Mapping the lantern slides
Dr Katrina Navickas is the 2020/21 Open Spaces Society Fellow at The MERL. In this blog, Katrina outlines her work and research in mapping the locations of over 1,000 lantern slides in the Open Spaces Society collection. The Open Spaces Society was founded in 1865 to campaign for and preserve commons, footpaths and open spaces […]
Queer Rural Connections: queer history and belonging in the countryside
This summer, The MERL will host the Queer Rural Connections live promenade show and documentary film, which will share the stories and experiences of queer rural people. Below, Timothy Allsop, writer, actor, and director, tells us about the ideas behind the project, what he hopes it will achieve, and the challenges he has faced so […]
Discovering The Lost Museum
At The MERL, we are delighted to work on creative projects and displays in collaboration with a number of community partners from Reading and further afield. If you visit the Museum at the moment, you will find one such display in The Nook: a community case entitled The Lost Museum, created by the community of […]
Lace Tellings by Jackie Oates
Jackie Oates and Pete Flood have spent the last two years as folk musicians-in-residence at The MERL, supported by EFDSS. Jackie has worked with community groups in Reading, singing lullabies with the museum’s Friday Fledglings under-5s group and ‘work songs’ with the Mewes Knitters. But the focus of her final piece, Lace Tellings, was inspired […]
The Last Dipper by Pete Flood
Pete Flood and Jackie Oates have spent the last two years as folk musicians-in-residence at The MERL, supported by EFDSS, working on projects inspired by the museum’s themes and collections. Last year, Pete ran workshops with young percussionists focusing on ‘rough music‘, tackling issues of bullying and exclusion. Now, ahead of a final performance at South Street […]
A Land Down Under
Anthropologist and Collections Volunteer Paul Trawick continues his journey of subsoil discovery, exploring the role of land drainage on English farms. In his first post – What Lies Beneath? – he introduced us to these little-known systems. In this installment he elaborates further on their history and how they work… We have already seen how […]
My Country Arts Award
Over the last six weeks we have had the pleasure of welcoming Rebecca to The MERL on Supported Work Placement. Rebecca is a student in Reading College’s LLD/D (Learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities department) and she has spent her time with us learning about the museum, being inspired by our collections and has worked […]
Aus Deutschland zu Besuch?
Visiting from Germany? Here are some shorts posts written by students in the German Department at the University of Reading Das MERL Museum von Eleanor Richard Herberts Das MERL (Museum of English Rural Life) in Reading ist ein Museum für Landleben, und wird leider oft von Touristen vergessen. Das ist sehr schade, weil das Museum […]
From Miners to Market Gardeners: the Story of the Sidlesham Land Settlement Association
In this guest post, Bill Martin explains the background to the Sidlesham Land Settlement Association. The Land Settlement Archive is housed at The MERL. When I bought a retirement project in Sidlesham, West Sussex, I knew nothing of the local area. I met a former tenant of a smallholding in the village with a collection […]
The Jam Lady – Keeping Jam Relevant
Written by Sarah Roy, The Jam Lady How did it all begin? Well, once my movie career dried up and the offers of modelling work stopped, I looked for new avenues. I woke in the night with a flash of inspiration. That flash was …. JAM. Actually, I’ve enjoyed baking, cooking and all things culinary […]