Country lives: Exploring the English countryside from 1800
This exhibition runs from Thursday 10 April until Sunday 21 September 2025, at the Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts.
Come to the countryside!
Discover how the countryside has been used and depicted over the last 200 years. From idyllic and picturesque scenes to the realities of rural life, ‘Country Lives’ explores the powerful and enduring impact the English countryside has had on people.
The English countryside has long been a place to live, work, play, explore, protest and reimagine. ‘Country Lives’ highlights how writers, artists, tourists, rural inhabitants and workers depicted the countryside, showing what it meant to different people.
Items from Manuscripts and Special Collections, including photographs, sketches, books, letters, maps and board games, are brought together for the first time to illuminate a wide range of country lives and different aspects of the countryside.
This exhibition is jointly curated by University of Nottingham Libraries, Manuscripts and Special Collections, and Dr Sarah Holland, Department of History, University of Nottingham.
Exhibition themes
Six exhibition boards are on display in the Gallery. One of the boards can be downloaded or viewed online as Adobe PDF.
Further Research
Items from our collections are available to consult in the Manuscripts and Special Collections reading room on King's Meadow Campus.
Country lives is focused on the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire countryside. Links to collections relating to the themes featuring in the exhibition can be found below.
Films
From the blog
Read our blog about items featured in the Country lives exhibition - there will be more coming soon!
Doctoring Derbyshire
Country lives features diaries, photographs, letters and publications collected by Dr Edward Wrench of Baslow, Derbyshire. Read all about this fascinating (and very busy!) man.
Go to blog post
Events
A programme of associated talks and events will be held at Lakeside Arts.
A series of special events will be held to accompany the exhibition. Places are limited so please book in advance with Lakeside Arts: +44(0)115 846 7777
Recordings of some of the talks will be made available on this webpage shortly.
Lunchtime Talks, Djanogly Theatre
Depictions of the English Countryside in the Twentieth Century
In this talk David Matless, Professor of Cultural Geography at the University of Nottingham, will explore the representation of the English countryside in the twentieth century, showing how the depiction of rural landscape was also held to say something about England as a country. Twentieth century images of English rural work and leisure illustrate issues of culture and politics which continue to shape country lives in the twenty-first century.
Tuesday 20 May, 1 - 2pm; £3 (free concessions)
Health and the Countryside
The countryside was often thought of as a healthy place during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, this could mask the realities for those living and working there. In this talk, Dr Sarah Holland, Associate Professor of History at the University of Nottingham, will explore ideas and lived experiences relating to health and the countryside.
Wednesday 18 June, 1 - 2pm; £3 (free concessions)
Folk custom and rural communities - the making and remaking of the Randwick Wap
Folklore and folk customs have played an important role in the history of rural communities. In this talk, Jessica Lloyd-May explores what a case study of the Randwick Wap, a May custom that takes place in the village of Randwick, Gloucestershire, tells us about different aspects of folk customs. Using a variety of sources, connections between rural community, folk custom and wider interest in folklore studies will be made.
Wednesday 25 June, 1 - 2pm; £3 (free concessions)
Other events
Changing Rural Landscape: a guided walk of University Park Campus
Join Dr Sarah Holland, Associate Professor of History (University of Nottingham) for a guided walk around the historic University Park Campus. Using images and documents from the University of Nottingham’s Manuscripts and Special Collections, this walk will explore the hidden histories still evident in the landscape and uncover some of the fascinating stories of people who lived and worked here over the last two centuries.
Tuesday 3 June 2025, 11am-12 noon
£5 Advanced booking required
Weston Gallery tours
Join curator Dr Sarah Holland for a guided walk through the exhibition and learn about the stories behind the items on display.
Wednesday 18 June 2025, 11am-12 noon
Wednesday 25 June 2025, 11am-12 noon
FREE Advanced booking required
Please contact Manuscripts and Special Collections if you would like to arrange a private tour.
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