Life at Down House
Soon after he came back to England, Darwin decided to get married, to his cousin Emma Wedgewood. In 1842 he and his young family moved out of London to the village of Downe, as the village is spelt, in Kent. Darwin lived at Down House, in Downe until he died. lt was where he did all his experiments and wrote most of his books. And it was where he lived and brought up his family too.
Looking after Down House
The Darwin family had a team of servants to look after them at Down House. This was usual
in well-off Victorian families. There was a butler, cook, gardener coachman, housemaid and
nurse, and a governess for the girls. Charles Darwin treated the servants well and they
respected him. Several of them stayed with the family for many years The butler, Joseph
Parslow worked at Down for thirty-six years and the cook for thirty years.
Darwin's
children
Charles and Emma had a
large family. This was very common in Victorian times. They had ten children, and seven of
these lived to be adults. Charles was very fond of his children, and was heartbroken when
his daughter Annie died at the age of ten. The children were allowed a great deal of
freedom to play noisy games and go where they liked, which was unusual in Victorian
families. The girls were educated at home, and were taught geography, music, singing and
languages, but no maths or science except some simple study of plants. The boys were sent
to a private tutor, and then to a small private school in Surrey, before going on to
public or grammar schools.
Charles and his eldest son William
Like many Victorian families, the Darwins had a daily routine. Charles always got up early and went for a short walk around the garden.