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Six artists respond to the commonsRe-enchanting the world
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Shop at The MERLThe Museum of English Rural Life is one of the best things to do in Reading. Whether on your own or with friends and family, discover our new immersive galleries, research our collections, refresh in our café and relax in our garden.
We are a part of the University of Reading and work with Reading Museum as the Arts Council England-funded Museums Partnership Reading.
- Find out when we’re open
- Free Admission
- Redlands Road, Reading
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What's on
Did you know
...city families used to pick hops on holiday?
Hop picking holidays allowed city families to earn money. Pickers were paid with tokens, which were used in local shops or exchanged for wages.
Did you know
...Elizabethan mattresses were used for both childbirth and corpses?
Mattresses, plaited from sedges, were made to support a mother during childbirth or a corpse after death. After use it would have been burned.
Did you know
...farmers used to sow seeds by fiddle?
Sowing by hand can be slow and inaccurate. Seed drills were developed in the 1800s to sow seeds quickly in a straight line at regular intervals.
Did you know
...Lady Eve Balfour (1898-1990) was one of the earliest organic farmers and co-founded the Soil Association?
Women continue to play a key role in this movement, with organic farms employing significantly more women than chemical farming.
Did you know
...Suttons Seeds invented the seed packet?
The local Reading firm, founded in 1806, popularised paper packets of seeds for gardeners.
Did you know
...villages often used to run their own fire services?
The National Fire Service was only created in 1941.
Did you know
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Our Country Lives - Latest Blog Posts
Our blog explores the people, places and issues of the historic and contemporary English countryside and rural life, uncovering and exploring our collections, the exciting activity around the MERL and the people we with.
51 Voices: Writing Voices
The latest round-up of Voices added to our 70th anniversary project
A week at The MERL: our reflections on COP26
With COP26 underway in Glasgow, learn about the many different ways that communities and groups at The MERL are exploring climate change and related subjects.
Night of the living rural history collection
Join MERL collections researcher Tim Jerrome as he shares four seemingly-villainous objects from our collection, and explores the rural history they actually represent.
Join Our Community
we also have it on good authority that the Museum Studies department's Decorations Research Group will be making lovely Christmassy crafts in the weeks ahead, and we'll be sure to take lots of photos and share those with you too!
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The Museum of English Rural Life
University of Reading
Redlands Road
Reading
RG1 5EX
