Updates on COVID-19
Learn how The MERL & Special Collections are responding to COVID-19, and how we are continuing to keep the museum a safe and comfortable space for everyone.
Latest update: 25th February 2022
In line with new guidelines from the University of Reading, and the Government’s ‘Living with COVID’ guidance, we have reviewed the safety measures in place across The MERL and the University of Reading Special Collections.
To protect our staff, volunteers and visitors, we will be keeping many of our safety precautions in place. Staff and volunteers will continue to wear face coverings inside, and stay at home if testing positive or feeling unwell.
We will continue to provide hand sanitiser for your use, and ensure that our indoor spaces are well-ventilated (so make sure you bring your big coat)!
We ask our visitors to please continue being mindful of the health and safety of others. Unless you are exempt, please continue to wear a face covering whilst indoors (other than when seated in the café), use the hand sanitiser, and save your visit for another time if you test positive or are feeling unwell.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and support. To plan your visit and find out more, please head to our Visit Us page. We hope to see you very soon.
Update: 30th November 2021
Following the emergence of the Omicron variant, and the introduction of new safety measures by the UK Government, we now require you to wear a face covering whilst inside the Museum and our spaces (unless you are medically exempt).
If you are feeling at all unwell, or are showing even very mild symptoms, then please stay at home so that we can keep The MERL safe for everyone.
All of our existing measures, such as one-way systems and ventilation, remain in place.
Thank you for your continued cooperation, patience and support. To plan your visit and find out more, please head to our Visit Us page. We hope to see you very soon.
Update: 2nd September 2021
From Tuesday the 7th September, we are introducing several changes at The MERL which will make it easier for you to visit the Museum in a more relaxed way. At the same time, we are maintaining several of our health and safety measures from the last year, so that everybody can spend their time at the Museum with peace and mind.
These include:
- increasing the numbers of visitors that can be on site at any one time.
- closing our online booking system. From the 7th September, we no longer recommend that you book ahead of your visit. Please note that if you plan to visit before the 7th September, we still recommend that you do book online. If you have booked for a visit later than the 7th September, then please do not worry: you don’t need to do anything or cancel anything. We will take care of everything on our side.
To keep you safe, we will continue:
- encouraging you to check in with the NHS COVID-19 app when you arrive.
- keeping our one-way system and social distancing signage in place throughout the building (including our wonderful homemade hurdles in the galleries), together with hand sanitiser stations for your use.
- requesting that you keep wearing face coverings indoors, unless seated at café tables.
- and asking that you please continue to keep one absolute unit apart.
To plan your visit, head to our Visit Us page.
Update: 15th July 2021
Following the Government’s announcement on Monday that Step 4 of the roadmap out of lockdown will go ahead from Monday 19th July, the University of Reading has announced ‘sensible and proportionate measures’ to maintain low levels of risk for staff, students and visitors on campus. In line with the University’s position, we will be keeping most of the current safety measures at The Museum of English Rural Life and the reading room in place in the coming weeks.
Although the Government has lifted restrictions, we are aware that many staff, volunteers and visitors will feel safer with existing measures in place.
With that in mind, from 19th July:
- We will continue to operate at reduced capacity and in order to facilitate this, our booking system will remain in place. Visitors to the Museum are strongly advised to book in advance. There will usually be capacity for drop-in visits, as long as we are happy that numbers in the building remain within comfortable/agreed limits.
- Visitors will be encouraged to check in using the NHS COVID-19 app to support NHS Test and Trace
- Social distancing will remain at 2m in the MERL galleries and indoor public spaces.
- The one-way system and signage will remain in place in the galleries.
- Visitors will be asked to wear face coverings indoors, unless seated at cafe tables. Our staff will continue to wear face coverings.
- Hand sanitising stations will stay in place.
- Current measures in the reading room will remain in place.
We are grateful for the support of all our visitors over the last year of disruption and challenges, and hope that you will continue to help us make sure everyone can visit, study and work safely at The MERL. We will keep these measures under review and continue to post updates here.
Update: 10th May
In line with the Government’s COVID-19 roadmap, we are delighted to announce that visitors will be able to return to The MERL galleries from Tuesday 18th May.
This follows the reopening of our shop, café, garden and reading room in April, and forms part of the combined reopening of Museums Partnership Reading (consisting of The MERL and Reading Museum and supported by Arts Council England).
Our galleries tell the story of rural England and its people, crossing the history of food, farming, crafts and the countryside. We are particularly excited to share with you the new display in the Our Country Lives gallery: a changeover of the wall-hanging from Kent to Cheshire, which you will be able to explore and enjoy from 21st May.
Like with our previous reopenings, we are implementing a range of health and safety measures throughout the Museum to keep you safe and comfortable throughout your visit. This includes the return of our booking system and the requirement for you to book ahead of your visit.
Find out more about visiting The MERL and make your booking today!
14th April 2021
The MERL café, shop and garden are now open! In line with the Government’s roadmap. The galleries will reopen on Tuesday 18th May.
Full details and opening times are available on our Visit Us page.
The reading room is also open for general access, with booking required. Find out more information about arranging your visit to The MERL reading room.
29th March 2021
The MERL garden, café and shop will reopen on Wednesday 14th April, in line with Government guidelines for outdoor attractions, retail and hospitality. The Museum galleries will remain closed, and will reopen as part of the next Step in the Government’s roadmap*. We will be open from 9-5 Wednesday to Fridays and 10-5 on Saturday and Sundays, and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The reading room will open for general access from Wednesday the 14th April. Booking is essential for all visits. Find out more information about arranging your visit to The MERL reading room.
The café will open for takeaway and outdoor consumption only, with toilets also available indoors. There will be no indoor seating, but outdoor seating will be available, with new parasols for protection from the elements. The MERL café offers a range of excellent teas, coffees and hot chocolate and cold drinks, individually wrapped snacks, cakes and sandwiches, as well as delicious Jude’s ice-cream tubs.
New ranges of exclusive MERL merchandise inspired by our collections, including our new ‘Absolute Unit’ T-shirts, will be available in the shop, alongside exclusive handmade items and carefully selected ranges of cards, gifts and treats.
The garden offers a peaceful and safe place to relax, picnic and play. From benches in the herb garden, to a large lawn, lavender beds and play-on tractor, there’s space for all visitors to spread out and enjoy. After a year of being left almost to its own devices, our slightly overgrown ‘re-wilded’ garden is a magical place to spend some time with a coffee and a book, or simply to let the children explore. Activities will be available for families and our Welcome Volunteers will be on hand to provide all the help and information you might need.
Social distancing and other safety measures introduced in September will remain in place, although booking will not be required until the galleries reopen. Visitors are asked to adhere to Government guidelines regarding social contact. Once outdoors, you can meet in groups of up to six people or two households. Please do not visit if experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19. We will be monitoring visitor numbers in the garden and particularly in the shop and café where space is limited. Visitors may be asked to wait outside if the space is temporarily at capacity.
* From week beginning 17 May, the galleries at The MERL will also reopen. Please note that all of the above dates are subject to change in line with the Government’s roadmap. We will issue further updates here and full details on our Visit Us page as soon as arrangements are confirmed.
26th February 2021
Following the Government’s sharing of its roadmap out of lockdown on Monday 22nd February, we have been working on our own plans to welcome visitors back to The MERL.
We are aiming to open up gradually, in line with University guidance and depending on the Government’s decisions in the next few weeks and months. Further details will be available soon but these are our current plans:
From week beginning 8th March:
As part of the University of Reading, we will be providing access to collections via the reading room for academic research and teaching only from Wednesday 10th March. Please visit the reading room page for details
For all other research requiring access to the collections, we will continue to provide this through our digital access to collections service.
From week beginning 12 April*:
The reading room will be open for general access.
From the week beginning 12 April*:
The garden, cafe (for take away and outdoor consumption only) and shop will be open. Social distancing and other measures introduced in September will be in place.
From week beginning 17 May*:
The Museum galleries will also reopen.
We will issue further updates here and full details on our Visit Us page, as soon as we have arrangements in place.
*Please note that all of the above dates are subject to change in line with the Government’s roadmap.
5th January 2021
Following the introduction of the National Lockdown on January 5th 2021, the Museum galleries, shop, café and garden will remain closed until further notice. The reading room will also be closed. If you require access to the collections, we will aim to provide this through our digital access to collections service. Please visit the reading room page for details.
Whilst The MERL is closed, there are many ways for you to explore our collections online and discover the history of the English countryside. Find out more about making a virtual visit to the Museum.
17th December 2020
Following the latest Government announcement that Reading will enter Tier 3 from Saturday the 19th December, The MERL will close from 5pm on Friday the 18th December until further notice.
This includes the Museum galleries, shop, café and garden.
The reading room will be closed for Christmas from 4pm today. As soon as have information about the reading room’s reopening, we will update here and share the news to our social media feeds.
Whilst The MERL is closed, there are many ways for you to explore our collections online and discover the history of the English countryside. Find out more about making a virtual visit to the Museum.
27th November 2020
In line with the latest Government announcement that Reading will enter Tier 2 following the end of the national lockdown, The MERL will reopen on Wednesday 2nd December.
We kindly ask that when visiting the Museum, shop, café and garden, you follow the Tier 2 regulations in place in our area.
Please find further details on our Visit Us page, where you will be able to book a timed slot.
2nd November 2020
Following the latest Government regulations in response to the coronavirus pandemic, The Museum of English Rural Life will close to the public at 5pm on Weds 4th November until the end of the lockdown period.
If you have booked a visit to The MERL beyond this date, please keep an eye on your inbox as we will be writing to you very soon.
As part of the University of Reading, we will be continuing to provide access to collections via the reading room for academic research and teaching.
We will miss our visitors hugely, but as with our closure earlier in the year, we will continue sharing on our website and social media the stories of our collections and the history of rural England that our audience loves.
11th August 2020
We are delighted to announce that on Tuesday the 8th of September, The Museum of English Rural Life will reopen for visitors!
This includes all the Museum’s galleries, our reading room, library and archive, and the shop, café and garden.
We have greatly missed you during these difficult months and are overjoyed to be so close to welcoming you back.
As we return to The MERL, we have taken many steps to ensure that you – our staff, visitors, and volunteers – will be safe and comfortable during your time at the Museum, and we will be sharing more news about this very shortly.
We look forward to updating you again very soon.
10th July 2020
Though the reading room and Museum remain closed, we’re increasing digital access to collections from Monday 13th July, when copying services will restart for The MERL, Special Collections and Art Collections. Find out more…
24th June 2020
We welcome the announcement that museums will be able to reopen from 4th July. The MERL will not reopen straight away but we are working hard to put in place all the necessary measures to allow for a new kind of visit, ensuring the safety of all our staff and visitors.
Our reopening will be part of the phased reopening of all the University of Reading‘s campus buildings. We hope to be able to share more information about our plans very soon.
In the meantime, we will continue delivering our programme of online events, exhibitions and activities through our websites and social media and responding to your enquiries. We will also be introducing new digitisation services for researchers in the middle of July, which we look forward to sharing more about very shortly.
Much has changed while we have been closed; we have missed our visitors. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Museum and to being able to contribute to and enjoy being part of the amazing community and cultural life of Reading.
13th May 2020
Our archive and library teams are continuing to run our enquiry service, but from this week they are operating with a reduced capacity. Our capacity to operate reprographic / image licensing services is also reduced. Responses may take longer than usual. Please be aware that any research queries or copying requests necessitating access to the physical collection stores will have to be postponed until we return to the workplace. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.
2nd April 2020
In light of the latest government advice, and in line with the University’s position, all events and external visits due to take place at The MERL and Special Collections are now cancelled until the end of June. The Museum and the reading room will be closed until further notice.
Although the Museum and collections service will be closed, we will continue sharing our collections through social media and via our websites. We are also working on alternative digital ways to deliver elements of the exciting events and activities we had planned for the next few months, keeping everyone entertained whilst sharing useful educational resources.
18th March 2020
In light of the latest government advice regarding the developing COVID-19 situation, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all events and external visits due to take place at The MERL and Special Collections until the end of April. In addition, the Museum and the reading room will close at 5pm on Friday 20th March until further notice.
We understand that this news will be disappointing. We would like to reassure you that it is not a decision we have taken lightly. We will review our plans beyond April in due course. For updates, please visit our website, join our mailing list and follow us on social media.
Our primary concern is to protect the health of our visitors, volunteers, students and staff. The University’s Major Incident Team is meeting regularly to monitor the situation closely and follow all government advice to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Although the Museum and collections service will be closed, we know that our visitors and audiences care about our collections just as much as we do. We will continue sharing stories of rural England, its history and its people through social media and our websites, keeping you entertained as best we can.
Thank you for your understanding.
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