Home of Charles Darwin - Down House
Museum Home of Charles Darwin - Down House, Luxted Rd, Downe, Orpington BR6 7JT, United Kingdom:
220 reviews
of visitors, the most complete information about the address, business hours, location on the map, photos, phone number, website and other contacts.
Address: Luxted Rd, Downe, Orpington BR6 7JT, United Kingdom
Website: english-heritage.org.uk
Phone number: +44 370 333 1181
GPS coordinates
Latitude: 51.3303575Longitude: 0.0527618
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reviews
shayla Nickerson
Another great house to visit. The home of Charles Darwin. Good social history. Small museum upstairs about his life. Gardens simple but great picnic areas.
3 weeks ago
Gapizov Sultan
Excellent day out, house still closed but great just to walk around the garden and beyond.
3 weeks ago
Abe Guerra
One of my most favourite English Heritage places to visit- stagg are fantastic
3 weeks ago
Aleyna Kanbur
Nice to see. Sadly we couldn't go into the house due to covid rules
1 month ago
Robert Irelson
Couldn't go inside the house but could look around the gardens. Tea room was open for takeaway and there is a picnic area you can use. We went for display of snowdrops for St Christopher Hospice. Beautiful
2 months ago
BillionPig
Amazing place to visit. Beautiful house and the city of Downe is adorable.
2 weeks ago
Lauren Norris
Wonderful house and gardens. All the staff were really friendly and polite and full of facts and recommendations. The elderly lady upstairs was amazing, she was very knowledgeable and a joy to listen to. I highly recommend a visit here. My highlight was the greenhouse and garden area. 5 stars!
2 months ago
Julian Cuacos
Spent a couple of hours here on my own. Was worth the visit, a lot of history and a beautiful place.
7 months ago
Double Tapped
Really interesting house. It"s as if the family is still there as the rooms are so cosy and well furnished. The Darwin exhibition is really educational, but due to Covid restrictions you can't spend too long in the room to appreciate it all. Helpful, knowledgeable staff. The garden is small, not much walking.
7 months ago
Bri Jamshidi
The gardens are great although we didn't get a chance to go inside due to covid restrictions.
2 months ago
Hannah Frazier
Such an important place in our history. I highly recommend a visit here, but you will need to book
2 months ago
Veronica Richard
Booked online for our time slot. Car park area by entrance. Friendly staff with a lot of knowledge about Charles Darwin and the house. Place is neat and tidy. Lovely gardens, lovely walk and the house looks beautiful. The house remains closed until further notice but still lovely coming out here for a walk and have a picnic and enjoy the open fields.
Lovely small gift shop, staff Joanna was friendly and helpful with informations. We spent about an hour and a half here and would have been here longer if the house was open but we are members so we shall return.
2 days ago
Laura Suttenfield
Lovely home with lots to read about the man, his family and learn some history. The garden is enjoyable and well worth a walk around
10 months ago
Ashlie Pappas
Worth a visit to see the home of Charles Darwin and the gardens he roamed in the past.
2 months ago
Helena Banks
A place full of history, character and charm!
Down House is a pain to get to from London if you don’t have a car, but it is totally worth it. The home of Charles Darwin is one of those well hidden museums that are not crowded and as a result have a lot more character than most of similar type of places.
I would recommend an audio guide - half of the museum (the most atmospheric part - downstairs) is not particularly self-explanatory.
A walk in a park / gardens is particularly nice - you really feel like you’re stepping into the footsteps of the giants.
4 months ago
Tamara Lynch
Great to go while empty. I think this is exactly what you'll expect it to be. Don't expect a circus. But do expect to learn about Darwin, about his life and work. Also, a nice walk around the grounds. Would've like to see more on the science and maybe a little more interaction.
10 months ago
keith parkhill
The house was beautiful, but I didn’t see Darwin
1 month ago
Bill Nelson
A great and thoroughly worthwhile experience. The gardens are very well maintained and the surrounding grounds peaceful and inspirational. The house is an outstanding tribute to Charles Darwin - a brilliant scientist, and a warm, generous and deeply caring family man. The exhibition upstairs is imaginatively curated and supplies important facts and observations effectively and at a level suitable for all. Outstanding staff and an interesting gift ???? shop. Highly recommended.
3 months ago
Edward OConnor
So much of interest in what is a smaller property. Even got round the garden before it poured with rain. Lovely home made soup. Heartfelt thanks to the caring manager and her staff.
7 months ago
Jill Time
Visited Downe House on 19th July. The measures English Heritage have put in place to deal with Covid 19 have been amazing. The house is not open until August, but the grounds are lovely, and make for a lovely walk. A good one way system is in place, and there is a little food and drinks tent in the picnic area. As you walk around, you can just imagine yourself walking around as Charles Darwin himself! Well done English Heritage for a great day out! ????????
8 months ago
Cap Beatz
Delightful place to visit. Even if you’re a silly creationist, just go and enjoy the garden. Keep your views to yourself though.
Staff are friendly and helpful. Food and drink from the Cafè are good. Gift shop has some unique items. And Darwin of course - The most important individual in this country’s history, maybe the world.
3 months ago
David Holmes
I had a wonderful time at Downe House! I just joined English heritage now they are offering membership for £5.00 a month (which is excellent). I felt as though I learned so much about Darwin and his family life and his research. The gardens were the best part for me. They even have a beehive where I saw my first queen bee! The staff here were amazing, incredibly knowledgeable, helpful and down to earth. I would recommend a trip here! Save some time at the end to explore the wonderful countryside!
2 months ago
Barbara Ellington
All the staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. The cafe was rather small and was quite busy on the bank holiday when we visited. If the weather is good I'd recommend taking a picnic. There are plenty of places to sit, providing you don't mind sitting on the grass. All the exhibits were displayed well.
There are plenty of hidden gems to get from visiting.
5 months ago
Myky W
Very nice and cool to know where one of the most important scientists ever lived and once walked
3 weeks ago
suraj raju
Absolutely worth visiting, the tour in the House is very complete and the garden and greenhouse area makes you feel you are in Darwin’s time getting into the source of his work. Amazing place.
2 months ago
TREGAROT Idriss
A great place to stop by if you're interested in the life and work of Charles Darwin. It's a little hard to get to, but once you get there, it's really worth it. The house is very well preserved and the audio tour gives a lot of insight into how Darwin lived with his family and what he did. If you don't decide to go with the audio guide the museum information will definitely do. The museum is very well illustrated by pictures etc. You can even take a look in Darwin's bedroom; dress up as him and take a picture in it. You can also take a little stroll in his garden which is kept healthy and well. Lastly there's a wonderful little greenhouse with exotic plants and a Cafe to rest in after the museum and garden.
1 month ago
Nott Creation
Lovely place! Exhibition is nice, you can learn a lot. We kind of had a private tour with one elderly gentlemen, one of the volunteers, who toured us around the house and told us incredible details of Darwin’s life. The garden is worth seeing too. We went in autumn and there wasn’t much to do but I guess it would be worth going another time of the year.
4 months ago
Tina Anthony
The home of Charles Darwin. Upstairs is laid out as a museum with the ground floor set out as it was when the man lived there. Interesting bit of history and best visited in the summer to get the most out of the garden and surrounding area.
2 months ago
Eytihia Stavrianos
Great for all the family, interesting small tour of the house and lovely grounds with space to run around and explore. Plus a coffee shop for cake and a drink.
9 months ago
Turtle Holmes
We enjoyed a wander round the grounds and some lovely cake from the cafe.
7 months ago
Clete Fisher
Lovely tranquil house with beautiful gardens which are being restored after Covid lockdown. House is very interesting though it's a shame the main exhibition space is closed due to current conditions. Hope to visit again when it reopens fully
9 months ago
Liz Petro
Amazing piece of history. Its great to see the man on the ten pound note and how he lived. You really see what life was like for the loving in the Victorian era. It contrasts the evil to kind loving Charles Darwin.
4 months ago
Randi Bojoka
A very informative guided tour of the house and a relaxed feeling. The gardens were beautiful. Light refreshments were available too.
4 months ago
Chad Davis
Incredible experience, Down house is a beautiful examples a English house, almost every room has been reconstructed as it was during Darwin's life. The highlight of the place is the mini exhibition in the first floor, where you can learn a lot about Darwin's life and work. There is a room with exemplary books to read, Darwin's study, the living room, the dining room. There is a small shop at the entrance and a tea room. Outside you can visit the garden where Darwin used to make his experiments. Absolutely a must to discover the life of one of the most influential English personalities.
5 months ago
Cory Rodrigues
It's amazing place to visit and where you can live moments of true life. It's a a place where you can really relax and enjoy.
3 months ago
Sarah Cook
2nd visit to Darwin's home of 40 years. Ground floor, shop, gardens & tea Room open. Staff & volunteers willingly impart knowledge. Along with guide book bring Down House to life. Social distancing pressures mean that it is unlikely the first floor and the Beagle voyage exhibition will re-open anytime soon. EH website up-to-date so worthwhile checking.
4 months ago
Carson Glossop
Visited Down House during the winter seasons, which closes early.
Really a pain to get to this place via public transport, as you have to take the one bus 146 from Bromley, which a lot of the times is not on time. Which shows why Darwin really chose this place and spend a lot of time here, as it is far away from the city and he can concentrate his studies here.
Overall a great experience as you get audio guides as well which means you can explore the place at your leisure.
4 months ago
Gg
Such a pretty place, especially the gardens. The circular walk is very peaceful and the cafe does very tasty food with big portions. The gift shop is quite small but still has a good choice.
3 months ago
Michael Galea
Excellent heritage site to visit. The audio guide takes you through both the house and gardens. Free parking on site really helps. No pictures are permitted inside as the house is still owned by Darwins descendants. Photos are permitted in the gardens. The gift shop is excellent. Staff were extremely polite and helpful!
2 months ago
lotus child
Really enjoyed it, even with covid restrictions on the rooms. Each is labelled with '1 or 2 groups' max in each room depending on the size of the room. It was a nice stroll on the footpath route, some is across grass, so if its rained recently make sure you wear good footwear
10 months ago
Ravi Vyas
Really enjoyed this. Very informative, and the grounds were lovely. Especially the glasshouses!
4 months ago
Sue Leverick
Just spent three hours at this excellent property with a great mix of history via the the information centre on the first floor and audio guide on the ground floor. Thanks
2 months ago
Koen
Well worth a visit for a family excursion to learn about this amazing man, his family and his discoveries. Well-preserved rooms and interesting artefacts and anecdotes.
7 months ago
katie coward
They have an original orgin of Species which was very interesting and they house is very big and might take a while and the gift shop was had very good magnets also there’s a path where you can walk round
7 months ago
emmanuel adjei
There isn’t much, to be quite frank not enough to justify the high entrance fee. I found it extremely annoying that photographing most of the house was not allowed, I just don’t understand this. You can only take pictures of the bedroom, everything else is apparently owned by the Darwin family and apparently they don’t want you to take pictures of their things... so I am wondering, why exhibit them in the first place if you’re so jealous of people taking pictures of them!
Anyway, I also found it very annoying that wherever we went in the house we were stopped by volunteer staff asking if we needed any help or any explanation. Then of course even if you say “no thank you“ they start talking anyway. I understand that they are very kind, but it’s just too much! I just want to walk by myself without being stopped by extremely kind elderly, that start talking and just cannot stop. It’s annoying!
2 weeks ago
Don Stroub
Its great to see where the great man lived, worked, thought and walked. You cannot help feeling the sense of history. The staff are very helpful, knowledgeable and enthusiastic
11 months ago
Liz McClin
Fascinating place, really worth a visit.. lovely gardens and great interior with CD's story on the first floor and lovely original rooms on the ground floor.. a must for any science fans.. amazing to wander the grounds where the great man formulated his groundbreaking ideas.. a real treat..
5 months ago
Ben Carton
Lovely grounds and the best chocolate cake my wife has ever had apparently.. And she should know
1 month ago
Adam White
The Down House and the gardens are only 40min away from East London - and I love it so much that I visit this house and the gardens few times a year. The inside of the house may look the same but the outside has its own beauty as the four seasons dress the house and the gardens in their own colours and flowers. There is an audio guide for the downstairs of the house and the garden that you use free of charge. I recommend taking it with you when you visit the garden in particular - you can get to know Charles and his wife Emma and their passions for nature and the family.
2 weeks ago
mike corssen
Excellent day out, beautiful gardens, lovely staff, overpriced cafe (standard!) Will no doubt return again
2 months ago
