Welsh Agricultural College Collection / Casgliad Coleg Amaethyddol Cymru

The collection includes administrative records, programmes, publications, photographs, negatives, and papers regarding educational and day-to-day operations of WAC, including teaching, external events (e.g., presence at the Royal Welsh Show), and practical work. External publications are also included, including scrapbooks of newspaper clippings (1970-1997) of articles relevant to WAC and WIRS.

Coleg Amaethyddol Cymru/Welsh Agricultural College (CAC/WAC) was founded in 1970 in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. Its original purpose was to provide a career-driven education in agriculture. It was located on the Llanbadarn Campus, Aberystwyth, with its first intake of students in 1971 with Dr. David 'Dai' Morris as its first principal. The College also obtained Frondeg dairy farm, Blaenplwyf, and Tan y Graig, Llanfarian, a beef and sheep farming unit. Adjacent to the WAC campus the Lluest Green Laboratory Unit was also developed in Llanbadarn.

The qualifications originally offered by WAC were Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) for several years in various course schemes, e.g., Animal Production, Crop Production. More courses were subsequently added, such as Countryside Management and Equine Studies, and a new degree scheme in Agriculture offered jointly by University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) Agricultural Studies Department in 1982.

WAC ran until 1995 until its merger with Welsh Institute of Rural Studies (WIRS) with Michael Haines as its first director. It was later known as Institute of Rural Sciences, and later renamed in 2008 Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) due to another merger.

The papers may be consulted through application by e-mail to: archives@aber.ac.uk or by post to:
Aberystwyth University Archives, Hugh Owen Library, Penglais, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DZ, Wales, United Kingdom. Tel: 01970 628593.

Aberystwyth University Archive staff were contacted by IBERS staff concerning WAC material held at Edward Llwyd building on Penglais Campus, material was acquired from October to November 2022 by archival staff.

Basic finding aid available on request from Archives staff.

Description compiled by Aberystwyth University Archives and Records Management MA students, February-May 2023.
The following sources were used for the compilation of the Administrative/Biographical History field: Welsh Agriculture College Brochure (no date).

Copies can be made upon the request of Aberystwyth University archive staff.

Potential for additional WIRS material to be added if acquired in the future.

Lord Milford Building, Gogerddan Campus, Aberystwyth University.