My Favourite Object #4: 'By the Roadside' cigarette cards
written by Felicity McWilliams, Project Officer. Quite a few of my favourite objects in the museum were collected as part of the Collecting 20th Century Rural Cultures project. The project began in 2008, with the aim of acquiring objects for the collections which build a picture of the twentieth century English countryside. A wide variety of […]
Focus on Collections #3 – Baskets
written by Greta Bertram, Project Officer. Anybody who’s been following the MERL Projects Blog over the past eighteen months will know that I love all things basket-related. My obsession began three years ago when I was writing my dissertation about craft as heritage, and needed to choose one craft to use as a case study. […]
My Favourite Object #3: Horse overshoes, or lawn slippers
written by Claire Smith, Weekend Supervisor/Learning Assistant. To learn more about Claire, see her previous post. Before the invention of the lawnmower in 1830, grass would be cut with a scythe, or animals would be allowed to graze on the lawn to keep it short. From the 1850s, horse-drawn lawn mowers were introduced. In order […]
My Favourite Object #2: Ploughs are interesting (honest)
The second ‘favourite object’ has been chosen by Adam Koszary, Project Officer for Our Country Lives. Since starting on work at MERL, it seems he has developed a particular interest in ploughs. Read his personal reflections on the merits of the plough… It is worth pointing out that before I started at the Museum of […]
My favourite object #1: a Yattendon Guild copperware vase
The first in our series of favourite objects chosen by MERL staff, volunteers and visitors, is written by Fiona Melhuish, MERL Librarian. In my work with the Special Collections rare books and MERL library I get lots of opportunities to spotlight my favourite items from our wonderful book collections through exhibitions and Featured Items on […]
Focus on Collections: These wheels were made for rolling…
written by Felicity McWilliams, Project Officer for A Sense of Place, Countryside21, and Reading Connections. ‘Focus on Collections’ will be a regular feature examining our staff’s favourite objects in the museum, as well as anything interesting we find during research. Visitors to MERL will know that the wagons form a large part of the current […]
MERL & MAE, the direction of Our Country Lives
Written by Adam Koszary, Project Officer for ‘Our Country Lives’. The Museum of English Rural Life is transforming, and our vision for the new direction and focus of the museum is reflected in our project title: ‘Our Country Lives’. I have been employed specifically to work on this project, and to help find a way […]
HRH The Duke of Gloucester unveils landmark Land Rover at University Museum
MERL was delighted to welcome HRH The Duke of Gloucester on Thursday 21 March who unveiled the Museum’s latest acquisition, a stunning example of an early Series 1 Land Rover. Read the press release on the University of Reading website Sign up for our newsletter Get blogs, collections news, and shop updates straight to your inbox. Email […]