University History Resources: Related Collections
- Reference
- Various
- University Collection
- Special Collections
Across Museums & Collections there are many deposits from institutions or research centres closely associated with the history of the University.
Many of the collections listed below are catalogued and available for research. Those collections still to be catalogued have been indicated by the use of italics. We are working on cataloguing these papers. When items are catalogued, they become searchable via the online catalogue.
Please contact us if you need more information about any of these collections.
| Bulmershe College of Higher Education Associated with University of Reading since the 1960s | MS 5842; MS 5573 (Photographic Collection) |
| College of Estate Management Associated with the University of Reading from 1967 | MS 5841 |
| Henley Business School Records of the Henley Business School, the Henley Management College and the Administrative Staff College | MS 5567 |
| National College of Food Technology Associated with the University of Reading since 1965 | MS 5737 |
| Churn Estates Ltd | FR DX2473 |
| Whiteknights Press Archive | MS 5554 |
The Chaplaincy records are currently uncatalogued. Deposit references: acc.MS5439; acc.MS5525; acc.MS5723; acc.MS5820; acc.MS5968
The establishment of an agricultural history museum, at the University was first proposed by Professor Edgar Thomas in 1947. John Higgs, Lecturer in Farm Mechanisation in the Department of Agriculture, submitted a proposal for a museum amongst the new buildings at Whiteknights campus in October 1950. The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) was founded by the University of Reading in 1951 to ‘reflect and record the changing face of farming and the countryside’. Objects were first stored at Whitley Park Farm and in 1952 the MERL moved into (old) Whiteknights House, on Whiteknights campus. In 1964 the MERL moved its collections into a newly constructed but considered temporary building at the south west entrance of the campus and in 2004 MERL moved to its current site on London Road.
Check out the collections for the MERL Archive (D MERL) and MERL Objects.
| Department of Food Science: Objects | |
| University History Collection Objects | UHC OBJ |
| Centre for Teaching of Reading | MS 5638 |
| Farm Management Survey Financed by the Government through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and undertaken by universities and colleges in England, Wales and Scotland and the Department of Agriculture in Northern Ireland. Each university or college was responsible for certain geographical areas. The Faculty of Agriculture at University of Reading was involved in surveying. | SR FMS |
| Flora Europaea The collection contains drafts and correspondence relating to the publication of the ‘Flora Europaea’, a five-volume work mapping the flora of Europe, edited by T.G. Tutin et al. and published by Cambridge University Press between 1964 and 1980. | MS 5422 |
| Musil Research Unit Archive | MS 1440 |
| National Institute for Research in Dairying | D NIRD |
| Research Centre for Evacuee and War Child Studies | Evacuee Archive (D EVAC); Evacuee Library |
Looking for a specific item?
We are regularly updating the collections that we publish on our website but if you are after something specific that you can’t find online, then drop by for a visit or feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help you.