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The Most Beautiful Villages Of England

book_Most Beautiful
The Most Beautiful Villages Of EnglandThe Most Beautiful Villages Of England

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES OF ENGLAND
WRITER, JAMES BENTLEY PHOTOGRAPHS BY HUGH PALMER

Clustered around the parish church and green, or winding along an eccentrically curving street, villages are the very embodiment of Englishness. The village inn and local farm, great houses, humble cottages and beautiful country gardens speak of a way of life which has developed peacefully since Anglo- Saxon times. A few days spent England's idyllic villages offer urban dwellers a revitalizing glimpse of a more tranquil existence.

History, location and local building materials have etched the distinct character of each region onto each village. Honey-coloured cottages form peaceful Cotswold communities; splendid thatched roofs sweep over eaves and windows in the villages of Hampshire; half-timbering, flint and limestone, sandstone and millstone grit give a darker look to those of Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland.

So much of English history and legend can be found in these charming rural communities. It was to Bamburgh Castle that Sir Lancelot supposedly eloped with King Arthur's wife, Guinevere; the Bagot family welcomed Richard II to hunt in Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, and in return were endowed with a herd of goats. Many villages have played their part in the glorious literary and artistic heritage of England;

John Bunyan, writer of the Pilgrim's Progress, was born at Elstow in Bedfordshire; William Wordsworth carved his name on a desk in Hawkshead, Cumbria, where he went to school; the fine church of Dedham, Essex, is immortalized in John Constable's much-loved paintings.

The richness and diversity of the English village are recorded in this book in absorbing commentary and magnificent photography by James Bentley and Hugh Palmer. Grouped by area and sub-divided by county - northern, midland, eastern, southern and western - this is a spectacular celebration of the most beautiful villages of England. 		 

 

 

 
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