Objects

The Museum of English Rural Life holds one of the the earliest and best surviving collections of its kind.

This includes many unique and early farm tools, objects connected with rural crafts and trades, artworks depicting rural subjects, and material that helps us to explore how life in the twentieth century English countryside has been understood and represented.

From the first object acquired when the museum was founded in 1951—a simple animal bell—to the most recent, these holdings now number almost 30,000 items. Although most of these artefacts date to between around 1850 and 1950, the collection aims to cover the period 1750 to the present day. As such it continues to grow, largely by donation.

As a result of our recent redevelopment a wider variety of objects now feature in the MERL displays than ever before. The remainder are held in stores, which visitors can browse as part of the Digging Deeper gallery. You can also explore our collection on our databases, or through the Explore section of the website.

Still showing sorting and grading, as taken from colour film, The Storage of Apples, 1951 (MERL TR MAFF PH6/73)

Apple Store

Date

1951

Object Number

MERL TR MAFF PH6/73

Sutton & Sons Ltd plaque showing the location of the company’s office in Calcutta (Kolkata), India (MERL 2019/50).

Sutton’s Seeds Sign

Date

Circa 1950s

Object Number

MERL 2019/50

Discover

‘Tabloid’ First Aid Kit

Date

c.1900

Object Number

2004/17/1-17

Pinkneys Green Women’s Institute Banner, circa 1951 (MERL 2007/48/1-2)

Women’s Institute

Date

Circa 1951

Object Number

MERL 2007/48/1-2

Image of map from Buildings of England.

Buildings Of England

Cover of Ministry of Town and Country Planning, National Parks and Access to the Countryside (London: HMSO, 1950) (MERL LIBRARY PAMPHLET 2860 BOX 07/05)

National Parks

Date

1950

Object Number

Lib. Pamph. 2860 BOX

Title page of Marie Neurath and Joseph Lauwerys, The first great inventions (Max Parrish, 1951) (University Special Collections)

Great Inventions

Date

1951

Object Number

Special Collections

1950-1951 ration book and coupons belonging to Barbara Wood (MERL 2019/55)

Ration Book

Date

1950–1951

Object Number

MERL 2019/55

Waddingtons, Grade Up To Elite Cow board game, 1986 (MERL 2010/34)

Elite Cow

Date

1986

Object Number

MERL 2010/34

Photograph showing interior of Lavinia Smith's Downside House taken by Henry Owen Vaughan (MERL P DX2049 PH5_43)

Sister Lavinia

Date

1937–1943

Object Number

MERL P DX2049

Country Code, 1951 (MERL SR OSS ET3/22)

Country Code

Date

1951

Object Number

MERL SR OSS ET3/22

The Farmers Weekly, ‘Britain’s Festival: Special’, 4 May 1951 (MERL LIBRARY PER OPEN ACCESS--FAR/MERS-W), cover

Farmers Weekly

Date

1951

Object Number

MERL Lib. FAR/MERS-W