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Weekly what's on: 24th to 28th November

Author
Alison Hilton
Published Date
November 25, 2014

Although the MERL galleries and garden are currently closed for redevelopment, there are still events and activities taking place at the Museum and Special Collections. Below are details of this week’s events. Further details of forthcoming events can be found on the MERL What’s On pages or on the Special Collections pages.

 

H and P christmas biscuitsHuntley & Palmers: a Christmas selection
25 November to 23 December
Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm
Staircase hall, Museum of English Rural Life

This seasonal display shows off some of the visual delights in the University’s extensive archive of local biscuit manufacturer, Huntely & Palmers.

 

SC booksRural reads plus…
Thursday 27 November
5.30-7.30pm
Free, drop-in (£1.50 for tea and biscuits)
Staircase Hall, Museum of English Rural Life

As MERL is now closed until early 2016 to allow work on the Our Country Lives redevelopment project to take place, the popular Rural Reads book club is expanding its reach to draw on the University’s vast Special Collections for reading inspiration, with the potential to read anything from Ian Flemming to Mills & Boon, chosen by you. The book to read for the November meeting is The Beetle: A Mystery by Richard Marsh. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in an informal discussion in the atmospheric setting of the beautiful Victorian Staircase Hall. Visit the ‘Rural Reads plus‘ web page for full details

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.