Women's farming in the spotlight at MERL: special talk - Tuesday 8 March
Friday, 04 March 2011
Dairying students in what is now 'Eat and Drink' on the London Road campus
'Women have always been involved in farming in Britain but until relatively recently historians have tended to ignore or belittle their contributions.'
Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day on March 8 2011, the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) will reveal the often overlooked story of women in farming in a talk inspired by the its current exhibition: 'Land Ladies: Women and Farming in England, 1900-1945'.
By the beginning of the twentieth century scientific innovation, technological change, and mechanisation had helped to create the impression that farming was a ‘manly' business. As a result, agriculture has often been depicted as a masculine pursuit. However, women have always worked in farming. Very much overlooked, their role has to a large extent been hidden from history.
The exhibition, 'Land Ladies: Women in Farming in England, 1900-45' tells their story and, in her talk on Tuesday 8 March, Guest Curator Dr Nicola Verdon will show just how important the contribution of women has been.
Dr Nicola Verdon, an historian from Sheffield Hallam University has drawn on the archives, objects, books, and photographs held at the Museum of English Rural Life, which is owned and managed by the University of Reading, to create a fascinating exhibition which examines the work undertaken by women in the fields, farmhouses, and farmyards of England from 1900 until the end of the Second World War.
From original Women's Land Army uniforms to domestic butter and cheese-making appliances, industrial produce machinery to basketry, this exhibition plays host to an exciting array of objects. These include local artefacts such as an egg basket used in a Berkshire country kitchen, an egg transport box used by Thames Valley Eggs, a punnet used locally for fruit picking, and banners made by members of WI groups from two Berkshire villages.
Other items of local interest include objects and images associated with the history of dairy education at the University of Reading. These include photographs of young women learning to make butter in the 1930s in the old dairy building, now a 'Eat and Drink' on the London Road campus, located next door to MERL.
Dr Verdon said: "Women have always been involved in farming in Britain but until relatively recently historians have tended to ignore or belittle their contributions. The MERL collections allow us to explore the range of work that women undertook. I particularly like the image of women workers on the land in the 1930s - it really shows the reality of farming, dirty, unglamorous and very, very hard work. People tend to think that women only worked on the land during the two world wars, but this exhibition shows that the work of women during the war was part of a continuous process."
Dr Verdon's talk, 'Business and pleasure: women, work, and the professionalisation of farming as a female career, c.1900-1950', starts at 4.30pm on Tuesday 8 March and is free and open to all. Advance booking is recommended as places are limited. The exhibition runs until April 19.For details and to book to attend the talk, please visit www.reading.ac.uk/merl, email merlevents@reading.ac.uk or call 0118 378 8660.