Inside Charles Darwin's childhood home - as Shrewsbury property evolves with luxury cottages, new businesses and a museum in the pipeline

The master plan was to restore the large Georgian house to its former glory while breathing new life into it.

Tatty and derelict outbuildings were to be renovated, while a museum in the main house to celebrate Charles Darwin's life and his contribution to science was also one of the main ideas. It was also Glyn's ambition to create a place for start-up businesses to thrive.

So far, Glyn and his team have made impressive progress on turning outbuildings into cosy, luxurious B&B cottages. And two very different Shropshire businesses, which are run from the main house, have launched the green shoots of the bustling base of enterprise which it could become.

Glyn invited the Shropshire Star to take a look around.

The museum plan is only at the ideas stage currently, but the level of interest in Darwin has given Glyn a sense of motivation to bring it to life.

"The surprising inspiration is the massive public interest in Charles Darwin," he said. "It is a worldwide public interest. It's phenomenal.

"We haven't even advertised it or launched a website but people just turn up and come for a look from around the world. We've had people from Japan, people studying Darwinism from Brazil.

"I feel a responsibility that we need to do something."

Glyn has been taking inspiration from visiting other attractions with his children when considering the museum in the future, and likes the idea of a virtual reality experience.

"It would need to be interactive," he said. "You want kids to go away having experienced what life would have been like."

Pointing to a statue of Darwin in his younger days, exploring with lizards and wildlife on the rocks beneath him, depicting his voyages to tropical islands, Glyn said: "It would be great to have something that would take people back in time to when he was here in Shrewsbury, then down to London and then to this time of his life when his theories would have started coming together."

Some of the rooms inside the main house, including the reception and the main front room, have been tastefully renovated.

One room that is yet to be transformed is Darwin's bedroom on the first floor, where he was born.

"I'll get someone in who knows what they're doing for this one," Glyn joked. Since the last time we visited, several posters with information about Darwin's life have been put on the walls, but Glyn wants a historical expert's input so the room can be made as close to how it would have been when a young Darwin lived there.

"It will be an important part of the museum," he said.

It is also hoped that a jetty could be created for the rear of the property so Sabrina boat visitors could hop off at Mount House and pop in for an afternoon tea and a look around the museum.

Another room which has been fully renovated includes what is believed to be the bedroom of Darwin's parents - Dr Robert Darwin and Susannah Wedgwood.

It may once have been a place of rest, but now it is a place of work. Indeed, the very intricate and artistic work of Linda Shiels, who runs her jewellery boutique and workshops business, Feretia.

Displays of floral jewellery, hand-crafted in silver clay, adorn the edges of the room, with work stations and tools galore.

Several pieces have links to Darwin, including the Mangrove finch, one of the world's most endangered birds and considered one of "Darwin's finches", and the Darwin Orchid among others.

"It is an inspirational space," Fiona said. "I think everyone agrees with that when they come in here. They get the ambience of the room and the legacy. They always overstay, but I don't mind that at all."

To learn more about Feretia's jewellery and workshops, visit feretia.com/

Another business at Mount House you could say is putting the EV into the evolutionary theorist's old stomping ground.

Fast Amps is an electric vehicle charger start up, launched by Glyn and his friend Edd Rayner.

The pair have drawn on their experience in the electronics trade at Welshpool business Invertek Drives, which was sold to a Japanese firm in a £100 million deal in 2019.

Given most of us will need a charger at home, work and anywhere we park up in the not too distant future, it seems like a sensible venture for Glyn and Edd to explore.

The Fast Amps design, they say, is cheaper and takes up significantly less space than many of its competitors. Glyn and Edd say the components used mean it should be less prone to breakdowns too.

"We've built on our experience previously to create a new business right at the cutting edge of the industry," Glyn said.

The business currently employs nine people, from sales staff to engineers building the chargers. It is hoped that as the firm builds up its customer base, more jobs in the county town can be created.

"It's manufacturing in Shrewsbury," Edd added. "Which perhaps there hasn't been a lot of in a little while."

Glyn is planning to build an annex next to Mount House to move Fast Amps into at a later date, and the current office will likely house another start-up business.

To learn more about Fast Amps, visit fastamps.com/

Perhaps some of the most impressive work completed so far is the transformation of the derelict outbuildings into B&B cottages.

Wing-back chairs and old-style fireplaces give a sense of tradition, but the cottages will have plenty of mod-cons so visitors can live in luxury.

Photos of Darwin adorn various walls and Glyn is aiming to design the cottages with a nod to their previous history, including one which used to be stables having original materials re-used.

"It's all progressing quite well," he said. "It's bringing the building back to life."

Mount House was built in 1800 by Darwin's father. Charles was born there on February 12, 1809. His father died in the house on November 13, 1848, followed by his unmarried daughters Catherine and Susan.

Since there were no surviving members of the Darwin family in residence, the house was then put up for auction, after the three surviving Darwin children, Ras, Charles, and Caroline Wedgwood had taken what possessions they wished.