Description

LICHFIELD

SK1109NW BEACON STREET 1094-1/4/18 (North East side) 05/02/52 Darwin House

GV I

House. c1758, converted from medieval timber-framed range on the west side of the south court of Vicars' Close. For Erasmus Darwin. Brick with stucco dressings; double-span tile roof with brick end stacks. Double-depth, central staircase plan. Georgian style. 2 storeys with basement; symmetrical 3-window range. Stucco basement; 2 sill bands; top modillioned cornice and stone-coped brick parapet with 2 balustraded panels. Centre breaks forward under pediment. Round-headed entrance has Tuscan aedicule, round-headed half-glazed door; opposed ashlar steps with iron handrail and arch below. Venetian windows to each floor have Tuscan antae, entablatures, archivolts and sashes with glazing bars; central 1st floor window has eared architrave, triple key and 9-pane sash. Rear has rounded-headed stair window with sash, flanking windows with rubbed brick flat arches and 12-pane sashes; 3 windows above, 2 with 6-pane sashes, one blocked; coped gables and cross-axial stack. Erasmus Darwin, 1731-1802, lived here until c1781. He was a doctor and a member of the Lunar Society whose researches into botany and zoology led him to explore a theory of evolution. He was grandfather of Charles Darwin. (Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Staffordshire: London: 1974-: P.192-3; Victoria History of the County of Stafford: Greenslade M W: Lichfield: Oxford: 1990-: P.64; Lichfield Council: Erasmus Darwin).

Listing NGR: SK1141209705

External Links

• Erasmus Darwin House at Wikipedia
• Erasmus Darwin House official website
• Wikidata Q5384953

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)