Cambridge Medical School Building
A Grade II listed English Baroque university building of 1899 by E. S. Prior, with lettering by Eric Gill.
Where Downing Street meets Corn Exchange Street, the University's old medical school presents a stone Baroque front to the pavement. E. S. Prior drew up the plans in 1899, and the building has Grade II listing. It was the largest commission of his career, though he is usually remembered for other kinds of work. It is a university working building, and it is best appreciated as a piece of street architecture rather than a place to visit.
The design
Prior chose a classical idiom drawn from English Baroque, partly under pressure from the committee that appointed him, which also demanded a stone facade. The Downing Street side rises three storeys with three shallow bays, first-floor oriel windows and pediments. The entrance is a round arch at the east end. Up top, a tall parapet bears the arms of two professors, Humphry and Clark. The lettering and motto on the front were cut by Eric Gill, and the central gable is decorated with carved lilies to Prior's design. Ancaster stone faces the street, with rusticated Derbyshire stone trim.
Built to keep clean
The commission was for a medical building, so Prior designed the details to avoid collecting dirt or infection. Doors and fittings carry no mouldings, the staircase is Hopton Wood stone with curved tread angles that are easy to clean, and the floors are jointless cement. A heating and ventilation system washed and warmed the air before it was ducted around the building.
Since 1933
The Department of Zoology moved in during 1933, when the building was redeveloped, with Easton (John Murray Easton) as architect. Inside, the old Humphry Museum was entirely rebuilt and holds the Balfour and Newton Libraries. It is now the Zoological Laboratory. As with most of the university's central sites, access is for staff and students, so enjoy the exterior from the street.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
