Plaque marks Darwin landfall
A GRANITE plaque now marks the spot from where Charles Darwin left Falmouth after arriving on board The Beagle in 1836.
After completing his historic five-year journey of discovery, Darwin was understandably eager to return home, so his stay in Falmouth was very brief.
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With the painting of The Beagle in front of the commemorative plaque in Falmouth are, from left, Linda Bickford, Falmouth Art Gallery curator Brian Stewart, mayor Geoffrey Evans, Alex Hooper of Falmouth Art Gallery, HSBC Falmouth branch manager Steve Martin and project researcher Michael Bickford. 0912TW02001NewPlaque
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An image of the Royal Hotel (now HSBC bank) where Charles Darwin enjoyed a brief stay after arriving in Falmouth.
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The new plaque on the side of the HSBC bank in Market Street, Falmouth.
It is thanks to volunteer researchers from Falmouth Art Gallery, headed by Michael and Linda Bickford, that the plaque now marks the exact spot from where he left.
It was on October 2, 1836, that The Beagle moored in Falmouth and Darwin enjoyed a short stay at the Royal Hotel while he waited for the Royal Mail coach to arrive and whisk him away to Shrewsbury.
The hotel no longer stands, but is now the site of the HSBC bank on the corner of Market Street and Fish Strand Hill.
Mrs Bickford, of Clifton Crescent, said: "The research took a reasonable amount of time as we had to trawl through books.
"From what we found, he must have arrived here at about 9pm.We then had to calculate how he would have gone, and knowing what time he arrived home, we estimate he would have left Falmouth at about 11.30pm."
The Cornish granite plaque, commissioned by the art gallery, was designed and fitted by local monumental mason Robert Lawrence. Mr Bickford has also donated one of his paintings of The Beagle anchored in Falmouth Harbour to the town's mayor Geoffrey Evans.
The painting is believed to be the only one of the survey ship moored at Falmouth. It has now been accepted into the town's permanent collection and can currently be seen on display at Falmouth Art Gallery.
The research was part of the gallery's year-long Darwin 200 anniversary project which has been funded by Heritage Lottery money. It has now drawn to a close, but exceeded all expectations. The exhibitions themselves attracted 44,159 visitors and 4,721 educational visits. In total the project, and everything associated with it, attracted a total of 208,041 visitors.
● Falmouth Art Gallery is open Monday to Saturday, 10am until 5pm, but is closed between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Admission is free.
Comments
by Nev, Polzeath
Thursday, December 31 2009, 2:54PM
“It's incredible to think that if he'd put in at Newquay instead of at Falmouth he wouldn't have had to go all the way to the Galapagos to realise that we're all descended from monkeys.”