Downing College, Cambridge.
A 1775 portrait of Lady Margaret, wife of Sir Jacob Downing, 4th Bt., by Thomas Gainsborough. Lady Margaret was the prime reason Downing College wasn't founded until 1800 (Sir George Downing, 3rd Bt., specified in his will for the establishment of a Cambridge college at his death in 1749). This portrait is today in the collection of the University of Cambridge.
Earlier Houses: There was an earlier house, Shackledon Grange, on, or near, the site of the 18th century house.
Built / Designed For: Sir George Downing, 3rd Bt.
House & Family History: Sir George Downing, 3rd Bt., who built Gamlingay, was the founder of Downing College, Cambridge. He was also the grandson of Sir George Downing, 1st Bt., who was born in Ireland, graduated from Harvard College in 1642, and was responsible for the building of Downing Street and Horse Guards Parade in London. Gamlingay Park had an impressive Baroque façade of three stories and an elaborate cornice topped with urns. After a short life, the house was demolished in 1776, the result of a famous, protracted legal battle between the third baronet's heirs (Sir George died in 1749) and the intent of his will to found Downing College (see "Images" section). The college did not acquire the property until 1800, after which the house had long been demolished; what Downing College acquired was the grass-covered site of the former house, which the college owned until it was sold it in 1945. The former park of Gamlingay, today Grade II-listed, is in private ownership.
Garden & Outbuildings: Remains of terraced gardens and ponds survive in the former grounds of Gamlingay Park.
Title: Burke's & Savills Guide to Country Houses, Volume III: East Anglia
Author: Kenworthy-Browne, John; Reid, Peter; Sayer, Michael; Watkin, David
Year Published: 1981
Reference: pg. 15
Publisher: London: Burke's Peerage
ISBN: 0850110351
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Demolished
Park Listed: Grade II
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Sir Roger Burgoyne, until 1677. Sir George Downing, 1st Bt., 1677-84; Sir George Downing, 2nd Bt., 1684-1711; Sir George Downing, 3rd Bt., 1711-13. SEATED AT 18TH CENTURY HOUSE: Sir George Downing, 3rd Bt., 1713-49; Sir Jacob Garrard Downing, 4th Bt., 1749-64.
Current Ownership Type: Demolished
Primary Current Ownership Use: Demolished
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No