Charles Darwin mural, central Bromley

Image: © Christopher Hilton Taken: 30 Jun 2012

The mural marks the fact that Darwin lived many years at Downe, within the modern London Borough of Bromley. Motifs in the tree reflect various aspects of Darwin's work: the heads of British finches nod to the divergent evolution spotted in the finches of the Galapagos, a map of which is at bottom right, whilst skulls and standing figures note to the evolution of homo sapiens from the primates. Also featured are a dovecot and the heads of dogs, indicating Darwin's work on how selective breeding by humans had widened the distinctions between varieties and thus mimicked the action of natural selection. Top left, a slightly gratuitous appearance by H.G. Wells, another famous son of Bromley (born a few yards behind the camera): the link is presumably that both men saw the future in their various ways. The mural may well date from 2009 and the Darwin bicentenary: I have vague memories, which older photographs may or may not substantiate, that this wall used to be occupied by a mural about H.G. Wells (which would also help explain his cameo appearance here).

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