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 […]
Work experience in a Museum? Really?
Katie completed a week’s work experience at the museum and during this time planned her own mini exhibition, helped with a VIP visit and press photo shoot and attended a social media planning meeting! Here are her thoughts on her week – it looks as though she might be a convert! This week I have been doing my […]
My favourite object: the Shaplands and Petter sideboard
As she comes to the end of her internship (where did those 6 weeks go?!) Lisa has discovered an object from in the MERL collections which has special personal significance… Being proud to call myself a Devonian (I moved to Reading for university), I was determined when picking out an object from the collections to find something relating […]
#DisabilityStories – Labelling visual impairment
How do you write a label in under 50 words on a basket made by an anonymous, visually impaired basket-maker without appearing patronising and tokenistic? This question conveniently coincides with this week’s #CultureThemes topic of #DisabilityStories. The staff here at MERL are busily writing labels for our new galleries, covering overarching topics and themes, object […]
The Museum of English Rural Life on Social Media #2
In the second of her posts reviewing MERL’s social media accounts, our intern, Lisa, focuses on twitter and invites you to follow some members of staff! I’m sure some of you already follow us on Twitter, but if you are new to Twitter, MERL’s account is a great one to follow. The tweets, usually from […]