In 1917, sceptics didn't believe that women would suit the hard labour of farming. But the Land Girls of the Women's Land Army played a critical role in sustaining the country's food production during the First World War, replacing the agricultural labour of enlisted men. The Land Girls were re-established in the Second World War, [...]

As Britain’s oldest national conservation body, the Open Spaces Society has defended open spaces in England and Wales since 1865. The organisation campaigns for public paths, open spaces, town and village greens, commons, and the rights of the public to enjoy them. Featuring objects from our collections and oral histories, this exhibition explores the history […]

As The Greatest Online Agricultural Show launches, this is the perfect time to revisit the extraordinary work of photographer Arnhel de Serra. His amazing exposé of The Country Show was shot between 2004 and 2014 and captures the quirky, strange, and invitingly surreal world of rural shows. Country shows are meeting points between urban and rural, between spectator […]

In response to our challenge, you designed and crafted amazing smocks in Animal Crossings. So we’ve gathered them together here. Let’s use your creations as a way to explore the history of the items that inspired them. We’ll look at how and why smocks end up in museums. What do they tell us about people’s lives now […]

Ration: to allow each person to only have a fixed amount of something.  Rationally: in a sensible or logical way  Considering that our world contains a fine number of resources that are being used at an alarming rate, are we really thinking rationally? This questions forms the heart of the museum’s latest exhibition, Thinking Rationally?, […]

This online exhibition draws on the Peter Wade-Martins Collection of Farm Toys. Peter Wade-Martins assembled this collection of toy farm vehicles and implements over the last 20 years. This small selection of the many hundreds of different British-made horse– and tractor-drawn implements shows the diversity of equipment, manufacturers, materials and age range within the collection. A full listing of […]

This online exhibition draws on the Peter Wade-Martins Collection of Farm Toys. The collection of toy farm vehicles and implements was assembled over the last 20 years by Peter Wade-Martins. This small selection of many hundreds of different British-made horse– and tractor-drawn implements shows the diversity of equipment, manufacturers, materials and age range within the collection. As this display […]

There is no point, the old adage goes, in reinventing the wheel. Whoever first said that must not have met a wheelwright. The four wheel components – hub, spokes, felloes and rim – have been constantly refined over the centuries. Shoulder to the Wheel is a collaborative exhibition between the Crafts Study Centre and The […]

In this exhibition, Reading Museum, The Museum of English Rural Life and The University of Reading’s ArtLab invited pupils from two local schools to create their own artistic responses to objects in our collections relating to the theme of food. Both schools are currently working to achieve the Arts Council England’s Artsmark. Below, we invite […]