Downing College, Cambridge
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| Downing College, Cambridge | ||||||||||
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| Full name | Downing College | |||||||||
| Motto | Quaerere Verum Seek the truth |
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| Named after | Sir George Downing | |||||||||
| Previous names | - | |||||||||
| Established | 1800 | |||||||||
| Sister College(s) | Lincoln College | |||||||||
| Master | Prof. Barry Everitt | |||||||||
| Location | Regent Street | |||||||||
| Undergraduates | 409 | |||||||||
| Postgraduates | 292 | |||||||||
| Homepage | Boatclub | |||||||||
Downing College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
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[edit] History
The college was founded in 1800 under the will of Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet with the wealth left by his grandfather, Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet, who served both Cromwell and Charles II and built 10 Downing Street (a door formerly from Number 10 is in use in the college). He died in 1749, and as he had no direct issue (he was legally separated from his wife), the family fortune was left to his cousin, Sir Jacob Downing, 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.
The Founder died in 1749 and Sir Jacob in 1764. As the other named heirs had also died, the college should have come into existence then but Sir 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 the Court 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-laws' action until 1800 when the Court decided in favour of Sir George's will and George III granted Downing a Royal Charter.
The architect William Wilkins was tasked by the trustees of the Downing estate, who included the Master of Clare College and St John's College and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, 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 on Downing Street reaching back to form the largest quadrangle in Cambridge, extending to Lensfield 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 ("The Downing 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.
The third side of the square was only completed in the 1950s 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.
The college is renowned for its strong Legal and Medical tradition, the former subject being built up by the late Professor Clive Parry, his pupil and successor John Hopkins (now an emeritus fellow) and the current Director of Studies in Law and Senior Tutor, Graham Virgo. Legal notables who have been honorary fellows of the college include the late Sir John Smith, the pre-eminent criminal lawyer of his generation, the first solicitor to become a Judge of the High Court, Sir Lawrence Collins and Sir Robert Jennings, former President of the International Court of Justice.
Downing students remain prominent in the University world; in the past few years Cambridge Union Presidents, Blues captains, Law and Economic Society Presidents and more have hailed from the college.
The college is also strong in the sports field, with its rugby team resident in the upper echelons of Division 1. The boat club is successful too, with the Women's first boat gaining Headship of the river in the 2004 Lent Bumps and retaining it in 2005.
[edit] Famous alumni
See also: Category:Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge
- Michael Apted, director of the Seven Up! series, the Rome series and The World Is Not Enough
- Michael Atherton, England cricket player.
- Martin Baker, Master of Music, Westminster Cathedral
- Richard Barbrook, Hypermedia Research Centre, University of Westminster
- Quentin Blake, children's author and illustrator
- John Blofeld, Taoist and Buddhist author
- Giles Brindley, physiologist, pioneer in the study of erectile dysfunction and neuroprosthetics.
- John Cleese, of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame. Rumour has it that Mr. Cleese thought up The Ministry of Silly Walks while watching passers-by trying to negotiate the large puddles which appear in the college's gravel paths during wet weather.
- Geoffrey Cox, Conservative MP for Devon West and Torridge (2005-)
- Sir Lawrence Collins, judge, first solicitor to be appointed directly to the High Court and the first to be appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal
- Terrance Dicks, children's author, scriptwriter for Doctor Who
- Arnold Goodman, British lawyer, former chair of the Arts Council of Great Britain
- Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party - admitted to read History, and later changed to Law
- Andy Hamilton, comedian, game show panelist, director and comedy scriptwriter
- Philip Hobsbaum, poet who instigated the poetic workshops known as The Group
- David Holbrook, poet, author and critic. Pupil of F. R. Leavis
- Jan Hruska, co-founder of Sophos
- Howard Jacobson, novelist
- John R. F. Jeffreys, mathematician and World War II codebreaker at Bletchley Park
- Gareth John Jones, Welsh Barrister, Politician and Political Writer
- Stan Kelly-Bootle, pioneer computer scientist
- Clive King, author of Stig of the Dump
- F. R. Leavis, most famous of the New Critics
- Ed Mayo, economist and writer on social policy issues
- Wilfrid Mellers, music critic and composer
- Michael Neubert, Conservative MP for Romford from 1974 to 1997
- Thandie Newton, actress
- Trevor Nunn, theatre and film director
- Iain Overton, documentary maker
- Justin Pollard, historian and writer
- Brian Redhead, presenter of Today programme on BBC Radio 4 for many years
- William Philip Schreiner, Prime Minister of the Cape Colony during the South African War
- Michael Winner, film director and producer, restaurant critic
[edit] Fellows
See also Category:Fellows of Downing College, Cambridge
- Barry Everitt, Master, Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience
- Philip Rubery, Senior Fellow, Tutor and Assistant Tutor for Admissions, University Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry
- Charlie Ellington, Professorial Fellow in Animal Mechanics
- Barry Moore, University Reader in Economics
- Peter Duffett-Smith, Dean, University Reader in Experimental Radio Physics
- Peter Evans, Fellow in Physiology
- Richard Stibbs, Praelector, Fellows' Steward and Secretary to the Governing Body, University Senior Computer Officer
- Paul Millett, Collins Fellow and Tutor for Admissions, University Senior Lecturer in Classics
- Bill Adams, Professorial Fellow in the Geography of Conservation and Development
- Bill Clyne, Professorial Fellow in the Mechanics of Materials
- Cathy Phillips, R J Owens Fellow in English
- Graham Virgo, Senior Tutor, University Reader in English Law
- John McCombie, University Reader in Applied Economics (Department of Land Economy)
- David Wales, University Reader in Chemical Physics
- Trevor Robbins, Professorial Fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience
- Sarah Bray, University Reader in Developmental Biology
- Marjorie Barrand, Tutor for Graduates, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology
- Stafford Withington, Professorial Fellow in Analytical Physics
- Chris Haniff, Professorial Fellow in Physics
- Richard Smith, Vice Master, Professorial Fellow in Historical Geography and Demography
- Nick Coleman, Verjee Fellow, Group Leader, Medical Research Council Cancer Cell Unit
- Adam Ledgeway, Tutor, University Senior Lecturer in Linguistics
- Ian James, Fellow Librarian and Tutor for Graduates, Fellow in Modern and Medieval Languages
- Susan Lintott, Bursar
- Zoe Barber, University Senior Lecturer in Materials Science
- Sophia Demoulini, Fellow in Mathematics
- Ian Roberts, Professorial Fellow in Linguistics
- Michael Bravo, University Lecturer at the Scott Polar Research Institute
- David Pratt, Archivist, Fellow in History
- Jude Browne, Tutor, Fellow in Social and Political Sciences
- Marijn Ford, Senior Treasurer of the Amalgamation Club, Lander Research Fellow in Molecular Biology
- David Feldman, Professorial Fellow in English Law (Rouse Ball)
- Liping Xu, Tutor for Graduates, University Lecturer in Turbomachinery
- Paul Barker, University Lecturer in Chemistry
- Guy Williams, Assistant Tutor for Admissions, Senior Research Associate Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre
- David White , University Lecturer in Engineering
- Marcus Tomalin, University Research Associate in Engineering
- Jay Stock, University Lecturer in Human Evolution and Development
- Penelope Nevill, Praelector, Fellow in International Law
- Rachel O’Reilly, Mays Wild Research Fellow, Dorothy Hodgkin Royal Society Fellow in Chemistry
- Natalia Mora-Sitja, Tutor, University Lecturer in Economic History
- Kathy Liddell, Herchel Smith University Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law
- Bill O’Neill, University Lecturer in Production Processes
- Amy Goymour, Hopkins Parry Fellow in Law
- Simone Laqua, Research Fellow in History
- Adriana Pesci, Fellow in Mathematics
[edit] External links
- Downing College website
- Downing JCR (Junior Combination Room) website
- Downing MCR (Middle Combination Room) website
- Downing Ball website
- Downing College Association Football Club website
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- Satellite image from WikiMapia or Google Map
- Street map from Multimap or GlobalGuide
- Aerial image from TerraServer
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