Downing College

Downing College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

History

The college was founded in 1800 under the will of Sir George Downing (also famous for the street of the same name in London - a door formerly from Number 10 is in use in the college). He died in 1749 and the delay in getting the college going was due to his relatives' legal wrangling over the will. So much legal wrangling, in fact, that there wasn't much money left for the college itself.

Hence the grandiose plans for a square of buildings based on the Classical Greek style and of a size to overtake the Great Court at Trinity College had to be curtailed.

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 ("The Paddock") with many trees.

Famous Alumni

• 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.
• Michael Atherton, the England cricket player.
• Michael Winner
• Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party
• Quentin Blake, children's author and illustrator
• Trevor Nunn, theatre and film director