People - The Museum of English Rural Life

Changing Perspectives: Seeds of Change

Read about how a community gardening project in Dulwich Park is helping members to rebuild their relationships with land, food, and nature.

Changing Perspectives: A Kale of Two Cities

Learn about the differences between growing food in contemporary Hong Kong and London, and what it’s like to become a grower today.

Further Afield update blog – August 2024

Read the latest update from our Further Afield project, exploring how we can embrace and invite new perspectives within our interpretation.

Further Afield update blog – May 2024

Read our latest update on the Further Afield project, which trials new approaches to co-curation with community groups.

The Power to Tell It for Ourselves

Acquisition, cataloguing and display are vital matters of consent. Learn how we’re evolving our approach throughout our work.

The MERL is going Further Afield

Collections Researcher Tim Jerrome introduces our newest project at The MERL, Further Afield, which trials new approaches to community driven museum outputs, working with groups who have been historically underrepresented in the countryside.

Smoking Cap

This cap was manufactured in North America and is most likely associated with the Haudenosaunee nation, commonly known as the Iroquois Confederacy. Indigenous women would make items like smoking caps, moccasins and baskets for British visitors who could then return to the UK with souvenirs from North America and Canada. Smoking caps were popular in [...]

Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherds Sash

This sash belonged to the Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherds; a Friendly Society founded in 1826 in Ashton-under-Lyme. Friendly Societies were created to provide help for local communities before there was any kind of public health care or financial support. Members paid a monthly fee that would go into a shared pot used when a [...]

Tailoring

These items come from the Kellman Collection, used and collected by Alexander Kellman, a tailor on the Queen’s Road in Reading. Thread MERL 97/79 Cloth MERL 97/82 Bobbins MERL 97/78/1-37 Tailors were important members of society since the late Middle Ages. Their main role was often focused on men’s clothing, specifically tailoring military wear. As [...]

Clothing on Canals

Canal boats were vital in transporting coal and goods made during the boom of the industrial revolution in the 18th Century. This moved many seasonal farmers to the boats as this life was slightly more predictable, but still maintained the migratory aspect of living. Canal boat living involved the whole family. Children were expected to [...]