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Our weekly under 5s group

Friday Fledglings

Discover the joys of outdoor learning through song, play, and crafts in our garden. Back for another school year.

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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

2 women enjoying a craft in the MERL Studio at a Late.
Event

Welcome Social

Join us for a relaxed welcome afternoon at the museum. Open to all University of Reading students.

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Dates

Wednesday 7 October 2026, 13:00 – 15:00

Price

Free, register to attend

Location
The Museum of English Rural Life
Event

LEGO® Build the Change: Insects and Pollinators

Book on for a fun hands-on activity with LEGO bricks during October half term.

Find out more
Dates

Tuesday 27 October 2026, 10:00 – 15:00

Author

Family

Price

Free, booking required (link coming soon!). Suggested age 4+

Location
The Museum of English Rural Life
Three stills from digitised films from Richard Watts’ archival collection
Event

Rural Life on Film

Screenings of digitised films from Richard Watts’ archival collection at Basildon Park.

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Dates

28 – 30 September 2026

Author

Public

Price

Basildon Park admission or NT membership required. Limited number of free places available

Location
Basildon Park
All events and exhibitions

Latest News and Views

Richard Watts with a tractor and film reels
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
September 23, 2026

Beyond nostalgia

How do we help audiences of today encounter films from the past?

Friday Fledglings brand logo – a cartoon bird jumps through autumnal leaves
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
September 17, 2026

A new Friday Fledglings brand has hatched

An iconic under-5s group deserves iconic design.

Author
Joe
/
Published Date
September 15, 2026

Digitising the Fowler archives

Learn about our project to improve access to our Fowler archives of engine drawings, including 7,171 new drawings in our database.

Robert Davey
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
September 1, 2026

Remembering Robert Davey

All of us at The Museum of English Rural Life are deeply saddened by the recent passing of Robert Davey – a valued member of our community.

Merle the bat, asleep in a glove
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
August 19, 2026

So we found a live bat in our galleries (again)

Seven years after we gave a bat a library card, another bat has visited The Museum of English Rural Life.

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.

All news and views
Looking across raised beds and lawn in the MERL garden to the back of the MERL building

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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.