The National College of Agricultural Engineering was opened in 1962. It was closed as a separate entity at the end of 2007 and the land sold for housing.

Foundation

In February 1959, the Minister of Education of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

announced to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

that a new ''National College'' devoted to agriculture was to be established to provide a national centre for the

agricultural engineering Agricultural engineering, also known as agricultural and biosystems engineering, is the field of study and application of engineering science and designs principles for agriculture purposes, combining the various disciplines of mechanical, civil, ...

industry which would also attract overseas students. The National College of Agricultural Engineering as it was initially known began at

Silsoe Silsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. The village used to be on the main A6 road but a bypass around the village was opened in 1981 at a cost of £1.6m. History Origin The village name is derived from the Danish word ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, England. In September 1962, the first cohort of 20

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

students began their studies at

Boreham House Boreham House is a Grade I Listed mansion set in of Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex, England. Boreham House was built from 1728 to 1733 for Benjamin Hoare and from 1931 to 1997 the House was owned by the Ford Company and used as a College. Location ...

near

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. The move to the more permanent home at Silsoe was in 1963. In 1964 the first 15

postgraduate students Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

joined from nine countries.

Merger

The Department of Education and Science and the Department for Education and Skills, as it became, decided that the college should merge with a larger organisation and in December 1975 decided that it should become a part of the then Cranfield Institute of Technology, now

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

. At the time there were 122 undergraduates and 100 postgraduates. The name was changed to Silsoe College in 1983. Shuttleworth College joined in 1988 with the Shuttleworth programmes being relocated to Silsoe in 1996. In 2005, it was announced that academic activities would move to the Cranfield main campus. This was completed by December 2007 with activities becoming part of two new schools: the ''School of Applied Sciences'' and ''Cranfield Health''. The college farm was retained as an important outdoor laboratory for teaching and research purposes and the remainder of the Silsoe site was to be sold for redevelopment.

Soil Survey and Land Research Centre

The former 'Soil Survey of England and Wales' (SSEW) that had commenced in 1939 in Bangor University, and then been transferred to Rothamsted Experimental Station in 1947, was moved to the Silsoe site, joining the college, in 1987. As the survey joined Silsoe, so it changed its name to the 'Soil Survey and Land Research Centre' (SSLRC), led by Professor Peter Bullock. Later Directors were Mike Jarvis and Dick Thompson. Marking a then closer integration with the wider Silsoe College, the organization changed names again in 2002 to the 'National Soil Resources Institute (NSRI), led by Professor Mark Kibblewhite. In 2006, NSRI, along with the rest of the staff and students at Silsoe were moved to the Cranfield University campus in Cranfield, Bedfordshire. Led by Director Dr Thomas Mayr the institute then became part of the formation of the Cranfield Soil and Agrifood Institute (CSAFI) led by Professor Leon Terry.

References

{{Reflist Agricultural organisations based in England Cranfield University Agricultural universities and colleges in the United Kingdom 1962 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2007 Organisations based in Bedfordshire Further education colleges in Bedfordshire