Botany Building, University of Cambridge

The Botany Building at the University of Cambridge is a university department building constructed in two phases. The original structure was built between 1901 and 1904 to designs by W C Marshall for the School of Botany, with an extension added between 1933 and 1934 designed by T A Lodge.

The building is constructed of plum coloured brick walls with red brick quoins, Clipsham limestone dressings, and a clay tile roof. The plan is rectangular, laid out on an east-west axis, with M-profile hipped roofs.

The 1904 building presents a three-storey elevation over a basement to the north, facing into the quadrangle formed by the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, the former Squire Law Library and Law School, and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The north elevation is symmetrical with seventeen bays, the central five of which project forward. The walls are constructed of plum coloured brick with Clipsham limestone dressings, featuring a continuous stringcourse over the ground floor and a continuous dentilled eaves course. The central five bays display ashlar limestone to the ground floor, giant Corinthian engaged pilasters spanning the first and second floors, and a segmental pediment over the central three bays. Throughout the building, windows have limestone surrounds, transoms and mullions with leaded lights. Segmental-headed dormer windows were added to the hipped roofs in the early 21st century. Two entrances on the north elevation have ornate carved limestone door surrounds, each with a large oeil-de-boeuf window over double-leaf timber panelled doors, approached by seven steps. Two wall-mounted cast-iron lamps hang to the side of the entrances, most likely added in the early 20th century. A ramp was added to the west side of the north elevation in the late 20th century, flanked by brown brick walls and metal handrails. The rear (south) elevation is also constructed of plum coloured brick with limestone window dressings, stringcourse and eaves course, with windows of varying sizes creating a less coherent appearance than the front. Two single-storey lean-to service buildings were added to the rear in the late 20th century. The east elevation has three bays, with a projecting lean-to greenhouse on iron stilts to the centre bay of the first floor, which appears in historic photographs and may be original or has been renewed. A helix fire escape was added to the east elevation in the late 20th century, and a door opening was introduced to the central bay of the ground floor in the early 21st century with a modern timber door and steps with metal railings.

The 1933-1934 extension to the west end comprises a five-bay four-storey elevation over a basement. The original flat roof was replaced by a mansard roof in the late 20th century, adding an attic storey. Unlike the 1904 building which faces north into the quadrangle, the primary entrance of the extension is on its south elevation, off Tennis Court Road. The walls are constructed of brown brick with a continuous limestone sill course to the third floor windows and a continuous limestone band to the former parapet, now under the mansard roof. The front (south) elevation has a limestone surround spanning the central bay of the ground, first and second floors, with a decorative keystone over the second floor, recessed tripartite windows with limestone mullions to the first and second floors, and a square-headed door opening to the ground floor containing double-leaf timber panelled doors approached by four steps. The windows are metal framed casements throughout. The west elevation to Tennis Court Road also has five bays, with a limestone surround to the first and second floor windows of the central bay and a continuous sill course to the third floor windows.

Interior

The ground floor of the 1904 building has two main entrances from the north providing access to the former museum at the east end (converted to a laboratory in the 20th century), a canted lecture theatre at the centre of the building, and the former herbarium at the west end (converted to a library in the mid-20th century). The two entrance halls, stair halls and corridor to the rear of the lecture theatre each retain original mosaic tiling. The west wall of the west entrance hall has been opened up to accommodate a reception kiosk introduced in the late 20th century. The lecture theatre survives particularly well, retaining original half-glazed doors from the entrance halls, plain but original timber panelling to the walls, two foliated supports, and original canted benches. The lectern, lights and parquet floors have been replaced. To the rear of the lecture theatre, two staircases provide access to the upper floors: the western staircase is wider than the eastern one, and both stairs are formed of stone steps, cast- and wrought-iron balusters and a timber handrail. The stairwells of the east and west stairs were infilled by a ventilation shaft and a lift respectively in the late 20th century. The plan form of the first floor survives relatively intact, with some original half-glazed doors and overlights, and the structural steel supports are exposed on the first-floor corridor.

At the west end of the building, the 1933-1934 extension retains a high proportion of its original terrazzo and parquet floors, stairs, lifts and doors. Inside the main entrance from the south, an original lobby door surround survives with a margined overlight, although a new lobby door was introduced to the interior in the early 21st century. The entrance hall and stair hall retain original terrazzo floors, with parquet floors and terrazzo steps on each upper level, and the stairs retain a plain but well-designed wrought iron balustrade with timber handrail. The original goods lift, lift furniture and accompanying cupboard (possibly a telephone booth) survive on the west wall of each floor. The double-leaf glazed doors between the 1904 building and 1933-1934 extension have been renewed for fire safety reasons.

The 1933-1934 extension of the School of Botany was connected to the Archaeology Building between 1991 and 1994 by the insertion of the West Building designed by Casson Condor Partnership, which is not included in this listing.