Event Information
Description
Land and folk have often been portrayed romantically. They routinely play a part in stories of nationhood and identity. Our understandings of them are deeply rooted in the past yet still brought regularly to the fore in contemporary explorations of the countryside. This series of talks and discussions offers different perspectives on our complex relationships with people and place. Some events will be accompanied by opportunities to engage with collections from the MERL.
Tuesday 25 September
Dr Ollie Douglas - Folklore and the MERL: All Folk and No Lore?
Tuesday 2 October
Nicola Chester and Robert McDowall - Cobbett in Conversation: From Rural Rides to Nature Writing
Tuesday 9 October
Arnhel de Serra in conversation with Bee Farrell - Laughter comes when we get caught off guard: The Country Show photographic project
Tuesday 16 October
Catherine Morland and Amanda Couch - Wheat and Rush, Weave and Ritual
Tuesday 30 October
Dr Stuart Dunn - In the Churchway Paths to Glide: Corpse Roads and Their Folklore
Tuesday 13 November
Adam Lines - The Lake District: Wordsworth’s Legacy
Organiser The Museum of English Rural Life (The MERL)
Organiser of The MERL Seminars: Land and Folk
The Museum of English Rural Life (The MERL)
The MERL was established in Reading in 1951 to capture and record the rapidly changing countryside following World War II. In 2005, it moved to its current premises in St Andrew’s Hall, a building designed by Sir Alfred Waterhouse in 1880 for local businessman Alfred Palmer of the Huntley & Palmer biscuit company.
Today the Museum uses its diverse and surprising collection to explore how the skills and experiences of farmers and craftspeople, past and present, can help shape our lives now and into the future. The Museum has worked alongside rural people, local communities and specialist researchers to create displays and activities that engage with important debates about the future of food and the ongoing relevance of the countryside to all our lives.
The MERL belongs to the University of Reading Museums and Special Collections Service (UMASCS)
Special Collections
Our collections, which include rare books, archives and manuscripts, are substantial and varied, particularly for a University of this age and size. The University's collections also include artwork.
Museums Partnership Reading
Reading Museum and The Museum of English Rural Life work together as Museums Partnership Reading (MPR). MPR is funded by Arts Council England’s (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation scheme, to improve opportunities for diverse local communities to engage in cultural experiences and heritage through public programmes, including exhibitions, high quality learning services for young people, new online experiences and investment in volunteering.
