Arms of Downing College Arms:Barry of eight argent and vert, a griffin segreant or within a bordure azure charged with eight roses of the first seeded and barbed proper.
Scarf colours: black, with three narrow magenta stripes
Downing College is aconstituent college of theUniversity of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of the new colleges and the newest of the old.[5] Downing College was formed "for the encouragement of the study of Law and Medicine and of the cognate subjects of Moral and Natural Science", and has developed a reputation amongst Cambridge colleges for Law[6] and Medicine.
In 2012, Downing was named one of the two most eco-friendly Cambridge colleges.[7]
Upon the death ofSir George Downing, 3rd Baronet in 1749, the wealth left by his grandfather,Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet, who served bothCromwell andCharles II and built10 Downing Street (a door formerly from Number 10 is in use in the college), was applied by his will. Under this will, as he had no direct issue (he was legally separated from his wife), the family fortune was left to his cousin,Sir Jacob Downing, 4th Baronet, and if he died without heir, to three cousins in succession. If they all died without issue, the estates were to be used to found a college at Cambridge called Downing.
Sir Jacob died in 1764, and as the other named heirs had also died, the college should have come into existence then, butSir Jacob's widow, Margaret, refused to give up the estates and the various relatives who were Sir George's legal heirs had to take costly and prolonged action in theCourt of Chancery to compel her to do so. She died in 1778 but her second husband and the son of her sister continued to resist the heirs-at-law's action until 1800 when the court decided in favour of Sir George's will andGeorge III granted Downing a royal charter, marking the official foundation of the college.
TheMaitland Robinson Library byQuinlan Terry, completed in 1992.[8]
The architectWilliam Wilkins was commissioned by the trustees of the Downing estate, who included the Master ofClare College andSt John's College and the Archbishops ofCanterbury andYork, to design the plan for the college. Wilkins, a disciple of the neo-classical architectural style, designed the first wholly campus-based college plan in the world based on a magnificent entrance onDowning Street reaching back to form the largest court in Cambridge, extending toLensfield Road. But this was not to be.
The estate was much reduced by the suit in Chancery, and the grand plans failed. Much of the north side of what was then the Pembroke Leys was sold to the university and is now home to scientific buildings ("TheDowning Site"). In fact, only limited East and West ranges were initially built, with the plans for a library and chapel on the south face of the college shelved.
Downing College Chapel (behind the portico), built in 1951
The third side of the square was only completed in 1951 with the building of the college chapel. Where the fourth side would have been is now a large paddock (known simply as "The Paddock"), with many trees. Though not fully enclosed, the court formed before the Downing College is perhaps largest inCambridge orOxford (a title contested withTrinity College'sGreat Court).
The most recent building additions are the Howard Lodge accommodation, the Howard Building, and most recent of all the Howard Theatre which opened in 2010. These were sponsored by theHoward Foundation, and are located behind the main court around their own small garden. These facilities are used for conference and businesses gatherings outside the student term.[9]
The Heong Gallery, opened in February 2016, is a modern and contemporary art gallery at Downing. It is named for Alwyn Heong, an alumnus of the college, who is a supporter of the visual arts. The conversion of a stables building byCaruso St John won aRIBA regional award.[10]
Downing students remain prominent in the university world; in the past few yearsCambridge Union Presidents, Blues captains, Law and Economic Society Presidents and more have hailed from the college. Downing has a particular reputation as the 'Law College'.[11]
The Griffin has been the undergraduate student magazine for over 100 years.[12]
Downing College boathouse on the River Cam, it was rebuilt in 2000. Here a trailer of rowing boats is shown outside the building.
The college fields teams in a range of sports including, men's football, men's and women's rugby, tennis andultimate.
Downing College Rugby Union Football Club is one of Cambridge’s top teams, having secured victory in both the 2019 Cuppers and 2022 Shield competitions. The rise of Downing has also included a win in the Plate competition during the 2017/18 season.[13]
Downing College Boat Club is successful too, with the Women's first boat gainingLents Headship of the river in 2004 and most recently in2020, and the Mays Headship in the 2014 and 2015May Bumps. The men's first boat has held the headship several times in the 1980s and 1990s (for example in 1994 to 1996) while gaining the Mays headship in 1996and the Lents Headship in 2014, on each occasion recognising the tradition of "burning the boat" (using an old wooden 8 oared boat), while the rowers of the winning boat jump the flames. They both currently hold positions at or near the top in both University bumps races [Lents and Mays].
^Downing College, Cambridge (11 March 2020)."Statutes"(PDF).dow.cam.ac.uk.Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved20 October 2022.
Sicca, Cinzia Maria (1987).Committed to Classicism: The Building of Downing College, Cambridge. Contributions by Charles Harpum and Edward Powell. Photography, design, and production by Tim Rawle. Cambridge: Downing College.ISBN978-0-9511620-1-9.
Willis, Robert; Clark, John Willis (1886).The Architectural History of the University of Cambridge and of the Colleges of Cambridge and Eton. Vol. 1–4. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.[ISBN missing]
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The Crownex officio[4]
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