By 1919, student numbers had increased to 808 and the teaching staff
had increased to 48.
Three wooden army huts were erected on vacant courts near the site of
the Engineering labs on Free School Lane, to cater for the increased number
of students. Everyone was short of space again, so a move to Scroope House,
standing in a garden of over 3 acres in Trumpington Street, was proposed.
The purchase was completed in 1920, and an appeals committee formed to
finance new buildings and their furbishment.
Scroope House (c.1920)
£25,000 was given by Sir Dorabji Tata (ex Caius College),
head of the great Indian engineering company and proved sufficient
to cover the whole cost of the first stage of building, and the administrative
offices were moved in to Scroope House in 1921.
The move into the new premises occurred over a number of
years, finally being completed in 1932.