Darwin's house, Lulllingstone Roman Villa and Eynsford Castle

Hello and welcome to another adventure! I would say "with the Findlaters" but really it is the Malax-Echevarrias as the adventures were all had by my cousin and I.

Where is Kyran I hear you ask? No I did not knock him off! 
He is alive and well and living out his life in Canada (He had to go back for work)

So onwards with this adventure.

As we (my cousin, her BF, Kyran and I) all have Heritage England yearly passes we decided that we had better get some use out of them and go see the country side.

Above: Charles Darwin's House

First off we decided to go see the house of Charles Darwin. 
Now I know the religious people reading this now will likely put their fingers in their ears and make noises, but I would recommend reading on. 

He was not such a bad guy, he was not anti-religion. In fact did you know that Charles Darwin went to university to be a doctor and when he didn’t like (couldn't handle the sight of blood) that he had plans to join the Church of England as a minister.

Below: Another photo of Charles's house with my cousin in front. 

Charles Darwin was a young fellow who had no idea what to do with his life, his grandfather was wealthy and his father was a doctor (so yes also wealthy). One day one fellow at university said "hey you should come on this boat trip we are going on" and so Charles asked his dad. To which his dad replied “If you find a reasonable grown up person who agrees that this is a good idea then I will let you go, if not then get back to class!” lucky for Darwin he had an uncle that said: “you know it might be good for the young fellow to have a gap year (or two which is what the voyage was meant to be, but ended up being 5 years), maybe he will straighten up a bit?”

So it was that Charles got to go on his trip, which ended up being a life-changing event for him.

Anyways let’s get into the blog a bit and I can tell you more about good ol' Charles as we go along.

As we arrived at the House, the first thing they told us was the house.. bla bla bla... And the first thing I asked “but what about the gardens?”.

But I guess we better talk about the house first.

I don’t have that many pictures as we were not allowed to take photos in the majority of the house but let me tell you I don't know how Charles's wife didn't kick him out. 

Apparently nothing was off limits for Charles and everything was subject to his experiments, 

you would find specimens on whatever surface of the house he needed to have them on. Apparently he would put his bird (dead) collection on the pool table when he ran out of space He even cornered off a section of  the grass and let it run without maintenance to see how the grass would grow and then how the weeds started to pop up and how many varieties there were. 

Above: A photo of Charles bed, which he ultimately died on. 

Below:  A photo that I took of the bed post on Charles bed, I love the detail and very fitting for the person!



Being in the Darwin house really made me realize exactly how much I did not know about this amazing man.

I mean they teach you his theories at school or in my case university as my school and family had sheltered me from this due to religious reasons. 

But you never really get to know the man himself, how he came to the conclusions that he came to how he lived. 
Now having seen his house I am inspired to learn more about Darwin, to read his book (even though I know they are pretty heavy going). 







The story was that Charles wife was just as mad as him. Apparently she liked to grow her garden all wild with vines and shrubs and herbs etc. all together and when friends would visit from London they thought that they were living like savages.  

After Charles got back from his time at sea he had decided that he should make a decision on if to get himself a wife or not. So in the house (no photos were allowed) there is a book were he wrote down all the pros and cons of having a wife.  The conclusion of it was "yea a wife might be a good idea" and so he married his cousin Emma Darwin. 

One of the pros that Darwin might have considered was that by marrying his cousin at least the money stayed in the family!


All jokes aside though Darwin had 10 children in total, 3 of whom died young, two in infancy and one (his oldest daughter) Anne at 10 years old. Darwin often considered the fact that he had married his cousin Emma as a possible reason for his children's illnesses (inbreeding).

Speaking of children Charles was a very unconventional father for his time, He was often known to play with his children. On the Left is a photo of the slide that the children had for going down the stairs. 

Like my cousin said to me Darwin's house and family reminded her of the time that she came to visit my wild  family in Australia as children. 

These kids were allowed to run around and explore and ask questions, again something very unusual for children at that time. 


So here's a fun one: This is the memories that my cousin had of Australia, us kids running wild as I imagine Darwin's kids did!

I suppose I should mention that if it isn't apparent from these photos, Darwin's life of collecting specimens asking questions and experimenting with everything (particularly nature) was a road that I headed down as I got older!

Darwin had an active mind! Just look at some his publications and see all the things that he was thinking about and observing all the time: 

• The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants 
• The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication
• The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex
• The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
• Insectivorous Plants
• The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom
• The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species
• The Power of Movement in Plants
• The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

After visiting his house and seeing his life and his works (beyond the "theory of Evolution") Darwin has Earned himself a spot on my heroes list right up there with Elon Musk!

For more information on Darwin's house please see link below: 
(www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/home-of-charles-darwin-down-house)







Top left: Darwin's Fungi Field 
Top Right: Some seeds on display so that people can see what some types of seeds look like.
Left: Some of Darwin's carnivorous plant collection (the authenticity of the plants actually belonging to Darwin is probably something I made up)
Below: Random garden photos

This is definitely a place worth visiting! You don't realize how much you don't know about Darwin till you see his house and life as it is presented at his house. 
This is a place that we will have to come back to in a few months when everything has sprouted and it's not as cold and we can get out and see more of Darwin's garden and local experimentation sites. 

Well that brings us to the end of Darwin's house for now and on to our second location. 

Lulllingstone Roman Villa
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/lullingstone-roman-villa

This is a Roman ruin that was developed by different owners over different time periods. It is thought that the first instance of the Villa was erected about 100 AD and the last instance of it about the 4th century when it was destroyed by fire.

The ruins are now all in a big shed and protected from the elements.
The only thing I will mention is that it is cold here, there is no heating so it is a slightly uncomfortable visit. that is if you go when it is cold which is what we did. Like wise I would say the middle of summer probably makes this visit an uncomfortable one as there is no insulation (I haven't actually been here in summer).


The first discovery of the site was made in 1750, when workers fencing a deer park dug post holes through a mosaic floor, but no systematic excavations were done until the 20th century. In 1939, a blown-down tree revealed scattered mosaic fragments. 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lullingstone_Roman_Villa)

While there is not much left of this ruin that leaves much to how the house was furnished, there was evidence of a pagan shrine and a christian chapel.

I put this bit in here for the religious readers:

The original pagan shrine room was dedicated to local water deities, and a wall painting depicting three water nymphs dating from this period can still be seen in a niche in the room.

Just after the 3rd century, this niche had been covered over, as the whole room had been redecorated with white plaster painted with red bands, and two busts of male figures had been placed in the room. 

In the 4th century the room above the pagan shrine was apparently converted to Christian use, with painted plaster on the walls, including a row of figures of standing worshipers, and a characteristic Christian Chi-rho symbol. 

The evidence of the Christian house-church is a unique discovery for Roman Britain and the wall paintings are of international importance. They provide some of the earliest evidence for Christianity in Britain.

Perhaps almost as remarkable as the discovery of the house-church is the possibility that pagan worship may have continued in the cult room below. What is not clear is whether this represented the family hedging their bets, trumpeting their apparent acceptance of Christianity, while trying to keep the old gods happy, or whether it represents some members of the family clinging to old beliefs in the face of the adoption of Christianity by others.

Above text stolen from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lullingstone_Roman_Villa
Below: More photos of the ruins from different angles

Below: some Roman coins that were discovered, this one is for my mother as I know she has a thing for Roman coins. One of them might be the one that Jesus touched! Although i'm sure that the Catholics have got those specific coins all locked up by now. 

 
The following are just some random things from the Roman era of habitation in Britiania. 

Left: the average height of people at that time compared to my cousin. So shes about the right height with heals on as a Roman woman!

Below: Object of Pleasure and faith. What I like were the two dice there (5). What timeless objects!

The river outside the ruins that would have been used for filling their baths and basically anything that you would need water for!

Ok we're moving on to our last stop for this adventure:

Eynsford Castle
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/eynsford-castle/

Again another ruin the following text is just a big cut-and-paste for some background/history:

Standing within a picturesque village, Eynsford Castle is a rare example of an early Norman 'enclosure castle'. Built by the Eynsford family, the castle became the subject of a disputed inheritance. It culminated in an act of vandalism in 1312. From that point, the castle was abandoned
.(http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/eynsford-castle/)

The castle was founded shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066. There was an earlier, Saxon building on the site, composed of a timber watchtower on an artificial motte. No evidence of this can be seen today.

The impressive curtain wall was built between 1085 and 1087, probably by William de Eynsford I, a knight and sheriff of Kent. In 1130 the wall was heightened and a gate-tower was built to strengthen the castle defences. A hall, which provided accommodation for the Eynsford family, and associated buildings were also erected inside the castle walls about this time. These buildings were reconstructed in about 1250, following a fire.(http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/eynsford-castle/history/)

The line of the Eynsford family, owners of the castle, died out in 1261, and the castle and its estate were divided between the Kirkeby and Criol families, causing much dispute.

The conflict reached a climax in 1312 when Nicholas de Criol and his supporters broke in and vandalised Eynsford Castle as a protest against Judge William Inge, who had bought the castle from the Kirkeby family. Doors and windows were broken down, much damage was caused and cattle were let loose. Afterwards the castle was never lived in again.

Eventually the castle passed into the ownership of the Hart Dyke family of nearby Lullingstone Castle. It was used for some time as a manorial court, but the buildings gradually fell into disrepair. By the mid-18th century the castle was being used as stables and kennels for hunting hounds.

Sorry for the big cut and paste but there was no point rewriting the same good content. 
Of the three things that we saw today I would defiantly recommend Darwin's house!! the other two were just throw ins that were in the area, and turned out to be good little bits of history. 

Well that brings us to end of this blog, just a few selfies in there to prove I was actually there!
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I will leave you with a few great Darwin quotes:

"A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life."

"In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed."

"If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin."

"An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men."

"A man's friendships are one of the best measures of his worth."

"The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic."

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