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Rural visions of England
When we think of things quintessentially English, the village green, parish church and local pub spring to mind. But does this pastoral image of rural England define a modern sense of English national identity?
Sir Roy Strong - the historian and former director of the National Portrait Gallery and Victoria and Albert Museum in London - has penned a short book on the subject, called Visions of England.
He took Justin Webb, presenter of Radio 4's Today programme, to St Mary's Church at Goudhurst in the Kentish Weald - where they discovered a scene barely changed in decades.
Continue reading the main storyArchive images courtesy Goudhurst and Kilndown Local History Society and Michael Bennett. Music - The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Slideshow production by Paul Kerley and Holly Wallis. Publication date 6 July 2011.
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