Celebrating 30 years of the Maitland Robinson Library
The Maitland Robinson Library was opened on 22 November 1993.
The Library was built between 1991 and 1993, funded by the generosity of alumnus Joseph Maitland Robinson (1925), and formally opened by HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Kent, the College's Patron. It was designed by the architect Quinlan Terry to a brief prepared by Harry Faulkner Brown and built by R. G. Carter of Thetford. This online exhibition celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Maitland Robinson Library, its design, construction and origins.
The College's first purpose-built Library
Downing had to wait more than 190 years for its first purpose-built Library building. Statute X of the new College had made provisions for a Library and Librarian, but lack of space - and a Library collection - in the College's early years meant that this requirement was not initially possible.
Downing College as it will appear when completed, 1842
William Wilkins' designs for the College included a grand building to the south incorporating the Chapel and Library (nearest the Hall). This imagined view of Downing, drawn and engraved by F. Mackenzie and J. Le Keux, shows how the planned south range would have looked from the Fellows' Garden.
Wilkins was chosen to design the new College in 1806 after a competition with other architects. He planned a quadrangle arrangement for Downing's buildings with the Chapel and Library block between the Master’s Lodge and Hall and an entrance to the north with a portico modelled on the Propylaea in Athens. Although the West Range and East Range from the Master's Lodge to the East Lodge were completed by 1820, Wilkins’ planned South Range and Propylaea entrance were never built due to lack of funds.
The beginnings of the Library: The Bowtell bequest
In 1813, John Bowtell, Cambridge bookseller and collector, died and left his significant collection of books and manuscripts to Downing. This image shows an extract from Bowtell's beautiful, illustrated history of Cambridge with a drawing of Cambridge Castle, c.1800 (Bowtell MS 63.2, Library Special Collections).
The completion of the West Range by 1820 finally provided room for a Library, in the “keeping room” of the Chaplain adjoining the West Lodge. (The room behind this was designated as the Muniment Room.) The Bowtell collection included ten volumes of the Borough of Cambridge’s Accounts from 1520 to 1787 (which Bowtell had rescued from a waste paper dealer and bound himself), the manuscript diary of Alderman Newton from 1666 to 1717 (published by the Cambridge Antiquarian Society in 1890), a collection of Cambridge property leases and a topographical history of the town by Bowtell himself. This legacy was followed in 1839 by a gift of law books from Fellow and alumnus William Gurdon, although the use of these was severely restricted.
Register of library books borrowed between 1853-1891 (DCAR/4/3/1)
From 1825 onwards, a small amount of money was designated for the purchase of books. As the collection grew, a catalogue was needed and this register of borrowing was begun in 1853. As student numbers were low, almost all of those named here were members of the Governing Body (including the Master, Dr. Worsley).
In 1850, the Dean of Ely donated £50 for book acquisitions and James Webster, the College Porter who was receiving £5 a year for looking after the Library, was asked to compile a catalogue of books in the Library. (It is unclear whether a surviving nineteenth century index of Library books in the Archive is the catalogue he compiled). The Rev. W. B. Pike, Junior Fellow from 1853, is mentioned in Governing Body minutes as the first person with true responsibility for the Library, although the first Librarian, new Fellow John Perkins, was not appointed until 1862.
The East Range in 1888 (extract from Cambridge Town Plan)
In around 1877, after the completion of the East Range, the Library was moved to two small rooms on the opposite side of College. By 1903, these were already overcrowded and plans were made to transfer the Library to the Professor of Medicine’s former lecture room, adjoining the East Lodge. (The present site of the Maitland Robinson Library was occupied by William Wilkins' stable block until 1903.)
An article in the Lent 1904 Griffin described the new Library as "spacious and quiet with a light not too glaring, where much variety of literature is a gentle inducement to study and research".
1888 Cambridge Town Plan (Crown copyright)
One of the old Library rooms, 1993 (DCPH/5/5)
As the Library collection – and student numbers – grew, the Library was expanded through the East range, with the periodic addition of new rooms as it outgrew its space.
Sir Herbert Baker’s designs for the proposed North Range in 1929-30 included both a Library and Chapel, but the building of this central portion was delayed by twenty years. By the time the buildings were completed in 1953, the need for more accommodation had become more pressing and the Library was dropped from the plans in favour of student rooms. The Library rooms continued to expand in the East Range, with a separate room for books on aeronautics and a separate Law Library (created from the former room of Professor Parry, the Downing lawyer) and a science library.
Portrait of Joseph Maitland Robinson by Richard Stone, 1991
In April 1986, the College launched its Foundation Fund appeal to raise £5 million to strengthen resources in four main areas, including the building of a purpose-built Library. Joseph Maitland Robinson (1925) responded with two separate donations of £1 million each to fund a new Library, although he sadly died before building work began. This portrait hangs in the Octagon of the Maitland Robinson Library (reproduced with the artist's permission).
Maitland Robinson was elected to an Honorary Fellowship in 1988 in recognition of his generous support of the College. During his visit in October 1988, he discussed the Library project with the Master, Peter Mathias, who reported that he had said he was a great admirer of classical domestic architecture and "would like it to be harmonious with its surroundings and to fit in". Unfortunately, Joseph Maitland Robinson died on 19 February 1989, three months before the competition to find an architect for the new Library was completed.
The Library site before building began, early 1991 (DCPH/4a/7)
Various sites were considered for the Library by the New Buildings Committee. The proposal to locate the building near the gates on Regent Street (originally only a side entrance) allowed the College to make a strong statement with a building of significance at its entrance to reflect the original Greek revival character of its foundation.
Elevations of the Maitland Robinson Library (Quinlan Terry, Architect, 1991-3)
A design brief for the new Library was produced by Harry Faulkner-Brown and Quinlan Terry, who had already designed several buildings for the College including the Howard and Butterfield Buildings, was unanimously chosen by the Governing Body as architect in May 1989.
Quinlan Terry proposed a building which fulfilled the College's commitment to the Classical tradition, inspired by monuments in Athens and built in Ketton stone. The portico of Augustus formed the main entrance, with the Choragic monument of Thrasyllus the inspiration for the east portico. The Tower of the Winds formed the octagonal cupola, with the Greek names for the eight winds inscribed on each of the eight faces. A Greek Corinthian capital above supports a gilded weather vane in the shape of the heraldic griffin of the College.
Internally, with the exception of the chairs (designed by Luke Hughes), all of the Library furniture and fittings were designed by Quinlan Terry.
Building work begins, 1991 (DCPH/4a/7)
The construction of the Library, with R. G. Carter of Thetford as main contractor, began on 25 March 1991. (A link to a film charting the construction work, made by Head Porter Ron Wheeler, can be found in the menu below.)
The external structure nearing completion in early 1992 (DCPH/4a/7)
With the completion of the roof of the new Library and installation of the griffin weathervane above, Downing was visible from Parker's Piece for the very first time. The topping out ceremony took place on 30 April 1992.
Designs for the Tripos friezes above the Portico (Quinlan Terry, Architect, 1991-3)
These designs, providing a key to the various Tripos subjects depicted, were reproduced in the Library opening brochure.
The royal guests arrive, 22 November 1993 (DCPH/7/2/5)
Snow on the morning of the opening grounded the Prince's helicopter, delaying the ceremony by almost an hour. The crowds may have felt the cold, but the day's celebrations were unaffected.
The opening of the Maitland Robinson Library, 22 November 1993 (DCPH/7/2/5)
The Library was formally opened by HRH The Prince of Wales and the College's Patron, HRH The Duchess of Kent, with speeches by the Master, Peter Mathias, and the Prince before the royal guests unveiled the commemorative plaque above the entrance. (The speeches can be viewed online via the link in the menu below.)
During a tour of the Library facilities, the guests viewed plans and drawings from the College collections and chatted to members of the College on the way to a reception in the Howard Building. During a special lunch in the Hall afterwards, the choir sang 'The Library of Babel', with music by Benjamin Finn and the words by Jorge Luis Borges.
The new Library was named 'University Building of the Year', awarded by the Royal Fine Arts Commission in the annual Sunday Times competition.
The Maitland Robinson Library today
The Library's opening was a major milestone in the history of Downing. Today, it stands as a beautiful and appropriately classical landmark welcoming visitors to the College, thanks to the generosity of the benefactor in whose honour it was named.