DARWIN BIRTHPLACE SOCIETYExciting news for Shrewsbury. 195 years following the birth of the town's most famous son, a Birthplace Society is to be formed in town to commemorate Charles Darwin in the town of his birth and schooling. The Society will provide a formal network, gathering all with an interest in Darwin and his birthplace. It is potentially a vehicle for the acquisition of funding for the many exciting projects in the pipeline and will offer members the opportunity to help to preserve Charles Darwin's heritage for the future. Members can become actively involved in the work for the preservation of Darwin's Birthplace in Shrewsbury Charles Darwin was born on February 12 th 1809, the fifth child and second son of Shrewsbury Doctor – Robert Waring Darwin and his wife Susannah, the daughter of Josiah Wedgwood. Shrewsbury is now set to celebrate the man, his intellectual legacy and achievements and to capitalise upon the universal appeal of Darwin in ways that will bring interest and investment into the town. The Society has been formed in response to public demand that the town of Shrewsbury ‘makes more of its connections with Charles Darwin'. Membership is open to all and as the whole world recognises the major significance of Darwin, applications are expected from people who are already in touch with the organisers from New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Ecuador - as well as the 400 people from across the UK who signed their names in a ‘Darwinites Register' during Darwin Month 2004. In 2002 a survey taken at The Darwin Memorial Lecture indicated strong support for the idea of a Birthplace Society. Since then, numbers supporting Darwin related events have grown rapidly and in May 2004 a Darwin Information Evening gathered together representatives of groups across the town and county with an interest in the Darwin heritage. The audience supported unanimously, the initiation of a Darwin Birthplace Society. In parallel, the Town Centre Management Partnership appointed consultants Furneaux Stewart, [currently working with a local steering group and financed by Advantage West Midlands], to draft a Darwin Masterplan. The consultants interim recommendation is that an unincorporated body known as The Darwin Birthplace Society be set up to be the precursor to a formal and fully registered Charitable Trust that will administer the implementation of the 5 year Darwin Masterplan for Shrewsbury. The Darwin Birthplace Society is to be chaired by Glen Lawes, Chief Executive of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, who brings his corporate experience and knowledge of World Heritage Sites to begin the promotion of the Darwin Birthplace movement in Shrewsbury. Documents: Masterplan Summary 1.3MB PDF Documents: Masterplan (final March 2005) 3MB PDF Find out more about Charles Darwin Click Here . |
