The Seeds Are Sown

The Royal Agricultural College was the first agricultural college in the English speaking world. In 1842, the seeds of the College were sown at a meeting of the Fairford and Cirencester Farmers Club. Concerned by the lack of government support for education, Robert Jeffreys-Brown addressed the meeting on the ‘Advantages of a Specific Education for Agricultural Pursuits’. A prospectus was circulated, a general committee appointed and Earl Bathurst was elected President. Funds were raised by public subscription with much of the support coming from the wealthy landowners and farmers of the day; there was no Government support.

Earl Bathurst leased a site to build the College and construction in the Victorian Gothic style began in April 1845. Queen Victoria granted the Royal Charter to the College in the same year and Sovereigns have been Patrons ever since, visiting the College in every reign. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales became President in 1984.

The First Agricultural College

The first 25 students were admitted in September 1845 and the following year student numbers increased to 108. The College farm also flourished. Many of those early students went on to careers in Colonial Agricultural Administrations and the Diplomatic and Foreign Service.

From its early days, the College was staffed with innovators and pioneers and made a considerable impact on farming practice and agricultural science. In 1931, Professor R ("Bobby") Boutflour, CBE, became Principal. Professor Boutflour was largely responsible for raising the prestige of the College to its present high standards. It was said of Boutflour, on his death in 1958, that he was "... the most capable, colourful and forceful character that ever adorned the fields of agriculture". Frank Garner, the next Principal, enhanced the educational standards and Sir Emrys Jones, his successor, was responsible for the Hosier Library and the Frank Parkinson Lecture Theatre.

Vic Hughes, whose service to the College is one of the longest recorded, uplifted the teaching standards by the establishment of the many degree programmes that the College can now offer. The first modern degree programme, started in 1984, was in co-operation with Reading University - a BSc (Hons) degree in Rural Land Management. Subsequently, the College reclaimed its right to award degrees from the Privy Council. The College had been independent of government control since its foundation until 2001 when the College first received funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), allowing it to widen access to its courses to students of all backgrounds.

The College motto is 'Arvorum Cultus Pecorumque'; a quote from Virgil's Georgics, it means 'Caring for the Fields and the Beasts'. What more appropriate maxim could there be for a College which, in every facet of its teachings, now incorporates a wider understanding of our countryside?