Chicken in trousers

It was a chance discovery by an eagle-eyed archivist at The MERL in October 2018 that led to a tiny doodle by an eighteenth century child becoming famous around the world via the museum’s twitter account!

Alongside his schoolwork, Richard Beale had filled his sketchbook with doodles, the most surprising of which was, quite simply, a chicken wearing trousers.

We don’t know why Richard put a chicken in trousers, but it’s a question that you could mull over endlessly whilst enjoying your tea in a mug adorned with this highly unusual image!