Snow update – Jan 18th, 11.25am

Author
Alison Hilton
Published Date
January 18, 2013

The Museum & Special Collections reading room are currently open as usual. Toddler Time will take place at 1pm as planned. However, snow is falling heavily in Reading and we are monitoring the situation carefully. We still plan to open as usual at the weekend but decisions will be taken depending on conditions nearer the time. News regarding any changes to opening times will be posted on the Museum’s website via this blog, on Facebook and on Twitter.

Guy Baxter at The MERL
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
September 30, 2026

Leadership changes: Guy Baxter becomes our new Director

Guy Baxter becomes the new Director of the University of Reading’s Museums and Collections, as Kate Arnold-Forster and Isabel Hughes depart.

Richard Watts with a tractor and film reels
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
September 23, 2026

Beyond nostalgia

How do we help audiences of today encounter films from the past?

Friday Fledglings brand logo – a cartoon bird jumps through autumnal leaves
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
September 17, 2026

A new Friday Fledglings brand has hatched

An iconic under-5s group deserves iconic design.

Author
Joe
/
Published Date
September 15, 2026

Digitising the Fowler archives

Learn about our project to improve access to our Fowler archives of engine drawings, including 7,171 new drawings in our database.

Robert Davey
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
September 1, 2026

Remembering Robert Davey

All of us at The Museum of English Rural Life are deeply saddened by the recent passing of Robert Davey – a valued member of our community.

Merle the bat, asleep in a glove
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
August 19, 2026

So we found a live bat in our galleries (again)

Seven years after we gave a bat a library card, another bat has visited The Museum of English Rural Life.

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