Weekly what’s on: 22nd Sept to 5th October

Full details of our events this term can be found on our website, and events in the Our Country Lives programme are listed here

 

BeckettSelfPortraitandChaplinweb597777_36826Samuel Beckett in London – the Murphy Notebooks
Weds 1st to Saturday 4th October

As part of  the University of Reading’s Beckett Week, a celebration of the University’s internationally renowned collection of manuscripts from the Nobel Prize-winning writer will be on show at MERL. The display showcases fascinating items from a key period in the famous author’s life, including the Whoroscope Notebook and the Murphy manuscripts.

 

 

jethro 8 cutout flipToddler Time
Friday 3rd October, 10-11am, £2 per child, drop-in
From this month, Toddler Time will be monthly (first Friday of the month) and we’re moving (find out why) to The Learning Hub at the Institute of Education, right next door to MERL. Please come to MERL (to pay and park as usual) and we’ll go over to the new venue together. We’ll still be enjoying songs, rhymes and stories followed by a craft activity inspired by the Museum’s collections and garden.

 


country lives logoInformation Day,
Saturday 4th October, 2-4pm
Free, drop-in

Come and see the current displays for one last time, learn more about the project, see the first artist impressions of some of the proposed new galleries, and find out how you can get involved…

 

  • Hear a short presentation outlining plans for the new galleries, facilities and activities
  • See artists impressions and initial plans for the new galleries
  • See some of the hidden treasures from the stores which will feature in the new displays
  • Have a go at object handling – an example of the kind of activity which will be available in the new museum
  • Take part in an ‘image keywording’ activity with staff to discuss contrasting images of the countryside & help inform one of the new galleries focussing on percetpions of the countryside (Read this blog post to find out more)
  • Make a chocolate box decorated (as seen at the Berkshire Show!) with nostalgic rural images and see the objects which inspired them
  • Find out about the new Family Forum & Youth Forum and sign up to take part in consultations to have your say in the future of MERL
  • Enjoy delicious tea & cake!

 

greenhamCollecting the countryside: 20th century rural cultures
Until Autumn 2014
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’ blog post) This exhibition gives a taste of what has been acquired. 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 Our Country Lives project.

Chocolate box images & perceptions of the countryside

Alison Hilton, Marketing Officer, shows how, with a little bit of research, it is possible to link chocolate and English Rural Life, and invites you to come and talk about your perceptions of the countryside at our first Our Country Lives Information Day on Sat 4th October.

Staff and volunteers spent last weekend on the University of Reading’s chocolate-themed (award-winning!) stand at the Berkshire Show. MERL has been a part of the stand for several years, adding a historical element and a family activity to dairy, bread and fruit themes. After last year’s show, when the other departments involved suggested that the 2014 stand could be on the theme of chocolate, we were worried that we would find it hard to find a link with our collections – not much cocoa is grown in rural England after all! Fortunately, Assistant Curator Ollie Douglas was quick to remind us of the concept of the ‘chocolate box’ image of the countryside.

I’d heard of this term, but had never asked myself why quaint pictures of cute cottages and pretty rural scenes have come to be labelled ‘chocolate box’ images. Preparing our display for the show, colleagues explained all; it appears to be down to Cadburys:

Bournville is a ‘model village’ developed in the late-nineteenth century by the Cadbury family to house the workforce of their chocolate factory. At that time Bournville was on the rural outskirts of Birmingham, though it has now been subsumed by suburban expansion. The Cadbury family believed they had a paternalistic responsibility to provide a healthy and moral rural community for their workers. Families moved from inner-city slums to a planned village with large semi-detached houses, schools, a boating lake and a picturesque cricket pitch next to the factory. This scene was made famous on Cadbury Milk Tray chocolate boxes throughout the 1950s and early 1960s.

The term ‘chocolate box art’ is now often used to refer to such quaint countryside scenes, and the use of this imagery in the arts, entertainment and popular culture is often idealistic and sentimental. Our ideas about the countryside are often influenced by these representations.

Although we don’t actually have one of these chocolate boxes in our collections, we’ve recently deliberately acquired objects, as part of the HLF-funded Collecting 20C Rural Cultures project, which portray this kind of image of the countryside, such as a collection of ‘rural nostalgia’ plates, by Wedgwood…

rural nostalgia plate

The most popular image with visitors on our Berkshire Show stand was this one from a Wedgwood plate

This Cottage Ware tea set from the 1940s, made by Keele Street Pottery of Stoke-on-Trent, captures the quintessential image of the quaint thatched English country cottage. (MERL 2009/52 – 2009/54)

Cottageware teaset (MERL 2009/52 – 2009/54)

1940s Cottage Ware teaset (MERL 2009/52 – 2009/54)

This 120 piece wooden jigsaw puzzle entitled ‘A Cotswold Alley’ was made by Chad Valley, in the 1920s. The jigsaw depicts a classic ‘chocolate box’ cottage scene. (MERL 2008/99/1 – 2008/99/2)

Chad Valley Jigsaw

1920s Chad Valley jigsaw (MERL 2008/99/1 – 2008/99/2)

We copied, traced and reproduced these images for children to colour in on the stand at the show and used them as a starting point for talking about how our perceptions of the countryside are influenced.

Colouring in activity

The working title of one of the new galleries is ‘Rural views and perceptions’. It will tell the stories of the home in the countryside (as a place for both living and working) and the changing nature of crafts. We really want to explore the idea that the popular image of the countryside is part-myth and part-reality, and to consider the contrast between the idea/ideal and reality of living in the countryside, and think about how these ideas have come about.

 

Our ideas about the countryside are often influenced by how rural people and places are represented in the arts and popular culture.  Sometimes we are given a nostalgic sense of a golden rural past, idealising the countryside way of life.

Cottage_and_cat

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In contrast, the countryside can also be represented as a remote and frightening wilderness, removed from the rest of society.  Film makers have often portrayed the countryside as a harsh and brutal place, with the quietness seeming sinister rather than peaceful.

For people from more urban backgrounds, the countryside is sometimes seen as a place to retreat at weekends and for holidays, yet for rural dwellers, living and working in the countryside can mean a life of hard labour and sometimes even poverty.

Root harvest in the fens 54_11_11_20

At the Information Day on Saturday 4th October, we’ll be asking visitors to look at contrasting images of life in the countryside from our photographic archives and talk about how they affect their perception of the countryside.

 

Information Day, Saturday 4th October, 2-4pm
Come and see the current displays for one last time, learn more about the project, see the first artist impressions of some of the proposed new galleries, and find out how you can get involved…

  • Hear a short presentation outlining plans for the new galleries, facilities and activities
  • See artists impressions and initial plans for the new galleries
  • See some of the hidden treasures from the stores which will feature in the new displays
  • Have a go at object handling – an example of the kind of activity which will be available in the new museum
  • Take part in an ‘image keywording’ activity with staff to discuss contrasting images of the countryside & help inform one of the new galleries focussing on percetpions of the countryside
  • Make a chocolate box decorated with nostalgic rural images and see the objects which inspired them
  • Find out about the new Family Forum & Youth Forum and sign up to take part in consultations to have your say in the future of MERL
  • Enjoy delicious tea & cake!

 

A Take on Teen Twitter Takeover Day

Teen Twitter Takeover Day – Wednesday 27th August, written by Chloe

On Wednesday 27th August I took part, on behalf of MERL, in ‘Teen Twitter Takeover Day’. Organised by Kids in Museums, this was a day designed to promote their national Takeover Day in November, by having teenagers take over the Twitter accounts of museums and related organisations.

To introduce myself, my name is Chloe, and I first came to the museum in summer 2012 after having completed my GCSEs. I knew it was going to be a long summer break, and wanted to do something worthwhile with at least some of it! My favourite subject was (and still is!) history, so I thought it would be a good idea to see a real world application of this. Since I knew I liked museums, what better way to do so than to find out a bit more about how they are run and the different jobs involved? I had a lovely few days at MERL, and admittedly was slightly surprised by how interesting I found the subject of rural life, something I’d never thought about in great depth before. I thought the museum was brilliant, with really interesting exhibits, and great fun events.

After that, I was very grateful to be asked to come back and help at events like Apple Day and the Village Fete, and since then have been returning in school holidays for such events, as well as craft workshops – equally fun for me and the children I attempt to help with their various activities, I think! In October I’m off to start university, but hope to keep returning to the museum when I can. I always have a great time when I visit, especially because everyone I meet is unfailingly welcoming, kind and helpful. So, when asked if I would like to take over the MERL Twitter account for the day, I jumped at the chance!

The day itself began with me successfully navigating various technological barriers with the help of Tom, the marketing intern, in order to log into the MERL Twitter account. Once there, I set about introducing myself, trying to summarise all the information above (1390 characters) in a couple of 140 character tweets!

tttweet1

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After a coffee break, I followed the example of other Teen Tweeters and showed the world of twitter my face, in the form of my favourite part of the museum…

ttt4

I wasn’t lying, I really have always loved dressing up, so finding my favourite part of the museum was embarrassingly easy!

All jokes aside, during the day I also tweeted about the Youth Forum that MERL are launching on Takeover Day in November. Having read up on various sources of information about this before the Twitter Takeover, I knew it was important to spread awareness about it, and twitter is undoubtedly a great way to spread information amongst young people, as well I know. For most of my peers, twitter is the way we keep up to date constantly throughout the day – not only with each other, but also with world news and events. It has infiltrated media outside of its own zone even, with ‘hashtag’ becoming part of spoken language for many. As such, this was clearly a great opportunity for the museum to attract attention to the Youth Forum. Keeping within the 140 character limit proved difficult, but I managed to keep my descriptions concise and direct anyone interested to sources of further information, rather than overload their timelines with a long string of tweets about it!

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On the subject of youth groups, I took the chance to ask other teen tweeters about their experiences and what they advised for a youth group, with some interesting responses.

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By late afternoon I felt I had tweeted about everything I needed to, and enjoyed some great interactions with other participants. I had a lovely day and was really impressed by how connected and engaged museums are with social media and its power. As a follower of MERL on twitter (of course!) I know they are well versed in the importance of social media for reaching wider audiences, and hopefully this can be used in the future to further encourage young people to visit the museum and get involved in the Youth Forum. Thanks MERL for a great opportunity, I thoroughly enjoyed spending my day on twitter, as many a teenager would!

ttt9

Project update: What happens next?

Having heard the news of our project funding earlier this summer, you may be wondering what happens next? So in this post Alison Hilton, marketing officer, answers some ‘frequently asked questions’

2Has work on the project started yet?

We are still going through the processes required before work on the Our Country Lives project can start. There are contractors to engage, project staff to employ and plenty of red tape to cross!  You will, however, notice some small changes taking place in the Museum already, as our Conservator prepares for the process of moving the entire collection out! The Museum is still open and there’s plenty to see, but if you’re planning a visit to see a specific object, it would be a good idea to check in advance that the item is still on display. There is also the ongoing conservation work on the Festival of Britain wall-hangings taking place in the ‘farming cycle’, which means we are currently unable to offer the brass rubbing activity.

The collections team are already well into the in depth research phase, combing the object records and archives for details relevant to each of the new themed galleries. They will be blogging regularly about their fascinating finds here and on the research blog.

When will the Museum close?

We are hoping to have everything in place in the next few weeks, and are expecting to close by the end of October – we will let you know as soon as we have a confirmed date. We expect to reopen at the end of 2015 / beginning of 2016.

Will the reading room be closed?

The only part of the building to be affected by the closure will be the Museum itself. Access to the reading room and Special Collections Services, shop and rooms for hire will be unaffected.

OCL Big Draw posterAre you running events this term?

We are holding a public Information Day on Saturday October 4th at which we will be able to share more details about our plans, including the latest artist impressions of the new galleries.

To give us time to concentrate on Our Country Lives, we will not be running our regular Autumn events such as Apple Day, the Traditional Craft Fair and the Annual Lecture.  These popular events will be back when we open!

Our monthly Rural Reads book club will continue to meet on the last Thursday of every month but will move into the Staircase Hall and expand it’s remit to include the University’s Special Collections.

Toddler Time will run as usual on Friday mornings throughout September and will then from October 3rd will take place next door in the Learning Hub on the first Friday of each month.

There will be one family workshop, The Our Country Lives Big Draw, during half term.

You can find details of the Our Country Lives events programme here.

How can I get involved?

Once the project is up and running there will be lots of new volunteering opportunities and community projects to take part in. Our Volunteer Coordinator will keep you updated via the Volunteers’ Voice posts. In the meantime, we are launching a Family Forum and a Youth Forum this Autumn. If you’d like to find out more, call Rob Davies on 0118 378 8660 or email merlevents@reading.ac.uk

 

 

Weekly what’s on: Sept 15th to 21st

You can find details of all our forthcoming events at on our What’s On pages, but here’s what’s happening at MERL this week…

 

GGuided touruided tours
Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays, 3-3.45pm
Free, booking advisable but not essential
Let our fully trained tour guides tell you the stories behind the objects on display and visit the object store to see MERL’s hidden treasures.

 

 

 

jethro 8 cutout flipToddler Time
Friday 19th, 10am, £2 per child, drop-in
Join us for songs and rhymes followed by a craft activity inspired by the Museum’s collections and garden.

 

 

 

 

HP chocolateMERL at the Berkshire Show
20th & 21st September. Click here for ticket details.
Come and find MERL staff and volunteers on the University of Reading’s chocolate-themed stand at the Royal Berkshire Show this weekend. As part of the Our Country Lives project, we’ll be exploring perceptions of the countryside using chocolate box images as a starting point. Families will be able to make and decorate a chocolate with us and then join University colleagues to make something to put it in!

 

 

 

2Conservation project
There is currently a unique opportunity to see one of our 1951 Festival of Britain wall hangings. Conservation work is currently underway in the Museum gallery to prepare them for display as part of MERL’s redevelopment project. Don’t miss this rare opportunity during your visit to see detailed conservation work taking place and to catch a glimpse of these incredible pieces which have not been seen in over 60 years. Read more about the project in our conservation blogs

 

 

 

greenhamCollecting the countryside: 20th century rural cultures
Until Autumn 2014
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.

Weekly what’s on: Sept 8th to 14th

You can find details of all our forthcoming events at on our What’s On pages, but here’s what’s happening at MERL this week…

Events

HOD2_MB_RGBHeritage Open Day tours
Thurs 11th, Fri 12th 11am & Sunday 14th, 3pm (house only)
Free, booking required
Join us for a free behind the scenes tour of our Victorian home and see some treasures in the archive and rare book stores.

Family Heritage Open Day tour
Saturday 13th, 3pm, free, booking required
For the first time we are inviting families to see what’s behind the scenes at MERL! Find out what’s in those parts of the Museum you’re not usually allowed to visit!

 

Guided tourGuided tours
Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays, 3-3.45pm
Free, booking advisable but not essential
Let our fully trained tour guides tell you the stories behind the objects on display and visit the object store to see MERL’s hidden treasures.

 

 

 

jethro 8 cutout flipToddler Time
Friday, 10am, £2 per child, drop-in
Join us for songs and rhymes followed by a craft activity inspired by the Museum’s collections and garden.

 

 

 

 

2Conservation project
There is currently a unique opportunity to see one of our 1951 Festival of Britain wall hangings. Conservation work is currently underway in the Museum gallery to prepare them for display as part of MERL’s redevelopment project. Don’t miss this rare opportunity during your visit to see detailed conservation work taking place and to catch a glimpse of these incredible pieces which have not been seen in over 60 years. Read more about the project in our conservation blogs

 

 

 

 

greenhamCollecting the countryside: 20th century rural cultures
Until Autumn 2014
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.

Discovering the Landscape #6: Susan and Geoffrey Jellicoe catalogues now available online!

Written by Claire Wooldridge, Landscape Institute Library Officer

AR JEL DO1 S2/20

Drawing showing design for 1993 at Shute House, Donhead St Mary, Wiltshire

Drawings donated to the Landscape Institute by Geoffrey Jellicoe and the photographic collection of Susan Jellicoe are now catalogued and are available to search via our online catalogue and by collection in PDF format (Geoffrey Jellicoe, Susan Jellicoe).

These fantastic collections cover landscape architecture and landscape history across Europe and beyond.  Both Susan and Geoffrey Jellicoe were highly influential in the field of landscape architecture and played significant roles in the Institute of Landscape Architects (now the Landscape Institute) and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (Geoffrey acting as president of both institutions at different times from the later 1930s).

The drawing above is from the Geoffrey Jellicoe collection, a drawing showing his 1993 design for Shute House, Donhead St Mary, Wiltshire (AR JEL DO1 S2/20).

Below are a few examples from Susan Jellicoe’s photographic collection, include images of Venice (P JEL PH2/A/6/12), Cliveden (P JEL PH2/L/8/18 relating to our Nancy and Waldorf Astor material) and Geoffrey’s memorial to John F. Kennedy at Runnymede (P JEL PH2/L/8/64).

Susan Jellicoe, Venice, P JEL PH2 A_6_12

Susan Jellicoe, Venice, P JEL PH2 A_6_12

 

Susan Jellicoe, Cliveden, P JEL PH2 L_8_18

Susan Jellicoe, Cliveden, P JEL PH2 L_8_18

P JEL PH2 L_8_64

Susan Jellicoe, Runnymede, P JEL PH2 L_8_64

 

We are delighted these fantastic collections are now searchable!  Please direct any enquiries to merl@reading.ac.uk.