Fish and chips, the Oxford English Dictionary and the pint have joined off-beat comedians Monty Python and the mythical Robin Hood as 'icons' of England.
The newest set of national treasures, which also includes Sherlock Holmes and the bowler hat, was drawn up by experts and voted for by the public as part of the Icons: A Portrait of England collection.
Humble hedges, The Archers and the oak tree are features of the rural landscape that the public have deemed quintessentially English – along with fox hunting and its ban.
Thousands of people also voted for the 'bobby' and Oxbridge in the third wave of selections since the project began earlier this year.
The icons in the new list join 33 other symbols of English society, including cups of tea, the Angel of the North, the hymn Jerusalem, St George's flag, the Domesday Book and morris dancing, which were unveiled as national icons earlier this year.
The vote is part of the Icons project, which aims to encourage people to explore and celebrate the country's cultural treasures online and in the real world.
What? No Magpie? No Marmite?
ReplyDeletethe first thing i think of if someone would play the word game with me when someone says england is....robin hood...then i think of henry viii, his rule and then the ones that came after..elizabeth I....then i think of modern england...i love your history ..really do...actually i love every thing about england except that asskisser ..blair...
ReplyDeleteThey are all in there JS (Under royalty)
ReplyDeleteI checked Debbie , no magpie :( hmmm maybe I should add that , but Marmite was ... along with this comment :-
visitors from overseas are baffled by it, and if you want it when you go abroad you'd best take it with you. The taste of Marmite can best be described as salty condensed bitter beer - thus encompassing two more English icons -a pint of bitter and the English Channel (waves over which we rule). Even the jar is typically English, having dark corners that you can never ever reach - just to baffle any Johnny foreigner foolish enough to try!