AN HISTORIC 180-year-old anchor used by England’s most famous biologist Charles Darwin will go on public display in September.
Rochford Council is set to stump up £13,755 to help fund the display in Paglesham, as part of a joint venture with the village’s parish council.
The anchor will be moved from its current position in a private residential garden to a permanent monument in Frances Field, Paglesham Eastend.
The anchor, which dates back to 1842, was used aboard the HMS Beagle, a boat most famous for its 1831 – 1836 round the world survey voyage.
It was on the vessel's trip around the Galapagos Islands that a 22-year-old Charles Darwin developed his evolutionary ideas, labelling the voyage "the most important event in my life”.
Following a later voyage, the Beagle was re-fitted and spent its final 25 years as a coastguard vessel moored in the River Roach and later in a dock at Paglesham Eastend.
The Beagle was broken up in 1870 and in 2002 research discovered the anchor lying in the Paglesham Marshes at Potton Island, which was placed in historian Ann Boulter’s garden.
In 2020 the mud dock where HMS Beagle spent its final days was given protected status to help preserve it for the public.
A joint investigation by the BBC and Historic England found the legendary 19th century vessel was most likely dismantled at a submerged mud berth on the River Roach near Paglesham.
The location has been designated as a 'scheduled monument' by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of the conservation charity.
And now the council’s “Anchor Project” will enable visitors to the village to physically connect to the Beagle and its last berth.
“It will be representative of the voyages of discovery and will encourage individuals to plan their own journeys of discovery,” a council spokesman said.
The Anchor Project is intended to be completed before the autumn and will culminate in an unveiling ceremony planned for September 10.
The site will include an interpretations board, decorative steel edging, electrical works to support lighting, finger post signage within the village, and Beagle “pop up” exhibition and talks and presentations.
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