Investigation work is taking place to find out more about the underground vault.
A University of Cambridge college is investigating an underground vault which is more than 200 years old. Through underground investigations at Downing College, an underground vault has been unearthed.
The vault, constructed more than 200 years ago, is the resting place of Sir Busick Harwood, the college’s first professor of medicine. The college said it is looking at the structural integrity of the brick-built vault, which is in the corner of the college grounds known as the Paddock.
The college’s chaplain, the Revd Dr Keith Eyeons, has been involved at all stages of the works due to the sensitive nature of the burial vault.
The Revd said: “It has been fascinating to watch Downing’s earliest religious structure being uncovered. We think that no one has seen inside it for two centuries, so it is very exciting to rediscover this important part of our history. In the past, dry summers have revealed the curved shape of the top of the vault, so we could see that there was some kind of large chamber under the lawn.
“I have often wondered what condition it was in, so I was astonished when I got my first glimpse inside, and saw that it was dry and tidy and well preserved, showing the great skill of the people who made it. William Wilkins clearly knew what he was doing.
“Sir Busick Harwood’s grave is marked with a stone tablet, and there are nine other spaces which have never been used.” Groundwork to determine the nature of the construction is currently in progress.
This includes digging down by the side walls, with cameras used to see inside the vault. The groundworks are necessary to ensure the long-term future of the vault as the Paddock is exposed to some vehicle traffic at some events during the year.
College archivist Jenny Ulph said: “This is an exciting opportunity to find out more about the vault, which has been somewhat mysterious until now. It is remarkable the vault has survived so well for 210 years.
”It is a significant part of Downing’s history and the final resting place of one of the founding members of the college’s governing body. These investigations will help to ensure that it continues to be safely preserved for the future.”
The man inside the vault
Sir Busick Harwood was named in Downing College’s founding charter in 1800. He was one of only five professors and fellows at the new college.
He and his wife were also the first residents in Downing, moving into the East Lodge in 1811. When Harwood died after a long illness on November 10, 1814, the then Master William Frere was presented with a problem.
Before his death, Harwood said he wishes to be buried on the site of the planned college chapel, in the as-yet unbuilt South Range. The master obtained a special licence from the Bishop of Ely allowing the burial of college members on the site of the intended chapel, close to the master’s Lodge.
Harwood was buried in the plot on November 15, 1814. South Range was never built and the college chapel was later built more than a century later in the North Range.
The only clue to the burial was a small plaque, installed in 1987. Until the recent discovery, little was known about the vault’s design or construction.
The only records in the Downing archive were letters written from the college’s original architect William Wilkins to the Master William Frere with an update on plans for the vault. The explorations have confirmed the layout described in the architect’s letters, with space allocated in ‘catacombs’ for the interment of other Downing fellows, though only Harwood was placed there.
