William Wilkins

William Wilkins (1778-1839) was an architect, classical scholar and archaeologist. He studied at Gonville and Caius College, graduating as sixth wrangler in 1800, and later designed the National Gallery in London. Several Cambridge colleges commissioned buildings from him.

Downing College

His first architectural commission, in 1804, was a Greek Revival scheme for the new Downing College. Earlier Palladian plans by James Wyatt had been turned down as not classical enough. The trustees of the Downing estate commissioned him, and he laid out the buildings around one large courtyard. His plan has been described as the first wholly campus-style college plan in the world, with a grand entrance on Downing Street and a court running back toward Lensfield Road. Building began in 1807 but went slowly and stopped in 1821 with the scheme unfinished.

Downing Street

The estate turned out to be smaller than expected, so the grand scheme for the land south of Downing Street never happened. The land had been a boggy area known as Pembroke Leys.

King's College

In 1823 Wilkins won the competition for new buildings at King's College, including the hall, the provost's lodge, the library and a stone screen facing the street. Front Court was completed in 1828 to his plans. The college insisted on Gothic Revival rather than the Neoclassical style he preferred.

King's College Bridge

A wooden bridge stood here in the 15th century. The stone replacement, King's College Bridge, was designed by Wilkins in 1818 and built in 1819 by Francis Braidwood.

Trinity College

In 1823 he also started work on the court at Trinity College that is now usually called New Court. It was built in 1825 in the Tudor-Gothic style, to the south of Nevile's Court. The large tree in the middle is a horse chestnut, not the apple tree of the Newton story.

Corpus Christi College

At Corpus Christi College he designed new buildings, including the chapel. New Court was completed in 1827, and it meant demolishing several older buildings, among them the Elizabethan chapel. The present chapel, the college's third, was finished in 1827 along with the rest of the court. Wilkins died at his house in Cambridge on 31 August 1839 and was buried in the crypt under this chapel. A plaque to him hangs in the entrance to the Parker Library, within the court.

Visiting

The college and bridge pages give current visiting arrangements.