Bromley

The wider Bromley area includes Down House, near the village of Downe and south of Bromley town. Charles Darwin lived there from 1842 until his death in 1882, using the house and gardens as both a family home and a setting for scientific work. The grounds contained areas for experiments with plants, a greenhouse complex and the Sandwalk, a path he regularly followed through woodland. The house was enlarged during his residence as the family's needs changed. Opened to the public as a memorial in 1929, Down House preserves a landscape in which domestic life, observation and experimentation were closely connected.