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To Henry Willett   26 March [1873]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. [16 Montague Street, London.]

March 26th

Dear Sir

I enclose a cheque for an additional 10£ for the Wealden Exploration Fund & which please to apply to whichever form of subscription is most wanted for the success of your excellent undertaking2

Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the date of CD’s payments to the sub-Wealden exploration fund (see n. 2, below).
2
The sinking of boreholes to explore the underlying strata of the Sussex Weald had been proposed to mark the 1872 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Brighton, Sussex, by Henry Willett, an honorary secretary to the meeting; between 1872 and 1875, boreholes were sunk at Netherfield, Sussex, to a depth of nearly 2000ft ([Willett] 1878). Willett circulated a request for funds in April 1872 ([Willett] 1878, pp. 5–6); CD contributed £10 on 20 July 1872 and a further £10 on 26 March 1873 (CD’s Classed account books (Down House MS)). A report on progress and an appeal for further funds had been published in Nature, 13 February 1873, p. 288.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 wanted] above del ‘desired’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8251,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8251