Darwin’s Landscape Laboratory

Darwin’s Landscape Laboratory is part of the Tentative List in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List.

Click here for a short description of the site, as delivered by the State Party


Year Decision Comments
2012 Tentative list Submitted as tentative site by State Party


Reviews

Ian Cade (England):
This is an interesting place to visit and one that is incredibly linked to one of the most influential thinkers of the modern period. However I am not sure if it is quite good/ coherent enough to merit a place on the World Heritage List.
The house itself is reasonably grand but mostly unremarkable, and the garden is pleasant with a few small hints of it use for the cultivation of plant species that helped reinforce Darwin’s belief in the evolution of species. I found it quite hard to make any concrete links between what was in the garden and its influence on Evolutionary theory, perhaps a good tour guide would be able to eek these facts out. There was however a pleasant walk through the southern English countryside at the back of the garden, it was laid out especially for Darwin to give him time to think and stroll, and it certainly can serve the same purpose for modern visitors. There is an audio tour of the house, narrated by the peerless Sir David Attenborough, who is something of a British cultural institution, and this did a good job of explaining Darwin’s life in the house and the works he is most famous for.
The house is located just outside London, but still inside the southern boundary of the M25 ring road, if you don’t have your own transport the you can get the train to Bromley South where bus 146 can take you on to the House.
This was an interesting site to visit, and had key links to one of the key thinkers who has shaped the modern world, however I personally didn’t feel the link was tangible enough to warrant a place on the World Heritage List. If it does make it on I may well venture down for a repeat visit to see if I can pick up on what I missed the first time around.
Date posted: July 2010

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