Home

4 July 2026

Romany and Traveller Heritage Day

Celebrate Romany and Traveller culture through storytelling, traditional crafts, activities, and more.

Book Now

Explore the past and present of the English countryside, and the people whose lives and work define it.

About The MERL

Getting here

6 Redlands Road, Reading, RG1 5EX
Get directions

Opening hours

Full opening hours

Upcoming Events

All the rats in the Rat Trail, posing for the camera in our galleries
Trail

Rat Trail

Can you find the 12 rats hidden in The Museum of English Rural Life?

Find out more
Dates

Year-round

Author

Family

Location
The Museum of English Rural Life
Event

Summer Celebration, My Way

A relaxed version of our Summer Celebration for neurodivergent visitors.

Find out more
Dates

Thursday 6 August 2026, 10:30 – 12:00

Author

Family

Price

Booking opens from noon Monday 22 June

Location
The Museum of English Rural Life
Three children in The MERL garden.
Event

Summer Celebration

Bring a picnic, meet farm animals, and enjoy a range of hand-on activities in the garden.

Find out more
Dates

Thursday 6 August 2026, 12:30 – 16:00

Author

Family

Price

Booking opens from noon Monday 22 June

Location
The Museum of English Rural Life
All events and exhibitions

Latest News and Views

three glass pint milk bottles
Author
Madeleine
/
Published Date
June 15, 2026

Milking Time: Bacteriology and Pasteurisation

Explore the University of Reading’s role in dairying research into milk pasteurisation.

Richard Watts film archive
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
May 12, 2026

Watts in the Country: Inclusive Approaches to Rural Film (with the BFI)

We’re collaborating with film NGO Real Time, volunteers, and focus groups to bring the Richard Watts archival film collection to rural communities across Britain.

Author
Madeleine
/
Published Date
March 6, 2026

International Women’s Day 2026: Hidden histories

Discover the stories of three women curators, collectors, and designers in the 20th century.

Handwriting in a farm letter
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
February 25, 2026

Queer histories in the farm records

What can farm records teach us about same-sex relationships? Researcher Tim Jerrome shares his work exploring queer rural experiences.

Exterior of E.M. Barraud's cottage in Cambridgeshire
Author
Lottie
/
Published Date
February 19, 2026

“I am the farm worker going home at evening”: gender fluidity, rural landscapes, and the Women’s Land Army

Library trainee Lottie Wood reflects on gender fluidity in the work of E. M. Barraud, and Barraud’s reflections on her time in the Women’s Land Army

"Cluttered Countryside." A pastiche of different technologies and activities that disrupt the English countryside - from cars, to petrol stations, to tourism.
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
February 13, 2026

Voices of the Countryside

Explore our new exhibition celebrating 100 years of CPRE, whose vital work protects and maintains rural English spaces.

All news and views

Family fun

The Rat Trail

Can you find the 12 rats hidden in our galleries? Each one wears a beautiful handmade costume, representing different experiences of countryside childhood.

17 June 2026, 18+

Summer Late

Discover The MERL in a whole new light. Free, thanks to University of Reading centenary grant support.