The Downing Site is a major site of the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, located in the centre of the city of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, on
Downing Street
Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...
and
Tennis Court Road, adjacent to
Downing College
Downing College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University 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, ...
. The Downing Site is the larger and newer of two city-centre science sites of the university (the other being the
New Museums Site). Largely populated with utilitarian brick buildings dating from the 1930s, the more notable buildings include the Zoology Laboratory (1900–04),
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences (1904–11) and Downing Street entrance (1904–11).
To the northwest is the
New Museums Site and to the southwest is the
Old Addenbrooke's Site, two other important University of Cambridge sites.
History
The current site was part of
Pembroke Leys, a boggy area of small fields lying between
Regent Street
Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...
and Tennis Court Road, to the south of the medieval town of Cambridge. The Pembroke Leys was acquired by Downing College on its foundation, but the northern portion of the Leys remained undeveloped. This northern portion was purchased by the university in 1895 for £15,000, and now forms the Downing Site.
University departments and institutions
Though several university departments have recently relocated to larger modern buildings elsewhere, the Downing Site still houses many departments, predominantly in the biomedical sciences. These include:
*Department of Biochemistry (old site)
*Department of Earth Sciences
*Department of Psychology
*Department of Genetics
*
Department of Geography
*
Department of Pathology
*Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience
*Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany)
*Department of Veterinary Anatomy
*Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
*
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
*Molteno Laboratory (Parasitology)
*
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
*Physiological Laboratory
*
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
*Zoology Laboratory
References
External links
Map of Downing SiteJanus entry
University of Cambridge sites
Downing College, Cambridge
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