Living the History: What’s Right About Britain

AS THE HEADLINES in this issue’s Dateline indicate, it has been an eventful early winter in Britain. Apart from the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the daily onslaught of news, both economic and meteorological, has been depressing. With so many things seeming to go awry, this seems to be a good time to reflect on what’s actually right about Britain. After all, there are so many things about Britain that many of us have long admired.
First, Great Britain has a knack for historic preservation. I’ve long maintained that Britain lives more comfortably in its history than anywhere else in the world. It’s a British way of life, perhaps taken for granted, that integrates the old, very old, ancient and timeless into daily life. The castle off the market place is as much a part of the present as it was when it was first built.
That embracing of the past’s fabric is reflected in institutions like the National Trust. Its membership of some 3 million people contributes crucially to the preservation of 100s of stately homes, medieval abbeys and historic sites, and 1,000s of acres of recreational, scenic and eco-sensitive land. English Heritage, Cadw and Historic Scotland are popularly supported in their task of maintaining and administrating hundreds of sites important to Britain’s political, ecclesiastical, social and industrial history.
Across the island, Britain excels in identifying, researching and preserving the artifacts, edifices and locales of its history. It adapts well to living with them and presents them superbly to visitors. The gift shops and tea rooms are a bonus.
Second, there is a general acceptance of and widespread support for eco-conservation. Yes, it’s a long drive from Penzance to Canterbury, but this sceptered isle is still a relatively small island. The natural resources, habitats and ecosystems of the country need to be managed pretty well to sustain the demands of its population— agriculturally, recreationally and environmentally. And they are.
From the magnificent Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge to the first nest of breeding ospreys this year on Rutland Water, wetlands and reservoirs are preserved and protected for wildlife and a healthy ecosystem. Both ancient customs and today’s Forestry Service maintain down near the Solent some 70,000-acres of the New Forest.

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17th-century Belton House near Grantham, with its gardens and parkland, is representative of the 100s of properties cared for and administrated by the National Trust.[/caption]

Active organizations champion the well-being of every known form of living organism, from bats to badgers who dig bones out of 12th-century churchyards. The Norfolk Broads and the Peak District, Snowdonia and the Lake District, Exmoor, the Outer Hebrides and Lundy Island: Britain takes care of its countryside and the wildlife that inhabits it.
Third, the traditional neighborhood pub or coaching inn is the most sublime of social institutions. I am much in agreement with Dr. Samuel Johnson on the matter; I do like a good pub. The classic public house is one of the great features of British life. Its decline is something to be mourned and combated. (See my story “Saving the Village Pub,” May 2010, or online at www.historynet.com). Think not of the humble “local” merely as a venue for the dispensation of alcohol. This is a perfectly respectable place to bring your sainted grandmother. After all, the pub is really the neighborhood living room and social club.
It’s not clear whether the British character led to the evolution of the pub as we know it, or whether the history of the tavern—dating back as it does to Roman times—helped shape the distinctive British character. For this otherwise taciturn and self-minding people, however, the pub has long been the social venue. There’s something fundamentally egalitarian about the pub. Just a little bit, at the pub social distinctions become blurred. Neighbors visit; family occasions are celebrated; friends meet; people have conversations with strangers. And colonial visitors are generally welcomed warmly. A pint or two of tawny Best Bitter hand-drawn from the cask only abets such camaraderie.
Fourth, British folk may appear cocky in their opinions (just like everyone else), but they have a good sense of the world. You only have to stand at the Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich and straddle the prime meridian to acquire an understanding of just how important Great Britain was in the integration of the globe. At one time, all the world’s sea lanes, all the world’s global communications, all the world’s commerce led to London.
Of course, those days are past. Amazingly enough, though, you would never know that from the British media. If it’s happening anywhere in the world, they cover it for the British people. The BBC, ITV and Sky News maintain worldwide news organizations and a sense of mission to bring the world home to the United Kingdom. British print media can often seem cursory in its coverage, but it still reports a much wider range of global news than its counterparts in North America. Yes, obviously continental Europe’s close proximity, the entanglement of the EU and a network of Commonwealth connections bring the world more sharply to Great Britain’s door than anything does for people here in North America in our continent-sized countries. Still, if they’re the sort that are paying attention, Britain’s people have a sense of what’s happening in the world, and feel its responsibilities, in a way that may not be quite duplicated anywhere else.

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A classic pub, such as Covent Garden’s The Globe, is one of Britain’s most enduring institutions.[/caption]

Fifth, there is an enviable level of respect for the arts taken for granted in Britain. Yes, don’t we live in a philistine age? All those video games, the narcotic of television and social networking by the hour surely can’t be conducive to maintaining a culture. Surprisingly enough, even in our disconnected, digital age, Britain maintains a healthy and refreshing respect for visual, literary and performing arts that are an invaluable enhancement to life for its citizens and visitors alike.
London alone is a repository without equal for both fine art and the performing arts. The plethora of museums, West End theaters, concert halls from the Royal Albert Hall to King’s Place and such hardly need elaboration here. But, I love, too, the well-supported, bijou palaces like the Theatre Royal, York and likewise the Theatre Royal in Bath. Festivals from Edinburgh to Hay-on-Wye, Aldeburgh to Cheltenham, Bath to York, not to mention the Welsh National Eisteddfod, celebrate music, dance, literature and theater. Then, there are such varied institutions as the Booker Prize, the Royal Academy Exhibition, the Bowes Museum, the Edinburgh Tattoo and the Proms. Throughout the summer, lovely orchestral evenings are held at stately homes across the country. In the winter, there’s the pantomime.

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Caring for the environment is not an option, as the pristine shores of Rutland Water bear witness.[/caption]

A few days ago, I was chatting to our Weider History Group editor-in-chief, Steve Petranek. After his own latest trip to Britain this past summer, Steve was effusing that one thing so great about Britain was that, “In the market towns, and even on the streets of London, the British people seem to have a sense of what’s important in life.” Preservation of history, conservation of the natural world, good company and beer at the pub, a global consciousness and an awareness of the importance of the arts: That’s not a bad measure.