The Power to Tell It for Ourselves
Last summer, The MERL celebrated Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month (GRTHM) with ‘Roots and Routes’, a special reading and talk by award-winning poet Jo Clement. In this guest blog, they tell us about their recent panel at the Museums Association Conference in Gateshead, a workshop with local school children and some exciting collaborative changes […]
Community Gardening: Sow What?
Sow What? has been a community programme at The MERL in partnership with 135 Launchpad Reading to explore how men’s mental health can be supported through gardening and working in groups to accomplish tasks
Cattle, colonialism, and conversations about land
MERL Curator, Dr Ollie Douglas explores connections between The MERL and British agricultural influence in East Africa following a trip to Kenya and Tanzania last year.
Glow Up! St Andrew’s Staircase Hall Redevelopment Project
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Ploughs and Ploughing: some reflections from the headland
On Plough Monday, MERL Curator, Dr Ollie Douglas, discusses his appearance on Radio 4 Farming Today’s special programme on ploughing, and the MERL’s collection of ploughs.
Advising the Nation: the MAFF bulletins
As the project to catalogue The MERL’s collection of bulletins published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is completed, Collections Librarian, Claudia Ricci explores the history and significance of the publications.
Yule never baa-lieve it: a case for the Yule Goat at Christmas
The MERL’s Collections Researcher, Tim Jerrome investigates pagan influence on Christmas traditions, and asks why we don’t include the Yule Goat in our celebrations in England.
The MERL is going Further Afield
Collections Researcher Tim Jerrome introduces our newest project at The MERL, Further Afield, which trials new approaches to community driven museum outputs, working with groups who have been historically underrepresented in the countryside.
Blueprints steam ahead!
As we launch a new range of bespoke products inspired by the engineering drawings held in the MERL archives, discover what makes this one of our most consulted collections and find out how enthusiasts use the collections to help with restoration projects.
Launching the Youth Manifesto
As museums across the country celebrate Kids in Museums’ Takeover Day, we are taking the opportunity to share Museum Partnership Reading’s Youth Manifesto, a short film made by young people expressing their views on our museums and how they could be more relevant to them in future.