Meeting of Minds
Erasmus Darwin and his wife, Polly, moved to their house in The Close in 1758. As he built up his successful medical practice, Darwin wrote books on botany and nature; worked on inventions, including a flying machine; and promoted the use of new technologies, such as steam power. He also developed a theory on the origins of life, many of his ideas being taken up by his grandson Charles. Together with industrialist Matthew Boulton, he founded the Lunar Society, a group of innovators which included engineer James Watt, with whom Boulton developed the Boulton and Watt steam engine, potter Josiah Wedgwood and cleric and scientist Joseph Priestley. The group met on the nearest Monday to the full moon, to ensure there was sufficient light to walk home by after their meetings, many of which took place in this house.