THINKING RATIONALLY?
Online Exhibition and Activities Online exhibition Thinking Rationally? is an exhibition by third year Museum Studies students at the University of Reading. They looked at objects from The MERL to learn about food and clothing rationing in Britain during the Second World War and how stories from this period can help us live more sustainably […]
FOLAR ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM: THE LANDSCAPE OF STATE FINANCED INDUSTRY
State owned industries have had an enormous impact on the UK’s landscape and on UK infrastructure, but the influence of these businesses and their landscape staff has often gone unnoticed and uncelebrated – and there is much to laud and many lessons to learn. Chair: Jane Findlay, President Elect, Landscape Institute Speakers: • Dr Luca Csepely-Knorr […]
COMMON SALT BY SHEILA GHELANI AND SUE PALMER
Common Salt is a performance around a table – a ‘show and tell’. It explores the colonial, geographical history of England and India taking an expansive and emotional time-travel, from the first Enclosure Act and the start of the East India Company in the 1600s, to 21st century narratives of trade, race and culture. Common […]
JACKIE OATES AND PETE FLOOD
Over the last 18 months The Museum of English Rural Life (The MERL) in collaboration with the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) have hosted the residency of two folk musicians: Jackie Oates and Pete Flood. During this performance they will showcase the culmination of that musical journey and the compositions they have developed […]
THE SERVANTS’ BALL
The Servants’ Ball had a long tradition in the country house estates of Britain and only really died out with the onset of the Second World War. They were a cultural melting pot where popular music of the day would be performed alongside traditional country dance tunes. At this event, The Servants’ Ball launch their […]
NOW ONLINE: SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL
Although the museum is currently closed due to the COVID-19 situation, and the physical exhibition would have closed officially on April 5th, you can still see pictures and information about how the exhibition was developed in our Shoulder to the Wheel Online Exhibition “Shoulder to the Wheel”, curated by Dr Glenn Adamson, takes as its starting […]
Christmas at The MERL
Make it a MERL Christmas this year! Christmas shopping Browse our beautiful Christmas shop, packed with even more ranges this year, including exclusive gifts and cards inspired by our collections. You’ll find toys, ceramics, books, jams & chutneys, biscuits, scarfs and much more… Christmas crafts Make and Takes Free festive paper craft activities available from […]
JELLICOE, THE SUBCONSCIOUS, SERPENTS AND POSTMODERN LANDSCAPE
Tom Turner writes that: Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe used to say that he was educated as a classicist and then struck by the dynamic power of Modern Art. My view, with which he did not disagree, is that his approach was intrinsically Postmodern from the day he enrolled at the AA. His first serpent supports this […]
DRAW AT THE MERL
Draw with us this October and celebrate the power of creativity on our well-being! Every week day, sit back and relax in our café or garden with some MERL-inspired colouring-in. Or explore the galleries and draw your way through the English countryside. On Tuesday 15 October, join students from the University’s Institute of Education in […]
POPULAR PROTEST – THEN AND NOW: A REFLECTION ON 1989
The University’s Special Collections and East German Studies Archive commemorate the 1989 protests which brought down the Berlin Wall by looking at public protest in history. On this day thirty years ago, the Berlin Wall came down, signalling the end of the Cold War. This dramatic and world-changing event was also the result of growing […]