ONE hundred and fifty years ago, the world’s views on the origins of mankind were about to be cast into turmoil by the publication of a book.

Thanks to a race between two naturalists who were writing about decidedly similar ideas at around the same time, one of them, Charles Darwin, was pressed into publishing his seminal work on natural selection in 1859.

Suffering from a mystery illness – which some claim was related to the stress of releasing his controversial work – Darwin was undergoing hydrotherapy treatment while the debate raged about the theories put forward in On The Origin of the Species.

Every copy of the 1,000-plus first edition of the book sold out immediately and quickly whipped up a storm in the academic world that led to a rift among the county’s top churchmen, who were split between rejecting his ideas and finding a place for them within Anglican theological debate.

In the midst of this storm, the man at the centre of the crisis sought to recuperate in the tranquillity of Wharfedale.

The year 2009 marks the anniversary of two landmark dates in Darwin’s life – the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1809, and the 150th anniversary publication of On The Origin of the Species.

Universities and museums around the world are preparing to mark the date with their own celebrations and the nation’s interest in the ground-breaking naturalist is set to be revived with a series of documentaries on BBC television.

In honour of one of its most famous visitors, Wharfedale, too, is planning celebrations of the life and work of Charles Darwin.

While plenty has been written about Charles Darwin, the man, his thinking and his survey voyage on HMS Beagle, his recuperation in Ilkley at such a crucial stage of his life is something that has been by and large neglected by the writers, says Ilkley historian Mike Dixon.

He and another Ilkley resident plan to put that right by releasing their own work on Darwin’s time in Ilkley this year.

Local organisations are planning their own events to commemorate the anniversary this year, telling more residents about Ilkley’s Darwin heritage. It was, after all, the visits of people such as Darwin that helped Ilkley evolve from a small rural community to a spa health resort and increasingly wealthy town.

Darwin was among the many wealthy and well-connected figures in Victorian society who sought out the benefits of the popular ‘water cure’ therapy, which put towns like Ilkley and Harrogate firmly on the map. He stayed initially at prestigious spa Wells House, close to the edge of Ilkley Moor on Wells Road, but later rented apartments nearby as his family came to stay with him.

An exhibition is being planned at the Manor House Museum, Castle Yard, this year, which will help visitors get a feel for Darwin’s Ilkley, with artefacts and exhibits from the height of the town’s spa era.

Ilkley Civic Society’s Alex Cockshott set the scene by describing the Ilkley that Darwin in all probability saw when he arrived in October 1859.

She said: “People came in by carriage as the railway hadn’t been built. They took a train to Arthington Station, and the hydro sent carriages to meet them at Arthington and bring them to Ilkley.

“Wells House had its own stables at the time. Some came by train to Apperley Bridge as those lines had been developed first.”

The centre of the town as we know it was only beginning to develop, said Mrs Cockshott. Inns such as the Rose & Crown were opening up, and work had only just got under way on culverting the brook which then ran down one side of Brook Street.

Rental apartments and lodging houses were also springing up to cater for those coming to partake of the water cure at the town’s hydros.

Charles Darwin and his family rented one such apartment from Marshall Hainsworth in North View between mid-October and late November, 1859, going up to the Wells House hydro each day for treatment.

This is now part of refurbished apartments complex Hillside Court. The Civic Society hope to put up a new blue heritage plaque this year marking the Darwin connection. There are also hopes that the Darwin theme can be linked to annual festivities in Ilkley through the year.

Another significant commemoration of the double Darwin anniversary will take the form of the book by Dr Dixon and Leeds University lecturer in the philosophy and history of science, Greg Radick.

The two Ilkley residents are collaborating on a book looking specifically, for the first time, at Darwin’s stay in Ilkley. They have been studying letters relating to Darwin’s visit to Ilkley. The book, to be published by The History Press, promises to include some ‘novel elements’, says Dr Dixon.

“Darwin and Ilkley has been neglected in recent biographies,” he said. “He had to engage in quite a lot of correspondence. He had to carry on his research and, by corresponding with his scientific peers, smooth the way, he hoped, for the reception of his book. We feel we’ve got something new to say.”

In his previous work, Dr Dixon has documented Darwin’s poor state of health on arriving in Ilkley. Darwin suffered severe swelling to his face and numerous boils which actually held up his treatment at the spa.

Opinion is divided as to whether he was suffering a tropical parasitic disease as a result of being bitten by a bug in South America. He chose to come to Ilkley for recuperation rather than go to his house at Malvern, where his daughter, Annie, had died.

One local landmark has actively promoted Ilkley’s Darwin links, Darwin Gardens Millennium Green, on Wells Road. The once-neglected parkland, standing next to Wells House itself, was named in honour of Ilkley’s famous visitor.

As well as combining other aspects of Ilkley’s heritage in its design, the gardens work with nature, encouraging many species of wild insects, birds, animals and plants.

Walks around gardens, as well as Darwin-related heritage trails organised by the civic society, are in the planning stages this year.

Not ignoring Darwin’s contribution to our understanding of nature, Wharfedale Naturalists’ Society is one of the organisations that are marking the area’s Darwin heritage in 2009.

Leading environmental scientist Sir John Lawton has been invited to give the society his perspective on Darwin, Evolution and The Galapagos on January 27.