01.07.2017, 00:00 A.M.

We have a very special opportunity to visit two impressive Cambridge Colleges, Downing College and Corpus Christi College, in addition to attending a one-night-only presentation of a new historical play.

The Colleges
The first buildings erected at Downing College were designed by William Wilkins (1775-1839) in 1807-1812. Wilkins, who designed the National Gallery, London (1831-1838), had travelled in the Middle East and was greatly influenced by Greek classical architecture. Wilkins' original designs for Downing proposed four ranges around a quadrangle but funds ran out before these could all be completed. In the 1820s William Wilkins also designed new buildings at Corpus Christi College, originally founded in 1352. In contrast to the classically designed Downing buildings, the New Court (1822-27) was designed in the neo-gothic style.
The College tours will be kindly provided by Jon Howard, an Irish Georgian Society member and an honorary Fellow of Downing College.

‘The Sphere of Light’
We have a wonderful opportunity to attend the reading of a play in the Howard Theatre, one of the most recent additions to Downing College which was designed in 2010 by the classical architect Quinlan Terry and his son Francis. The theatre is modelled on the Georgian Theatre at Richmond, Yorkshire, and others of the period, with decorative influences from the recently restored Theatre Royal (1819) at nearby Bury St Edmunds, designed by William Wilkins.

This historical play has been written by the author and playwright Ann Henning Jocelyn, Countess of Roden, and will be presented as a rehearsed reading by professional actors. Set in the 1500s, the play centres on an untold story of the Boleyn family, which has been supported by evidence found in Ireland.

Please note: members are requested to make their own way to and from Cambridge. Travel advice will provided to attendees a few weeks in advance of the event.

We will gather in the Lord Butterfield Café in Downing College between 10am and 11am. The tour will start at 11am SHARP, beginning with Downing College. At 1pm a hot buffet lunch will be provided, followed by a tour of Corpus Christi and the remaining areas of Downing. The play will start at 4pm and finish at 7pm, and includes an interval.

The trip costs £65 (£70 for non-members) and includes tea/coffee (morning), a hot buffet lunch, tour of the colleges, tea/coffee and cake (before the play), and entry to the play. Members may also buy refreshments at the interval.

If you would like to attend, please send your completed application form and cheque, together with an email address or SAE to Ashleigh Murray, 12 Fairline Court, 2 Oakwood Avenue, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 6PJ. (Tel: 07837766974; Email: ashleigh_mur@hotmail.com).