Museum of English Rural Life

The museum's site was originally occupied by a house known as East Thorpe, designed in 1880 by Alfred Waterhouse for Alfred Palmer (of the Reading biscuit manufacturers Huntley & Palmers). Palmer was an important early benefactor of Reading University and in 1911 East Thorpe was extended to become St Andrew's Hall, a hall of residence for women attending the university. The museum itself was founded in 1951, growing out of the university's long academic connections with agriculture. The founding objects of the museum came from the collections of H. J. Massingham and Lavinia Smith. It originally occupied premises on the University of Reading's main Whiteknights Campus, The Museum officially…