Looking back:: the Cotswolds and English national identity, c.1890-1950

This paper examines how history was appropriated to construct a unique regional identity for the Cotswolds and a national identity for England in the period c. 1890 to 1950. It explores how ideas of the past, tradition, history, longevity and (dis)continuity were woven into representations of the Cotswolds as incontiguous, set apart and remote in time from contemporary England. The analysis examines how the apparently whimsical devise of 'locating' the Cotswolds in specific pasts was mobilized to mount serious criticisms of the condition of England and Englishness. This was achieved through the use of the 'door ajar' motif which was a particularly powerful means of expressing the perceived disruption of historical continuity in both the Cotswolds and England and is therefore examined at length. These themes are explored through nonfunctional rural writing, guides and other written representations. (C) 1999 Academic Press.