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

Ministry of Education (United Kingdom)

The administration of education policy in the United Kingdom began in the 19th century. Official mandation of education began with the Elementary Education Act 1870 for England and Wales, and the Education Act 1872 for Scotland...

 of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 announced to the House of Commons that a new National College devoted to agriculture was to be established to provide a national centre for the agricultural engineering

Agricultural engineering

Agricultural engineering is the engineering discipline that applies engineering science and technology to agricultural production and processing...

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

Silsoe

Silsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England.-Origin:The village name is derived from the Danish word ‘hoh’, in "Sifels hoh", meaning "Sifel’s hill". The Danes were thought to have been the earliest settlers here...

 in Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

, England.

In September 1962, the first cohort of 20 undergraduate students began their studies at Boreham House

Boreham

Boreham is a village and civil parish, in Essex, England. It is located approximately northeast from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the borough of Chelmsford and parliamentary constituency of Saffron Walden.- History :...

 near Chelmsford

Chelmsford

Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

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

Cranfield University

Cranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...

. 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 has been retained as an important outdoor laboratory for teaching and research purposes and the remainder of the Silsoe site is to be sold for redevelopment.