Chapter VI - The Modern College

Summary

Fourteen years before Joseph Turner's death Gilbert Ainslie had been elected into a Fellowship. He was the son of Henry Ainslie, the former Fellow. In 1816 while still a Bachelor of Arts he became one of the Tutors with William French, and when French was in 1820 elected Master of Jesus, Ainslie became Senior Tutor, first with John Phear, afterwards Rector of Earl Stonham from 1824 to 1881, and then with Henry Tasker, afterwards Vicar of Soham from 1832 to 1874 and a Benefactor of the College. In 1821 he was Senior Treasurer, and in the following year he persuaded the College to buy in certain leases of parts of Paschal Close, the property belonging to Corpus Christi College which lay between the Fellows' large garden and Pembroke Street. Ainslie himself has written the account of these negotiations.

Soon after my election into the office of College Treasurer, having learned that Thomas Mortlock Esq.…had just obtained from Christi College a renewal of a lease of another part of this property for 40 years from Midsummer, 1822, for the express purpose of letting it on a building lease, I represented to the College the expediency of purchasing the Lease for themselves: not merely on account of the nuisance which a row of Houses overlooking the College Orchard would be, but because if ever the College itself should be rebuilt, an increase of its site would be highly desirable and that it would be difficult, if not impossible ever to obtain, if this ground were ever once occupied by Houses.