From John Lubbock   27 February 1874

High Elms.

27th. Feb. 1874.

Private.

My dear Mr. Darwin,

I should have been very glad to meet your wishes by selling you the bit of land you wish for, but I am afraid, nay almost certain, that it is one of those included in my marriage settlements, in which case it would be difficult to deal with it till Johnnie is of age.1 However I enclose my note to Mr. Denby2 (of 8 Frederick’s Plce. Old Jewry) in case you think it worth while to make quite certain. I have also been buying some accomodation land: unfortunately for me I want more than you do.

yours most sincerely High Elms. Feb 27th/74.

Dear Mr. Denby,

Will you please give Mr. Darwin the information he wishes for with reference to the piece of land he rents of me.

I am yours very truly

1
CD had asked to buy a piece of wooded land, including the famous sandwalk, that he rented from Lubbock (see letter to John Lubbock, 23 February 1874). John Birkbeck Lubbock (who turned 16 in 1874) was Lubbock’s eldest son.
2
Thomas William Denby was Lubbock’s solicitor.
3
Lubbock wrote his reply and the note to Denby at the foot of CD’s letter to him of 23 February 1874.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9318,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9318