Downing Street, Cambridge
Encyclopedia
Downing Street is a street in central Cambridge
, England
. It runs between Pembroke Street
and Tennis Court Road
at the western end and a T-junction with St Andrew's Street
at the eastern end. Corn Exchange Street
and St Tibbs Row lead off to the north. Downing Place leads off to the south.
To the north at the western end is the New Museums Site
of the University of Cambridge
. To the south is the Downing Site
of the University. Many of the University's departments are located here.
was tasked by the trustees of the Downing estate to design the plan for the college. Wilkins, a devotee of the neoclassical architectural style
, designed the first campus-based college layout in the world with a magnificent entrance planned on Downing Street, reaching back to form the largest quadrangle in Cambridge, extending to Lensfield Road
far to the south. However, the estate was much reduced from that expected and these grand plans failed to materialize. Much of the northern end of the Pembroke Leys was sold to the University and is now home to scientific departments and museums on the Downing Site.
. On the corner with Downing Place is the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
. To the north at the eastern end on the New Museums Site is the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology
. Just to the west is the Whipple Museum of the History of Science
in Free School Lane
off Pembroke Street.
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It runs between Pembroke Street
Pembroke Street, Cambridge
Pembroke Street is a street in central Cambridge, England. It runs between Downing Street and Tennis Court Road at the eastern end and a junction with Trumpington Street at the western end...
and Tennis Court Road
Tennis Court Road
Tennis Court Road is a street in central Cambridge, England. It runs parallel with Trumpington Street to the west and Regent Street to the east. At the northern end is a junction with Pembroke Street to the west and Downing Street to the east. To the south as a T-junction with Lensfield Road...
at the western end and a T-junction with St Andrew's Street
St Andrew's Street, Cambridge
St Andrew's Street is a major street in central Cambridge, England. It runs between Sidney Street, at the junction with Hobson Street, to the northwest and Regent Street to the southeast...
at the eastern end. Corn Exchange Street
Corn Exchange Street
Corn Exchange Street is a street in central Cambridge, England. It runs between Wheeler Street to the northwest and Downing Street to the southeast...
and St Tibbs Row lead off to the north. Downing Place leads off to the south.
To the north at the western end is the New Museums Site
New Museums Site
The New Museums Site is a major site of the University of Cambridge, located in the centre of the city, on Pembroke Street and Free School Lane, sandwiched between Corpus Christi College, Pembroke College and the Lion Yard. Its postcode is CB2 3QH...
of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. To the south is the Downing Site
Downing Site
The Downing Site is a major site of the University of Cambridge, located in the centre of the city of Cambridge, England, on Downing Street and Tennis Court Road, adjacent to Downing College. The Downing Site is the larger and newer of two city-centre science sites of the university...
of the University. Many of the University's departments are located here.
History
The area south of Downing Street was originally known as Pembroke Leys, a boggy area to the south of Cambridge in medieval times. This was acquired for Downing College. The architect William WilkinsWilliam Wilkins (architect)
William Wilkins RA was an English architect, classical scholar and archaeologist. He designed the National Gallery and University College in London, and buildings for several Cambridge colleges.-Life:...
was tasked by the trustees of the Downing estate to design the plan for the college. Wilkins, a devotee of the neoclassical architectural style
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
, designed the first campus-based college layout in the world with a magnificent entrance planned on Downing Street, reaching back to form the largest quadrangle in Cambridge, extending to Lensfield Road
Lensfield Road
Lensfield Road is a road in southeast central Cambridge, England. It runs between the junction of Trumpington Street and Trumpington Road to the west and the junction of Regent Street and Hills Road to the west...
far to the south. However, the estate was much reduced from that expected and these grand plans failed to materialize. Much of the northern end of the Pembroke Leys was sold to the University and is now home to scientific departments and museums on the Downing Site.
Museums
There are several of the University's museums in this location. On the corner with Tennis Court Road is the Museum of Archaeology and AnthropologyMuseum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge
The MAA : Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge houses the University's collections of local antiquities, together with archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from around the world...
. On the corner with Downing Place is the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, opened in 1904, is the geology museum of the University of Cambridge in England. It is part of the Department of Earth Sciences and is located on the University's Downing Site in Downing Street, central Cambridge, England.The Sedgwick has a collection of more...
. To the north at the eastern end on the New Museums Site is the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology
Cambridge University Museum of Zoology
The Cambridge University Museum of Zoology is a museum of the University of Cambridge, located on the New Museums Site, just north of Dowing Street in central Cambridge, England....
. Just to the west is the Whipple Museum of the History of Science
Whipple Museum of the History of Science
The Whipple Museum of the History of Science holds an extensive collection of scientific instruments, apparatus, models, pictures, prints, photographs, books and other material related to the history of science. It was founded in 1944, when Robert Whipple presented his collection of scientific...
in Free School Lane
Free School Lane
Free School Lane is in the centre of the City of Cambridge, England. It is the location of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, the Department of History and Philosophy of Science the University's faculty of Social and Political Sciences, and is the original site of the Cavendish...
off Pembroke Street.