The Jam Lady – Keeping Jam Relevant
Written by Sarah Roy, The Jam Lady How did it all begin? Well, once my movie career dried up and the offers of modelling work stopped, I looked for new avenues. I woke in the night with a flash of inspiration. That flash was …. JAM. Actually, I’ve enjoyed baking, cooking and all things culinary […]
How to be rural: pop-up exhibition on Thomas Tusser and agricultural instruction
In July 2018 we were fortunate to acquire an early edition of Five hundreth pointes of good husbandrie by Thomas Tusser at the Rothamsted Collection/Lawes Agricultural Library auction at Forum Auctions. This 1585 edition, with its splendid frontispiece, bound in mottled calf with gilt turn-ins, will join other early editions of Tusser’s work in our […]
Get out … into the countryside
Have you noticed that the days are staying lighter for longer? Is spring just around the corner? Does the change in season make you think about spending time outside? If you are one of the 53 million people in the UK who live in an urban environment, you might want to ‘get out into the […]
So we found a live bat in our archive
There are few opportunities in life to ask ‘…does anyone know anything about bats?’, but that day came in December 2018 for us here at The MERL. Luckily, we have former University Librarian Rose-Ann Movosvic spending every Thursday volunteering at The MERL Library, but even luckier is that she also devotes the rest of her week […]
The mystery of Joseph Arch’s plaster hands
One hand forms a light fist – the other relaxed, as though sleeping. The passing of years has given the plaster almost the colour of skin, the fingers looking almost nicotine-stained. The plaster-cast hands of Joseph Arch (10/11/1826-12/02/1919) are very personal objects. One theory for their existence is that they were cast in place of […]
Brunel Estate Landscape: The essence of Michael Brown
In this guest post, Colin Moore, CMLI, provides some insight into the Michael Brown landscape at the London W2 Brunel Estate. Colin is a Chartered Landscape Architect and Urban Designer who worked as a Clerk of Works for Michael Brown Partnership for a year in 1973-4 and subsequently part-time for 2 years while studying for […]
Get out of London and come to Reading
Yes, we want you to visit Reading. We don’t have the dreaming spires of Oxford. We don’t have Windsor’s castle. And we don’t have Swindon’s outlet centre. What we do have is lush coffee, a booming pub and craft beer scene, easily accessible countryside, unique shopping and…a contemporary art installation in a museum about the […]
‘Muscle Memory: the story of a pair of clogs’ by Hannah James
For the 2018 MERL Annual Lecture we presented ‘Muscle Memory’, a world-premiere performance from award-winning accordionist, singer and clog dancer Hannah James, developed in response to the collections at The MERL and the traditions that have helped shaped them. One of the key figures in the revival of English percussive dance, Hannah’s musicianship takes her […]
Revealing the Concealed: English Folk Culture and Superstition
During the late medieval and early Tudor era, when superstition about witchcraft and the supernatural was at its height, people in England sought new forms of protection, and, for some, new ways of inflicting harm. It was at this time that many turned to concealing objects. Often found close to entrances, including doorways and fireplaces, […]
Volunteer retires after 23 years at The MERL
Staff and volunteers gathered for a special celebratory coffee morning honouring the sterling service of volunteer, Ron Butler, who is retiring after volunteering for an amazing 23 years at The MERL. The icing on the cake was that Ron was selected to receive the 2018 University of Reading’s Alumni Society’s Distinguished Volunteer Award. Ron and […]