Downing College

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Downing College
logo
founding 1800
Sponsorship University of Cambridge
place Cambridge
master Alan Bookbinder
Students 425
postgraduates : 258
Website www.dow.cam.ac.uk

The Downing College is one of 31  colleges of the University of Cambridge .

The college was founded in 1800 as the 17th and had a total of 683 students in the academic year 2011/2012, of which 425 are  undergraduates and 258 are  postgraduates , 53 professors and over 130 non-academic staff. It has an endowment of approximately £ 87 million. Downing is considered both the “newest” of the “old” colleges and the “oldest” of the “new” colleges in Cambridge and today has the reputation of being particularly open, “informal” and the sportiest college at the university. However, it is also highly regarded academically. Downing's motto is Quaerere Verum (German =  looking for the truth ).

history

Aerial view

Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet, was born in East Hatley, West Cambridgeshire in 1685 to Sir George Downing, 2nd Baronet, Chief Accountant to the Crown and businessman, and Lady Catherine Cecil, daughter of the Earl of Salisbury . Since his mother died when he was just three years old, he was raised by his aunt, the wife of William Forester of Dothill Park in Shropshire . Their daughter Mary and George were married when he was no older than 15 and they were just 13 years old. Due to their young age, however, they were not allowed to live together, something that never changed in the further course of their relationship. In 1703 Mary moved to London against her husband's wishes to become Maid of Honor at Queen Anne's court . In 1717, George obtained his own Act of Parliament, which allowed him to live permanently separated from his wife. Otherwise the marriage would have been divorced.

After the death of Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet, in 1749, the family fortune went to his cousin Sir Jacob Downing. This was mainly amassed by his grandfather Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet , a very influential politician and diplomat in the service of Oliver Cromwell and Charles II and builder of 10 Downing Street , in the 17th century. After his return from America (where he was only the second graduate from Harvard ), he devoted himself intensively to his business activities in addition to his civil service. It is widely believed that he was the richest person in England at the time. The will stated that if his cousin Jacob also had no direct heir, three other cousins ​​should come into possession of the property in a fixed order. If all three had no heirs either, it should be used to found a college in Cambridge named after the family.

When Jacob died in 1764, all potential heirs named in the will had already died. His wife Margaret, however, successfully refused to surrender the entire property until her death twelve years later in 1778. Her second husband and her sister's son struggled for another 22 years against the last will of Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet, but ultimately unsuccessful. A court order in 1800 obtained the surrender of the property, which, however, had been considerably reduced due to the ongoing legal dispute. This created poor starting conditions for the college, whose official founding took place that same year on September 22nd with the award of a Royal Charter (royal statute) by George III . It was the first Cambridge college established in 206 years (after Sidney Sussex in 1594). Due to the sharp drop in the number of students in both Cambridge and Oxford during the 17th century, there was no need to establish a new college during this period.

Extracts from the Royal Charter:

" 1. That in and upon a piece of ground called Doll's Close in the town of Cambridge purehased by the heirs at law of Sir George Downing from the Mayor bailiffs and burgesses of the town of Cambridge I there should and might be erected and established one perpetual College for students in law physie and other useful arts and learning which College should be called by the name of Downing College in the University of Cambridge and should consist of one Master two professors that is to say a Professor of the Laws of England and a Professor of Medicine and sixteen fellows two of whom should be in holy orders and the rest laymen and of such a number of scholars as should thereafter be agreed on and settled by the statutes of the College. "

" 3. That the College should be deemed and taken to be part and pareel of the University of Cambridge and should be united and annexed to and incorporated therewith and enjoy all the privileges of the University. "

" 8. His Majesty reserved to himself his heirs and successors all visitatorial power and authority over the College. "

architecture

sundial

The architect William Wilkins, who designed the National Gallery in London and University College London , among other things , was commissioned by the trustees to plan the building. These included the Masters from Clare and St John's Colleges and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York . George III personally urged not to build another Gothic college but to opt for the more modern neoclassicism . This wish was taken into account with the strongly Greek-inspired design. For a long time Downing was the only college that had been planned as a whole and was not subject to repeated structural changes.

The first to be built was the east wing from 1807 to 1812, which houses the Master Lodge in the south, but was not completed in the north. This part of the ensemble differs for the visitor from the rest of the old and new buildings by the white color of the White Portland Stone from which it was built. All other buildings are made of Ketton Stone, which shimmers pink and yellow even in bad weather and adds a lot to the ambience.

The west wing was built between 1818 and 1820. In both wings there were originally independent professors' houses, but these were integrated into the surrounding building structure. By 1873 the necessary money had been raised to enable Edward Barry to complete the east wing according to Wilkins' plans.

There was no further construction work until 1931, when four residential buildings were erected in line with the east and west wings, designed by Sir Herbert Baker . However, Baker's style was less Greek than heavily Roman. The height of the building was adjusted to that of the existing one, but not two, but three floors.

Twelve hectares of the original property was later sold to the university and now houses most of the science buildings under the name "The Downing Site".

A new chapel was built to mark the 150th anniversary of the college's foundation. The foundation stone was laid on May 18, 1951 and the official opening on June 29, 1953.

It was planned by the architects Scott and Helbing, who were also responsible for the designs of the two residential units built in 1959 and 1961 in the west of the Baker buildings. The construction of this was made possible by a donation from the two daughters of the former professor and well-known lawyer CS Kenny.

In 1969 W. G. Howell designed an extension of the great hall, which u. a. houses a new kitchen, several offices, guest rooms and a Senior Combination Room (meeting place for the college professors and other faculty members), and which has won several architectural awards.

1987 began an intensive phase of renovation and new construction work to guide Downing well into the 3rd century of its existence. The first of the extensions was the Howard Building, named after Alan Howard, thanks to whom the college now has an elegant reception room and concert hall. A new block of flats with 31 new rooms was completed in 1994 and funded through an appeal for donations to the alumni and the Howard Foundation. Both buildings were designed by Quinlan Terry . He also designed the Butterfield Building, which houses the JCR, the Junior Combination Room, the student bar and a large party room, and the Maitland Robinson Library, which is named after the alumnus and sponsor JWC Maitland Robinson and was celebrated in 1993 opened. In 2000 the Singer Building was inaugurated, which offers additional residential units for graduate students. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of today's college, the large hall was completely renovated in 2007. In 2010 the south side of Howard Court was completed with the Howard Theater, also designed by Terry Quinlan, but this time with the help of his son Francis. The style is based heavily on William Wilkins Theater Royal in Bury St. Edmunds and the Richmond Theater in Yorkshire. The building is a passive house that was designed according to the strictest ecological criteria and is both heated and cooled using deep heat, among other things.

The courtyard in the middle of the college is generally considered to be the largest in all of Cambridge and Oxford , although Trinity College supporters willingly deny it.

Mindset

The college stood for freedom and liberality as early as the 19th century, which set it apart from many of the very traditional sister institutions up into the 20th century. This attitude and the great will to reform of the college's supporters are reflected in its statutes. These innovations led to far-reaching changes in the statutes of almost all other colleges in the course of the 19th century. Significant changes to Downings' statutes took place in 1860, 1882 and 1942 until the cessation of teaching due to the Second World War. Since the resumption, the statutes have been changed several times.

present

Education

Downing now offers all of the courses offered by the university and is open to both women and men. Downing is particularly renowned in law and medicine, in the former it also has the largest collection of books at a college in Cambridge. Over the past few years, the college has consistently ranked high on the Tompkins Table . It is also one of the most competitive colleges in terms of admission, especially among undergraduates. In 2002 the post of “College Liasion Officer” was created in full-time, who specifically looks after applicants from (primarily public) schools who have so far sent few or no students to Cambridge.

students

In contrast to some other colleges, Downing can no longer be assigned to a political spectrum. The militant left wing is represented as well as the extreme right wing (for example, Nick Griffin , the party leader of the British National Party , studied in Downing).

Downing students are and have always been very involved in all activities and have many important positions. Between 1870 and 1959, Downing had no fewer than eight presidents of the Union Society (informally also Cambridge Union, the university's student body) and in recent years students of the college have often held this post, including the incumbent President CC Macdonald. Likewise, the Cambridge Law, Economic, History, Land Economy and Medicin Societies, among others, have recently been headed by students from Downing.

The Cranworth Law Society is the college law society at Cambridge with the largest number of members.

In addition to Sidney Sussex, Clare, Darwin (only postgraduate) and Emmanuel, Downing is one of only five colleges with a student-run bar that works on a non-profit basis. This makes it a very popular nightly attraction for many students from other colleges, especially because of the cheap prices for drinks.

Three times a week there is a so-called “Formal Hall”, a formal dinner in which gowns are worn and dined by candlelight. Every year Downing organizes a "May Ball", which is the social highlight of the academic year.

The college is particularly proud of its strong social support network, unique of its kind in Cambridge.

The Downing Association is the college's alumni association and is actively involved in many areas of college life. It funds a variety of events and helps with scholarships for students in need. As with any organization of this type, its main task, in addition to supporting Downing just mentioned, is to network its former students and professors.

Sports

Within the university, Downing is considered to be the most successful college in sports, which is also confirmed by internal university rankings for intra-university sports leagues. Rowing, football and rugby are among the strongest sports.

The rowing club is one of the largest in Cambridge and organizes training camps abroad several times a year, including in Spain. Founded in 1863 by Irishman Richard Henn Collings, it celebrated the completion of a £ 1,000,000 new boathouse in 2001.

environmental Protection

In a ranking list compiled annually by the Cambridge University Environmental Consulting Society since 2009, which evaluates the university's colleges according to sustainability and environmental protection, Downing always occupies top positions. It took first place in both 2010 and 2012.

Library

Library

The library houses what is believed to be the largest number of legal books from any college in Cambridge and Oxford, as well as an important collection of pamphlets and other documents relating to the Civil War . It also has a very large number of records from over 800 years of university history and a collection of works of maritime history bequeathed to the college by Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond, Masters between 1936 and 1946.

chapel

The chapel's choir is internationally renowned and has toured several times in recent years, including recently to the USA and Canada.

Masters of Downing

The chapel
  • Francis Annesley, Sept. 22, 1800, first Masters of the college
  • William Frere, May 8, 1812.
  • Thomas Worsley (June 23, 1836 to March 1, 1885)
  • William Lloyd Birkbeck (March 1, 1885 to June 16, 1888)
  • Alex Hill (June 16, 1888 - October 24, 1907)
  • Frederick Howard Marsh (Oct 24, 1907 - Aug 2, 1915)
  • Sir Albert Charles Seward (Aug 2, 1915 - Nov 1, 1936)
  • Admiral Sir Herbert William Richmond (Nov. 1, 1936 - May 22, 1947)
  • Sir Lionel Ernest Howard Whitby (May 22, 1947 - Apr. 28, 1957)
  • William Keith Chambers Guthrie (Apr. 28, 1957–1972)
  • Sir Morien Bedford Morgan (1972–1978)
  • John Butterfield, Baron Butterfield (1978-1987)
  • Peter Mathias (1987-1995)
  • Sir David King (1995-2000)
  • Stephen Fleet (2001-2003)
  • Barry Everitt (2003-2013)
  • Geoffrey Grimmett (since 2013)

Alumni

Memorial plaque 1939–1945

literature

  • Elisabeth Leedham-Green: A Concise History of the University of Cambridge. Cambridge University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-521-43978-7 .
  • Tim Rawle: A Classical Adventure: The Architectural History of Downing College, Cambridge , Oxbridge Portfolio, 2015, 200 pp. ISBN 978-0-9572867-4-0 OCLC 931005141

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/colleges/downing/
  2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dow.cam.ac.uk
  3. ↑ Joe Trigg: Old, rich, landed and loaded. In: Varsity. The Independent Cambridge Student Newspaper since 1947. Edition 647, November 17, 2006. (PDF; 5.9 MB)
  4. ^ Charles Henry Cooper: Annals of Cambridge. Volume 4, 1852, p. 467.
  5. ^ Charles Henry Cooper: Annals of Cambridge. Volume 4, 1852, pp. 467-469.
  6. ↑ a b c J. PC Roach (Ed.): A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely. Part 3: The City and University of Cambridge. 1959, pp. 487-490.
  7. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dow.cam.ac.uk
  8. ↑ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/cuecs/GLT/home.php  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.srcf.ucam.org  
  9. ^ Charles Henry Cooper: Annals of Cambridge. Volume 4, 1852, p. 468.

Coordinates: 52 ° 12 ′ 2 ″  N , 0 ° 7 ′ 25 ″  E