Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) is a public university in Buckinghamshire, England, with campuses in High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Uxbridge and Great Missenden. The institution dates from 1891, when it was founded as the School of Science and Art, and has since then has variously been known as Wycombe Technical Institute, High Wycombe College of Technology and Art and the Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education. It was a university college from 1999 until 2007, when its application for university status was accepted. The university is a member of the GuildHE. History 19th century origins Founded in 1891 as the School of Science and Art, it was initially established with public funds raised from a tax on beer and spirits and set about providing evening classes to residents of High Wycombe and the local area. 20th century After World War I, it was renamed the Wycombe Technical Institute, forging close links with local crafts such as furniture making and cabinetry and helping to provide skills to injured war veterans in order that they might find work in local industries. Further building took place after World War II, and on 6 May 1963 the new facilities were officially opened by the Minister of Education, Sir Edward Boyle. A new change of name, the High Wycombe College of Technology and Art accompanied this expansion. By the 1960s, around 3,000 people worked in the manufacture of furniture in High Wycombe, and 80% of the wooden chairs manufactured in Britain were made there. In 1975 High Wycombe College of Art and Technology merged with the Newland Park College of Education in Chalfont St Giles, and was renamed the Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education. In the same decade Missenden Abbey, a former Augustinian monastery founded in 1133, was acquired, and in May 1988 it was officially opened as a management centre by Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester. In March 1999 it was awarded University College status by the government, changing its name once again to Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College. Around this time the Which University guide described it as a "concrete labyrinth", which was unlikely to be "bringing home architectural awards". 21st century In 2007 its application for university status was approved by the Privy Council and it took its current name "Buckinghamshire New University", abbreviated to Bucks. The university changed its shortened name to 'BNU' in 2021. Alternative names such as 'University of Wycombe', 'Wycombe University', 'University