Church, landscape and community: rural life and the church of England

In this paper we consider the influence of the Anglican Church on the rural landscape of England and its interpretation and use. We begin with a discussion of the Church's role in the formulation of attitudes towards nature, land development and community. We then focus on the relationship of its major landscape feature, the church building, with ideas of community and heritage using material from an interview survey, undertaken by the Rural Church Project, with rural clergy and parishioners.