Object Collections

When the Museum was founded in 1951 by the University of Reading, it was the first specialist museum of farming and rural life to be established in England and so was able to acquire large collections of high quality material at a time when mechanisation was bringing great changes to the countryside. It also played an important pioneering part in the formulation of procedures for the processing, cataloguing and conservation of such material. Today, it is active at a national and international level in all aspects of rural museums.

The Collections

The collections cover the broad range of material relating to farming, rural crafts and industries, and country life. The bulk of the items date from the period 1850 to 1950. Pre 1850 farm tools and equipment are rare in England. Post 1950, the sheer range and size of farm machinery are inhibitors given the level of exhibition and storage space that we have available. This is why so much emphasis has been placed on reflecting this period through the two dimensional collections - especially the photographs and technical literature - of the Museum of English Rural Life.

Key strong points where the collections are of national importance include:

agricultural hand tools
farm wagons
horse drawn ploughs
dairying equipment
livestock accessories eg horseshoes; veterinary equipment
land drainage material
country crafts and rural industries; the thatching collection, for example is particularly extensive as is that covering the woodland trades
woodworking and carpentry
country smocks
basketry; corn dollies
friendly society brasses
beekeeping equipment
animal traps
sewing machines
paintings and prints, especially of early nineteenth century livestock.

Opening Hours

Details of our current opening hours can be found here.

Group Visits and Functions

Groups of 15 or more are asked to book their visit in advance. Evening visits and functions can be arranged. For more information contact us by phone (0118 378 8660) or e-mail (merl@reading.ac.uk).

Temporary Exhibitions

Temporary exhibitions on themes relevant to the permanent collections are regularly held, particularly during the spring and summer months.

Consultancy

Museum Staff have been involved in a wide range of advisory and other work with museum/heritage operations involved with farming and the countryside. Conservation advice and contract conservation expertise are also available. For more information contact Roy Brigden (tel: 0118 3788663; e-mail r.d.brigden@reading.ac.uk).