Twelve new Cambridge homes built by Gonville & Caius College are ready for their first tenants.

Gillies Close, new Caius College development

The Master of Caius, Professor Sir Alan Fersht, opened the development today at a ceremony attended by the Mayor of Cambridge, Councillor Gerri Bird, and senior Fellows of Caius.

The three-bedroom houses, built on a former industrial site close to Newmarket Road, will continue to be owned by the college, but will be rented out on the open market through agents Bidwells.

The development will also provide a permanent tribute to the Caius graduate and pioneering doctor Sir Harold Gillies. Dubbed “the father of plastic surgery”, Gillies developed ground-breaking techniques to treat soldiers injured in the First World War. As early as 1917, he and colleagues performed skin graft operations, helping thousands of soldiers, including many with gunshot injuries.

Sir Harold Gillies

Continuing his practice after the war and training others in his techniques, Gillies and a colleague carried out one of the first gender reassignment operations in 1946.

While studying at Caius, Gillies rowed in the victorious Cambridge crew in the 1904 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

Gillies Close, developed by Patrick B Doyle Construction of Newmarket, is the first time Caius has built houses for rent on its land. Rental income will be used to help sustain the college’s globally-renowned teaching and research.

The development reflected the college’s determination to plan carefully for the future and preserve that educational excellence, while also playing a part in addressing the acute shortage of rental property in Cambridge, Sir Alan said today.

Councillor Bird praised the project as a “terrific initiative” which would provide much-needed housing and help support the provision of future education. She said: “On behalf of the City Council, I welcome Gillies Close into the Cambridge community.”

Dr David Secher, Senior Bursar at Caius, said: “As a college we have a long-term interest not only in maintaining our investments to provide income for current and future generations of students, but in helping preserve the amenities of Cambridge.

“That’s why we took the decision to keep the future of this area within our control, rather than selling the land off to a developer.”

For more information, contact news@cai.cam.ac.uk