A Land Down Under
Anthropologist and Collections Volunteer Paul Trawick continues his journey of subsoil discovery, exploring the role of land drainage on English farms. In his first post – What Lies Beneath? – he introduced us to these little-known systems. In this installment he elaborates further on their history and how they work… We have already seen how […]
My Country Arts Award
Over the last six weeks we have had the pleasure of welcoming Rebecca to The MERL on Supported Work Placement. Rebecca is a student in Reading College’s LLD/D (Learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities department) and she has spent her time with us learning about the museum, being inspired by our collections and has worked […]
Exhibition causes quite a buzz!
Fiona Melhuish (UMASCS Librarian) writes about our exhibition on the fascinating Cowan Bee Collection: Last year, The MERL acquired the Cowan Bee Collection, a library of 1,800 volumes of books, pamphlets and journals relating to bees and beekeeping, which has been described as the most comprehensive collection of its kind in the world. The items […]
AniMERL – an autumn of animals at The MERL
Over recent years, thanks to the attention of influencers such as J. K. Rowling and a massive and supportive social media following, The MERL has become known for its forays into the beastlier facets of the farm. This has provided us with a visual petting zoo of trousered chickens and tragic mice, colossal rams, curious […]
A Future for Fowler: steam collection conserved
The Fowler Collection at The MERL John Fowler and Co., (Leeds) Ltd. was one the world’s leading manufacturers of steam engines of the mid-nineteenth century. The Fowler collection held at The MERL contains production registers, photograph albums, drawings and other business records of exceptional quality. It is a very popular archive with steam enthusiasts researching […]
Time to Picnic: Top 10 tips from The MERL
Picnics. Sandwiches. Cake. Slightly too warm lemonade. Wasps. Picnics are a staple of the summer. They’re a great way to get outside and to experience all that the countryside has to offer. Indeed people have been enjoying eating outside for hundreds of years. In the late 1600s the pleasure gardens at Vauxhall sold cold meats […]
How do you give medicine to a horse?
Now that June has indeed passed, taking with it the rain and clouds, it’s time to look back at a few of the fascinating objects that have made their way into the Museum’s collection in the last month. With eight new objects in total, we have selected three to look at in a little more […]
Aus Deutschland zu Besuch?
Visiting from Germany? Here are some shorts posts written by students in the German Department at the University of Reading Das MERL Museum von Eleanor Richard Herberts Das MERL (Museum of English Rural Life) in Reading ist ein Museum für Landleben, und wird leider oft von Touristen vergessen. Das ist sehr schade, weil das Museum […]
From Miners to Market Gardeners: the Story of the Sidlesham Land Settlement Association
In this guest post, Bill Martin explains the background to the Sidlesham Land Settlement Association. The Land Settlement Archive is housed at The MERL. When I bought a retirement project in Sidlesham, West Sussex, I knew nothing of the local area. I met a former tenant of a smallholding in the village with a collection […]
What lies beneath?
Anthropologist and Collections Volunteer Paul Trawick has been delving into the role of field drains on English farms. These hidden gems offer an ingenious and indigenous way to reclaim ground, improve topsoil, tame groundwater, and achieve sustainable crop yields. But few of us even know they are there. In this, the first of several posts, […]