Perhaps you’ve noticed this elegant building. This is Newnham Grange. It stands gracefully on Silver Street. It is next to the River Cam. Since 1962, it has been part of Darwin College, Cambridge.
Newnham Grange was built in 1793. It was built for Patrick Beales’ family. He was a local corn and coal merchant. He was also twice Mayor of Cambridge. After his daughters died, George Darwin and his wife Maud bought the house in 1885. They extensively remodelled it.
George Howard Darwin was Charles Darwin’s son. He became Plumian Professor of Astronomy. He acquired Newnham Grange in 1885. It became his family residence. Darwin hired John James Stevenson. He was an experienced architect. Stevenson retained much of the late-C18 house. A cast-iron veranda was added to the rear.
The Darwins named the house “Newnham Grange” in 1885. The Darwin family was quite large. Gwendoline Mary Darwin was born in 1885. She later became Gwen Raverat. She was an artist. Charles Galton Darwin was born in 1887. He was a physicist. Margaret Elizabeth Darwin was born in 1890. She married Sir Geoffrey Keynes. William Robert Darwin was born in 1894. Leonard Darwin was born and died in 1899.
Sir George Darwin died in 1912. After his wife’s death, the house passed to Sir Charles Galton Darwin and his wife Katharine Pember Darwin. They had five children. Cecily Darwin became an X-ray crystallographer. George Pember Darwin worked with computers. Henry Galton Darwin was with the British Foreign Office. Francis William Darwin lectured at King’s College. Edward Leonard Darwin became a civil engineer.
Lady Maud Darwin died at Newnham Grange in 1947. After Sir Charles Darwin’s death in 1962, the family donated the house. It was for the foundation of Darwin College in 1964.
Gwen Raverat described Newnham Grange extensively. She did this in her childhood memoir “Period Piece: A Cambridge Childhood”. One chapter describes the house. It also describes flooding from the River Cam. Lady Margaret Keynes also wrote about the house. Her book is titled “House by the River: Newnham Grange to Darwin College”.
In 2003, a Blue Plaque was unveiled at Newnham Grange. It commemorated Gwen Raverat and “Period Piece”. Gwen’s daughter Sophie Gurney unveiled it. Sophie’s son William Pryor attended. Erasmus Darwin Barlow and his wife Biddy were also there.
Newnham Grange is a Grade II listed building. It was remodelled in 1885. It is now a college building. Newnham Grange is historically significant. It shows the evolution of buildings on the Darwin College site. It also shows college construction at the University of Cambridge over eight centuries.
The house has a symmetrical front elevation. It faces Silver Street. The walls are made of gault brick. The central doorway has a round-arched fanlight. Inside, the former entrance hall is now a function room. It retains decorative cornices. The corridor has round arches. A stone stair leads to the Rayne Building. The first floor has offices and seminar rooms. The basement has eight brick-vaulted rooms.
Newnham Grange stands as a testament to Cambridge’s history. It has evolved from a family home to a vital part of Darwin College.