true to the letter.

Unitarian Church

It was at the Grammar School where Darwin received his education after leaving the Rev. Case. These days the school is a library and outside is a statue to the great man. Getting photos of the building wasn't easy as scaffolding covered much of the front. Another day we actually went into the library. The whole place has been renovated but it was still nice to be there.

Inside the library, former Grammar School

The final place to visit was The Lion near the English Bridge. This is where Darwin caught the stagecoach to join The Beagle. Darwin's father tried to stop his son from going and Darwin appealed to his Uncle Josiah Wedgwood for help and finally Robert Darwin relented. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Lion

I should say that the Museum also has a display dedicated to Charles Darwin. Every year, on the anniversary of Darwin's birth, there are lectures and so forth around town and they meet at The Bellstone to toast him. And why not? He was an amazing man......a hero of mine. Having been to his home at Downe House in Kent and learning about his family life there I was struct by what a wonderful atmosphere the house had and what sort of father he was.....one that sat on tea trays to slide down the staircase. with his children Who wouldn't want a father like that! So, for me this was a sort of a pilgrimage. You certainly get a feeling for this wonderful naturalist in both places.

Installation about the life of Darwin (Museum & Art Gallery)

The first animal I fell for as a child was the Woolly Mammoth, so how could I resit this in kids section! 

Made from passport sized photos

Charles Darwin with his sister Catherine