The College That George Built

The George who built the college, or at least paid for it, was Sir George Downing who we found out about in the post "Two Families". He died childless in 1749 and left a will that named his cousins as beneficiaries, but only if they had children. If there were no heirs then the money was to pay for the new college. Since these cousins died before Sir George there should have been no argument, but others thought they might have a claim so litigation dragged on for decades and the college wasn't founded till 1800.

Apart from Downing no new colleges were founded in Cambridge between 1596 and 1869. Is it the youngest of the old colleges or the oldest of the young ones?

The architect William Wilkin drew up grand and ambitious designs for the college, however the funds had been much depleted by the arguments of the Downing family, who all thought they had a right to Sir George's fortune. In the end the only people to profit from the disputes were the lawyers. So the plans were abandoned when the money threatened to run out.

Part of the site was sold off and it wasn't till 1951 that the college got its chapel, which completed three sides of the huge court which was originally planned. It never has got its fourth side. The open, spacious design gives the site a much different feel from the more enclosed courts of other colleges.

Wilkin designed the college in neo-Classical style and a similar approach has been used for later buildings on the site. This is unusual for the colleges of Cambridge University who tend to build in the fashion of the day, making for interesting though sometimes jarring juxtapositions.

Irony Number One: I'd come here to photograph the college buildings because I'd temporarily tired of taking pictures of autumn colours, but that's what I ended up taking pictures of anyway!

Irony Number Two: Despite all the legal wrangling, where the money spent on lawyers threatened the founding of the college, it lists many leading judges amongst its alumni.

Above is part of the Howard Building, the most recent addition, though in very traditional style.

Famous people who went to Downing: Michael Winner (film director), John Cleese (comedian), Howard Jacobson (Booker Prize winning author), Michael Atherton (England cricket captain), Thandiwe Newton (actress), Hamish Henderson (Scottish folklorist and poet), Andy Hamilton (comedian), Aitzaz Ahsan (Pakistani politician), Quentin Blake (illustrator), Trevor Nunn (film and theatre director), Clive King (author of "Stig Of The Dump"!), Annie Vernon (World Rowing gold medallist), Jim Wallace (deputy First Minister of Scotland), Tom Udall (US senator) and so on and so on......

Who knows what the students of today will go on to achieve. It looks an idyllic place to study, though only one person was brave enough to be sitting outside in November!

The grounds of Downing College are usually open to the public (outside of examination times). In common with many of the colleges it does nothing to encourage you to have a look around, but no one ever stops you either.

Take care.