Shrewsbury School
Charles Darwin’s first school was the Unitarian Church school in the centre of Shrewsbury that his mother, Susannah Wedgwood, sent him to when he was eight years old.
The following year, however, his mother died, and his father took Charles out of the Unitarian school and enrolled him instead in Dr. Samuel Butler’s school, otherwise known as Shrewsbury School, where he boarded until he was sixteen years old.
In those days, Shrewsbury School was in the centre of the town, where the library now stands. Pevsner described the buildings as being '... astonishingly stately. Only Eton and Winchester has such extensive and lavish premises.' Astonishing because Shrewsbury was simply the town grammar school and not that richly endowed; but by astute saving and careful direction of a talented local builder the School managed to produce the splendid premises on the site that it now occupies, overlooking the town.
Darwin describes his schooldays with affection, although he found the classical education somewhat stifling and not at all conducive to his inquisitive and naturalist mind. “In the summer of 1818 I went to Dr Butler's great school in Shrewsbury. I boarded at this school so that I had the great advantage of living the life of a true schoolboy.” However, he goes on to say 'Much attention was paid to learning by heart the lessons of the previous day; this I could effect with great facility learning forty or fifty lines of Virgil or Homer, whilst I was in morning chapel; but this exercise was utterly useless, for every verse was forgotten in forty-eight hours.'
Darwin is possibly the most famous of Shrewsbury School’s old boys (‘Old Salopians’), and the school has always had a particular interest in him. The school library holds a number of manuscripts and artefacts relating to Darwin, including some of his letters, the first edition of The Origin of Species, his old school atlas (with childish doodles) and some medals.
The Head of Biology at Shrewsbury School, Andrew Allott, has presented several papers on Darwin, including ‘Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection’ which he gave as part of Shrewsbury School’s series of lectures on Darwin in 2008 in the lead-up to the bicentenary of his birth. This lecture and other articles on Darwin, and more information on his time at Shrewsbury School can be found on the school’s website: www.shrewsbury.org.uk/go/darwin
Rather fittingly, given his family connection to the Wedgwood family, Shrewsbury School have commissioned a limited edition of ‘Charles Darwin’ Wedgwood china, details of which are also on the school’s website: www.shrewsbury.org.uk/go/darwinchina