Royal Agricultural University opens its doors for Heritage Open Day

10 September 2024

Celebrating its 180th anniversary in 2025, Cirencester’s Royal Agricultural University - still known to many locally as the Royal Agricultural College – is the oldest agricultural college in the English-speaking world and has an interesting and varied history.

And the institution, which gained University status ten years ago, is once again opening its doors to visitors on the afternoon of Sunday 15th September as part of a free Heritage Open Days event taking place across England.

Guided tours of the campus will be available at 1.30pm and 3pm – with an accessible route available for disabled access - and visitors will also be able to see the areas of the campus that are currently being updated, including the University’s new labs which are being built thanks to a £5.8m grant from the Office for Students.

There will be a scavenger hunt for the younger visitors while light refreshments, including drinks and ice creams, will be available to buy at the Retreat Café in the University’s Atrium building.

Sara Papps, the RAU’s Head of Planning who is organising the Cirencester campus Open Day, said: “As a university, we are always open to the public but these Heritage Open Days are a great opportunity for people to visit.

“Although the RAU has been part of Cirencester for almost two centuries, and is rightly proud of its association with the town, many local people have never visited our campus and so we really hope they will take this opportunity to come and have a look around.”

The University’s main campus is approached from Cirencester’s Tetbury Road up a beautiful avenue of mature lime trees which leads to the front of the main building with its beautiful clock tower. The campus also has a historic Dining Hall, a beautiful Quad, a historic Tithe Barn (now the University bar), and its own Chapel.

It also currently has a resident guinea fowl called General who has made the campus his home and who features regularly on the RAU’s social media channels!

Professor Mark Horton, the RAU’s Pro Vice Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) and a well-known archaeologist and television presenter who has been a host on the BBC’s Coast programme and also appeared on Channel 4’s Time Team as well as many other programmes about archaeology and history, will give a talk about the history of the institution.

Sara added: “As well as Professor Horton’s talk and the chance to see around our magnificent historic buildings and grounds, visitors will also have the opportunity to see an archive display of Agriculture through the Ages in the University’s Boutflour Hall.”

The RAU’s Cirencester campus will be open from 1pm to 4pm on Sunday 15th September, with Professor Horton’s talk taking place at 2pm. Parking will be in the University’s main Stroud Road car park and refreshments will be available to purchase from the University’s Retreat café.

The event is free and no booking is required. For more details please visit Royal Agricultural University (heritageopendays.org.uk).