On-site College Accommodation

The Rayne Building

The Rayne Building is a 4-storey accommodation block on the main College site. The building is an excellent example of 1960s architecture found in Cambridge. It is incorporated into the main college structure, between Newnham Grange and the Hermitage.

Some of the Rayne Building rooms overlook a secluded part of the River Cam which runs through the College grounds. Other rooms face Silver Street and have pleasant views of Queens’ Green. Silver Street traffic is restricted to mainly public transport.

The first and second floors of the Rayne Building have, respectively, ten and eleven rooms with shared facilities: two shower rooms, two toilets and a large kitchen. The third floor has four rooms (each with shower); two toilets; and a shared kitchen. There are also two guest rooms situated on the top floor, available to book for all Darwin members and their guests.

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Newnham Grange

Newnham Grange is an attractive building in the main range of College buildings. Its core was the Darwin family home from the 1880’s. As the childhood home of Charles Darwin’s granddaughter, artist and writer Gwen Raverat, it was celebrated in her famous memoir, Period Piece.

The rooms with balconies at the eastern end extension overlook the lawn of Bradfield Court and the Old Granary. Others face onto the gardens and the river, and the two College islands accessible over a wooden bridges, or overlook Silver Street and leafy Queens’ Green. Some of the second-floor rooms share a view of the Mill Pond and Laundress Green, a popular riverside area that is situated next to the University Centre, the Double Tree Hotel, and two pubs.

The rooms themselves are in three groups: the five first-floor balcony rooms; the six second-floor balcony rooms; and the eleven second-floor rooms along the corridor that runs the length of the building. Each group of balcony rooms shares a kitchen, a shower and a toilet. The corridor rooms share a double-sized kitchen, two showers and two toilets.

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The Old Granary

The Old Granary is a Grade II listed building forming part of the home and grounds of the Darwin family from the 1880’s until the founding of the College. Granaries and warehouses stood on the site from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries, and were served by river barges bringing coal and grain to the town. Made redundant by the advent of the railways, the buildings were partially demolished and then remodelled by George Darwin as quaint residential accommodation. The College carried out a complete programme of conservation and renovation in 2018-19 as part of the Bradfield Court project in memory of Sir John Bradfield, an instrumental figure in the founding and first fifty years of the College.

The Old Granary’s distinctive appearance from the outside is matched inside with rooms of varying sizes and many original features. There are superb views of the Mill Pond from many of the bedrooms.

The building contains eight rooms (seven en suite and one with its own shower room) sharing two kitchens and two dining areas.

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2 Newnham Terrace

Newnham Terrace is a fine terrace of nineteen century townhouses all of which have front entrances on to Newnham Road and rear entrances directly onto the College gardens and the river. Each house has a large, well-appointed kitchen in the basement and share toilets and showers.

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3 Newnham Terrace

Newnham Terrace is a fine terrace of nineteen century townhouses all of which have front entrances on to Newnham Road and rear entrances directly onto the College gardens and the river. Each house has a large, well-appointed kitchen in the basement and share toilets and showers.

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4 Newnham Terrace

Newnham Terrace is a fine terrace of nineteen century townhouses all of which have front entrances on to Newnham Road and rear entrances directly onto the College gardens and the river. Each house has a large, well-appointed kitchen in the basement and share toilets and showers.

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9 Newnham Terrace

Newnham Terrace is a fine terrace of nineteen century townhouses all of which have front entrances on to Newnham Road and rear entrances directly onto the College gardens and the river. Each house has a large, well-appointed kitchen in the basement and share toilets and showers.

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10 Newnham Terrace

Newnham Terrace is a fine terrace of nineteen century townhouses all of which have front entrances on to Newnham Road and rear entrances directly onto the College gardens and the river. Each house has a large, well-appointed kitchen in the basement and share toilets and showers.

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11 Newnham Terrace

Newnham Terrace is a fine terrace of nineteen century townhouses all of which have front entrances on to Newnham Road and rear entrances directly onto the College gardens and the river. Each house has a large, well-appointed kitchen in the basement and share toilets and showers.

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12 Newnham Terrace

Newnham Terrace is a fine terrace of nineteen century townhouses all of which have front entrances on to Newnham Road and rear entrances directly onto the College gardens and the river. Each house has a large, well-appointed kitchen in the basement and share toilets and showers.