Downing College Boat Club was established in October 1863. Despite the College's founding in 1800, the college did not admit undergraduates for the first 21 years, due to financial difficulties, and even in 1863 only had 14 undergraduates!

Richard Henn Collins, a 21-year old Irishman called a meeting of these 14 undergraduates to discuss forming a boat club. The motion "Let there be a boat club" was proposed and unanimously passed. Brickwood (Captain), Bradbury and Collins formed the first committee, and set about finding a boat and rack space.

It was not until the Lents 1864 that Downing made its racing debut. The crew moved up 2 in the Lents, and up 5 in the Mays. You would not easily recognise the crew as a Downing crew, with only four of the crew actually matriculating at Downing. There were also no official colours, and Downing raced with violet blades, decorated with black maltese crosses in 1864. In 1866, the blades were painted green and silver, perhaps to match the colours in the college crest. In 1866, Lankester persuaded the Club to adopt black and magenta. Since then, all Downing sports clubs have adopted black and magenta.

Between 1863 and 1882, Downing moved from its initial position at the bottom right up to 10th on the river. The Club was clearly successful from the start, but in 1968 the crew withdrew (maintaining their position) because MacMichael was required to row in the Blue Boat - the only oarsmen to represent Downing at university level in its first century. When the college was so small, a single oarsman's disappearance was clearly significant.

Despite the college being very poor, there was plenty of support from the fellows; the tutor Dr Perkins, inebriated after a Club dinner, stumbled in the gutter on St Andrew's Street. When someone offered help, he shouted "Don't mind me, I can swim; save the women and children first." The first boat owned by the Club was named "Jay Pea" after this man.

10th on the river was an 80 year high unfortunately, and Downing slipped into the second division from 1887, not to return until after the Second World War.

In 1893, the owner of the current Downing plot died, and the then-Tutor, Rev'd J Saunders bought the plot for the Club from his own finances for a sum of £240. An appeal was launched to raise the funds to build the first Downing Boat House, which ended up costing £650! This was actually a significant extension on the existing boat house on the site. The new Boat House was officially opened in the May Week of 1895.

As well as financial support, the Tutor, Saunders furthered the aims of the Club in less obvious ways, advising a new student to "leave your Physics and Physiology to your second year, and that will give you plenty of time for rowing." That student, Arthur Amos, went on to become Captain of Boats and Downing Bursar. He was also President of the Club until 1931.

DCBC's lowest patch must have been in 1897, when the captain was sent down and the rest of the committee resigned. No suitable replacements were found, and the President signed off the minute book "Finis DCBC".

The Club was not dormant for long, however, and continued to receive support from old members who periodically bought new boats. In 1902, The Master of the time also cleared off the arrears of the Club from his personal finances.

In 1903, the Club discussed a motion to put on a College Ball, which was successfully carried, and over the next few years, the Boat Club ran the college balls.

In 1920, Downing's 2nd VIII qualified for the first time, and both crews won blades, resulting in a very lively dinner, and a bonfire composed of several doors from around college!

The Boat House was rebuilt in 1938, and fitted with hot water for the first time. At the re-opening, Mrs Gray (daughter of F. G. Pilley, of the Pilley Scholarship) said "Let us have some more rowing blues, and although I am told it is a mathematical impossibility, I would like to see you Head of the River one day. Good luck!"

After the Second World War, DCBC broke back into the first division, and by 1960, Downing had 7 boats racing in the Mays. The novice section of the Club was particularly strong in this period, winning the Clare Novice Regatta in 1965 and 1967. At the other end of the spectrum, in 1963, Downing had its first blue since 1869. The 1971 crew collectively funded £230,000 towards the cost of the new Boat House ensuring their influence lasts beyond the last memory of their exploits on the river.

In 1979, Downing finished 6th on the river and had its best Henley result, finishing runners-up in the Ladies Plate. The following year the crew rowed over every day, but the year after got blades and moved up to 2nd on the river. 1982 was the first time Downing finished Head of the River, probably before most current rowers at DCBC were born. In 1983 the crew rowed over all three days before being bumped on the last day by LMBC. In 1984, Downing came back ready for the challenge and went Head of the Lents and Head of the Mays, stroked by Dominic Reid - our first Double Headship.

The women put their first crew on in the Lents 1981, which remained fairly stationary until 1987 when the crew began a meteoric rise, getting blades for the next three years.

In the 1990s, science took hold of the sport, and rowing machines, new blades and lighter boats increased costs dramatically. At the same time, the old Boat House was seriously deteriorating. This led to the foundation of the Centenary Trust, to channel and allocate the donations of the Club, and maintain a perspective of future expense. The Club also arranged sponsorship and individuals continued to make very significant donations for equipment.

The Club wasn't always well-funded - in 1897, the minute books show that there was motion to introduce a subscription fee to cover "tea things" at the Boat House, and in 1904, a motion was put forward to purchase a new brush and comb for the Boat Club! Nor was it particularly forward-thinking at times: "Mr Dunnicliff brought forward a motion concerning shorts, which was out of order and in parliamentary language a portion of the house deemed in necessary to remove Mr Dunnicliff." The Club moved from "trousers and socks" to "shorts and stockings" in 1910.

In 2001, the new Boat House was opened, and Downing now boasts one of the finest fleets on the Cam.

In the last few years Downing has been hovering near the top of all the Bumps charts, and has produced such rowers as Tom Middleton, who competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The women have made particular progress lately, taking their first Headship in the Lents of 2004, and defending it successfully in 2005. The novice men won Clare Novice Regatta for the first time in 2003 and in 2006, Downing's M1 crew won the University Fours in the coxless IVs event.