Museum of English Rural Life

 

 


The Museum of English Rural Life, otherwise called the MERL, is a historical center, library and chronicle committed to recording the changing essence of cultivation and the countryside in England. It houses assigned assortments of national significance that length the full scope of articles, files, photos, film and books. It is additionally the area of the University of Reading's unique assortments document, lodging several collection of uncommon books, compositions, typescripts and different objects of significance. The exhibition hall is controlled by the University of Reading, and is located in Redlands Road to the back of the foundation's London Road Campus close to the focal point of Reading in southern England. The area was previously known as East Thorpe House and afterward St. Andrews Hall. It is an authorized historical center and accredited archive as perceived by Arts Council England and the National Archives.

History Of The Museum


 

The exhibition hall's site initially was occupied by a house known as East Thorpe, planned in 1880 by Alfred Waterhouse for Alfred Palmer (of the Reading scone producers Huntley and Palmers). Palmer was a significant early sponsor of Reading University and in 1911 East Thorpe was reached out to become St Andrews Hall, a hall of residence for ladies going to the university.


 

The historical center itself was established in 1951, outgrowing the college's long scholarly associations with agribusiness. It initially involved premises on the University of Reading's primary Whiteknights Campus, opening to general society in 1955. St Andrews Hall was shut down as a hall of residence in 2001. The site was then redeveloped for the utilization of the museum, with the expense of £11m being shared by the college, the Heritage Lottery Fund and public charity. The redeveloped museum hall opened in 2005 and holds the original East Thorpe building, with the expansion of an abutting new structure. The two differentiating structures lookout to the restored gardens, giving a setting to a rustic/rural collection in a metropolitan environment.


 

The Museum went through a time of additional redevelopment from 2013–2016, subsidized by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Wellcome Trust, and the University of Reading. The Museum authoritatively resumed on 22 October 2016 with ten new displays, including an exhibition committed to Ladybird Books artwork held by the University of Reading Special Collections. In February 2019, a bat was found on the gallery's premises. The exhibition hall named the bat Merlin and gave him a library card.

The Collections In The Museum


 

The Museum holds more than 25,000 articles, practically which are all in plain view, and which give a material record of provincial England covering 1750 to the present day.  It houses and takes care of assortment of animal’s portraiture, portrayals of country life, agricultural hand devices, ploughs, ranch hardware, sewing machines and other equipment. The exhibition hall has an expert library and houses different assortments including the library of the Tools and Trades History Society.


 

The welcome case in the Museum of English Rural Life is a large glass case in the welcome area, demonstrating an assortment of items and materials held at the Museum. The second display of the museum shows the primary assignments and occasions during the cultivating year. A well spent day with family is for sure guaranteed and the museum can be reached easily through a taxi in reading. It is the perfect museum for history buffs who would love to know the workings and lifestyle of rural country life and how the agricultural tools evolved over the years. It’s considered a very smart museum with activity room for kids and has a garden with a pretty café and a good gift shop to collect souvenirs.

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