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Weekly What's On: 2nd to 8th December

Author
Alison Hilton
Published Date
December 2, 2013

lecture image 13MERL Annual Lecture: Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP ‘in conversation’ with Sir David Bell, University of Reading Vice-Chancellor
Thursday 5th December
7pm, Great Hall, London Road Campus
Free. Tickets in advance or on the door (Doors open 6pm. Bar and MERL ‘pop-up’ shop available)
Click here for details

 

 

magic carpetToddler time
Friday 6th December, 10-11am, £2 per child, drop-in
Suitable for families with children aged 2-4
Come along to the Museum with your little ones and enjoy rhymes, songs and craft activities. This week we’ll be making super snowman mobiles.

 

 

 

Victorian christmasVictorian Christmas family tour
Sunday 8th December, 2.30-4pm
£3 per child (includes refreshments for accompanying adults)
Booking required
It’s Christmas in 1882 and the Palmer family are spending their first Christmas at their new home, Easthorpe house, with their staff. You are invited to come along and meet Lord and Lady Palmer, their Butler Jerrome, House Keeper Mrs Gough and other members of the household staff. Visitors will learn about Victorian Christmas traditions, play Victorian party games, enjoy seasonal refreshments and make their own Victorian Christmas card. Don’t forget to dress up in your Victorian costume! Watch our trailer on Youtube!

 

HP christmasHuntley & Palmers: a Christmas selection
25 Nov 2013- 5 Jan, 2014
Free, drop-in, normal museum opening times
This seasonal display in the Staircase hall of the Palmers’ former family home, shows off some of the visual delights in the University’s extensive archive of local biscuit manufacturer, Huntley & Palmers

 

 

Collecting the countryside: 20th century rural cultures
Temporary exhibition space
Free, drop in, normal museum opening times
Since 2008 the Museum of English Rural Life has been adding even more objects to its collection, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Collecting Cultures programme, in order to represent each decade of the last century. (Find out more in Curator, Isabel Hughes’ recent post) This exhibition gives a taste of what has been acquired and challenges visitors to suggest the modern-day objects that the Museum needs to collect for the future. The exhibition will help the Museum to explore how to incorporate more recent histories and representations of the English countryside into its displays as part of the new Our Country Lives project.

Hedgehog extravaganza
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
July 24, 2025

The Friday Walks, with Man in the Woods

In this episode of The MERL podcast, we speak to Bristol-based artist Scott about his artistic practice documenting weird Britain.

School group in the garden
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
July 21, 2025

Another brilliant school year

Learn about the highlights of our schools and learning programmes from the 2024/25 academic year.

Jo Clement (a woman with long brown hair and glasses) holds an object at The MERL
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
April 4, 2025

Announcing our new Fellow, Dr Jo Clement

Read how our new MERL Fellow, Dr Jo Clement, is engaging with the Robert Dawson Romany Collection to explore the heritage of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people in England.

Shepherds herding sheep across a valley.
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
February 7, 2025

Voices: introducing our 2025 programme

Get the highlights of what’s coming up in the first half of 2025: from exhibitions and displays, to free tours and talks, plus the announcement of our official podcast.

The top of a letter to William Champion, farmer
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
February 5, 2025

Thomas and Austen: a gay relationship in the MERL archives?

For LGBTQ+ History Month 2025, researcher Tim Jerrome shares how he’s using rural archives to research same-sex relationships in the countryside.

A. Hedley Richmond's drawing of a proposed garden and Lewisham Hospital
Author
Joe
/
Published Date
January 6, 2025

Landscapes of public health

How does public health impact the design of public spaces? We recap the contents of the 2024 symposium of FOLAR (Friends of the Landscape Archive at Reading), held at The MERL.