Friends of Reading Museum

17/06/2026

16/06/2026

Shamsa, a unique work of art by Fakhria Nezami is now on display in the Welcome Gallery at Reading Museum

It uses the refined techniques of traditional miniature painting and took over five months to paint

Find out more: https://rdguk.info/LxaJG

Fakhria Nezami is an artist from Afghanistan specialising in calligraphy, miniature painting and illumination. Her practice is rooted in the artistic traditions of Khorasan and the Herat school.

04/06/2026

Reading Local Studies section has been one of the town's go-to locations for finding out about anything to do with our town's history or that of its residents, and although we've now moved to the Civic Centre, in Bridge Street nothing much has changed.

We still have your favourite resources such as street directories, maps, local newspapers and of course books. The online catalogue still remains the best way to access our 20,000 photographs and illustrations - a collection that we are always adding to. But what is new is a second state-of-the-art microfilm reader/printer, desks with easy to access sockets for study or research, and a clean fresh look.

So, if you are an old friend, or want to come and see the new facilities, we are on the first floor of Reading's new Central Library that opens on Thursday 18 June.

03/06/2026

02/06/2026

Thank you to Sheila Fisher and Donna Sibley volunteer co-ordinators for Reading Museum and The Museum of English Rural Life for speaking at our coffee morning yesterday 1 June, at the beginning of Volunteers' Week, on 'Volunteering in Museums in Reading'.

Image below from L to R Sheila Fisher, Donna Sibley and Joy Pibworth who introduced the speakers.

31/05/2026

Monday 1 June FoRM coffee morning. We will have a talk from Sheila Fisher who has been leading on volunteering at Reading Museum and The MERL for eight years, now assisted by Donna Sibley.
Join us at the start of Volunteers Week to hear how up to 200 volunteers support the Museums Partnership Reading volunteering programme in over 30 different roles.
The Pantry will open especially for us at 10am and the talk will start at 11am.
Image courtesy Sheila Fisher shows a volunteers trip to Didcot Railway Centre.

31/05/2026

Last day for applications TODAY!

♥️ Do you have the skills, experience and enthusiasm to reinterpret and enhance the visitor experience of Reading Museum’s Roman Gallery, connecting a wider range of people to Reading’s Roman heritage?

📆 This is an exciting opportunity to join Reading Museum’s major heritage project, Roman Britain Reimagined in Reading, which will transform the current Roman Silchester Gallery into a vibrant new Calleva Gallery opening in early 2028.

💼 Working as Collection Interpretation Officer, you’ll help shape how visitors experience and engage with the story of Calleva — the important Roman town at Silchester — using the latest archaeological research from the University of Reading.

The new gallery will:
🏺 Redisplay nationally significant collections in exciting and accessible ways
🏺 Share new discoveries from 30 years of excavations
🏺 Explore stories of Iron Age and Roman Calleva, including diet, trade, religion and everyday life
🏺 Highlight the cultural and ethnic diversity of Calleva and its parallels with modern-day Reading
🏺 Support community engagement activities and schools’ programmes

We’re looking for someone who can:
✔ Create engaging, inclusive and audience-focused interpretation
✔ Bring complex historical and archaeological stories to life
✔ Work collaboratively with museum colleagues, academics, schools and communities
✔ Develop interpretation that connects with diverse audiences
✔ Help deliver a transformative visitor experience

This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to a high-profile cultural project that will reshape how Reading’s Roman heritage is understood and shared for future generations.

💻 To apply: https://rdguk.info/JyiVu

31/05/2026

At our National Biscuit Day celebrations yesterday (29 May), Bohemia Aslin and Lilla Bish-Groucott from Reading Museum were in vintage costume as workers at Huntley and Palmer’s factory – a frequent destination in the 1920s and 1930s for excursions on the Great Western Railway.

30/05/2026

Happy National Biscuit Day from Biscuit Town 🍪

Long before Reading became known for shopping and festivals, it was famous around the world for biscuits thanks to Huntley & Palmers — once one of the biggest biscuit manufacturers on the planet.

And yes, Reading Museum still has the biscuit tins to prove it.

The Huntley & Palmers Gallery is packed with nearly 300 beautifully designed biscuit tins, vintage adverts and biscuit-themed treasures, including:

🚢 A biscuit made for Captain Scott’s Antarctic expedition
🎞️ The earliest surviving film of a British factory
🫣 The infamous “rude” biscuit tin that accidentally scandalised the company in the 80s

Honestly, the biscuit lore in this town runs deep.

If you’ve never explored Reading’s biscuit history before, this is your sign.

📸 Copyright: Reading Museum

30/05/2026

It's National Biscuit Day!

Why not head down to Didcot Railway Centre to celebrate with us? Trains delivered H&P biscuit tins around the country and brought visitors to Reading. Just like this excursion party to Huntley & Palmers in 1934.

Museum object no. 1999.2.9
📷 Reading Museum