Our Country Lives update
Can you believe it’s Autumn already? Since our last update in May we’ve had an extremely busy Summer finishing our research, laying cement and visiting farmers. Here’s a round-up: 1. We’ve had exciting new research into our objects, such as this shepherd’s surprising connection to Thomas Beecham of Beecham’s pills. 2. We’ve finished the building of our new […]
Volunteers' Voice: Young Volunteers programme
As part of the Our Country Lives Activity plan we have a Young Volunteer’s initiative which aims to encourage young people (14-18) to volunteer at the Museum. We’re working with external partners such as Reading College and Berkshire Youth to achieve this. During the exterior building works the garden was turned into a builder’s village! The […]
Rural Reads reviews: The Bees by Laline Paull
Rob Davies reviews our latest rural read. This September we read The Bees by Laline Paull. The Bees is set within a bee hive and tells the story of Flora 717 a sanitation bee who rises up through the ranks. The Bees has many tropes of a classic dystopian novel: totalitarian regime, secret police, oppression […]
Rip Roaring Reading Room News: Full opening from Monday 28 September 2015
Great news everyone! We have extended our Reading Room opening hours. Up until now, although you have been able to visit our wonderful Reading Room Monday-Friday, 9-5, we have operated a restricted service on a Monday. This meant that, on a Monday, we opened later (10am) and we were unable to retrieve material from our […]
The MERL Student Panel: now recruiting!
One of the most interesting aspects to the museum’s redevelopment is that we are having many conversations with different people from diverse and varied backgrounds. All of these discussions are helping us shape the museum’s future. Audience Development Project Manager, Phillippa Heath, gives an update on one of our discussion forums: the Student Panel. As […]
Discovering the Landscape #19: From New York's High Line to London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (MERL and LI joint annual lecture on 22 October by James Corner)
Written by Claire Wooldridge, Project Senior Library Assistant: Landscape Institute We are delighted to announce that cutting edge Landscape architect James Corner – renowned for designing New York’s much loved High Line and the South Park Plaza of London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – will deliver a lecture here at MERL on Thursday 22 October, as a […]
Discovering the Landscape #18: From Devon to Derbyshire, the Shell Guides to Great Britain
Written by Claire Wooldridge, Project Senior Library Assistant: Landscape Institute The Shell Guides, published between 1934 and 1984, were designed to be light hearted but engaging guide books to the countryside and historical sites of Great Britain for the growing number of mid twentieth century car owners. Published by the Architectural Press and funded by Shell-Mex (more […]
Rural Reads Plus book review: The Prodigal Summer
Rob Davies reviews The Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kinsolver During the humid month of July we read The Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, a suitably clammy read for the climate. This book is a mammoth read set within Zebulon Country in America, following three narratives that are tenuously connected to one another but tell the […]
Discovering the Landscape #17: Sylvia Crowe
The ‘Discovering the Landscape’ series continues with a profile of Sylvia Crowe, ending with an overview of our Crowe collections. Written by Claire Wooldridge, Project Senior Library Assistant: Landscape Institute The landscape architect has to understand what the people want and to understand what the wild life wants, as well as understanding the function of whatever it is you […]
Discovering an unknown opera
With such vast and varied collections, we sometimes come across hidden treasures. Adam Lines, Reading Room Supervisor, tells us about a discovery he made recently. One of the most invigorating aspects of my role as Reading Room Supervisor is the wealth of knowledge about the collection that I accumulate on a daily basis. Often researchers draw my […]