Heritage and Environment

Our buildings and grounds make Downing unique among Cambridge Colleges. The visual impact on aspiring students of our neo-classical architecture and the space and openness of the beautifully kept lawns and gardens is often enough to make them decide that this is the College for them.

Preserving this beauty as a place of teaching and learning imposes a huge burden on the College’s finances. Investment in the fabric of Grade I listed buildings is absolutely necessary, as is continual improvement of our accommodation and facilities to ensure that we can offer the best possible rooms to our students in term time and to compete successfully for conference and visitor business in vacations.

Contribute to our heritage and environment endowment fund and help us to keep Downing as beautiful in the future as it is today. For example, you could give £10 per month towards the upkeep of plants and trees in the gardens.