''This England'' is a quarterly

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

published in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It has a large readership among

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s. It concentrates on the traditional values and customs of the English people, particularly those of rural and small-town England.

History

The magazine was started in 1968 by Roy Faiers of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, who held it as a private company (This England International Ltd.). Faiers remained editor-in-chief until 2009, when he sold the company to DC Thomson, owners of the ''

Sunday Post ''The Sunday Post'' is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland, by DC Thomson, and characterised by a mix of news, human interest stories and short features. The paper was founded in 1914 and has a wide circulation across Scotland, N ...

'', '' Beano'', ''

Dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle des ...

'', ''

The People's Friend ''The People's Friend'' is a British weekly magazine founded by John Leng on 13 January 1869 as an offshoot of '' The People's Journal'' and currently published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. Its tagline is "The famous story magazine". It was or ...

'', ''

My Weekly ''My Weekly'' is a magazine for women. Published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd of Dundee, Scotland. It tends to consist of short stories, reader contributions, knitting or sewing patterns, and celebrity gossip. There are no real life horror stories ...

'' and other publications. Faiers was succeeded as editor by his former deputy editor, Stephen Garnett, who in turn was succeeded by current editor, Angela Linforth. The name ''This England'' comes from the declamations of John of Gaunt in Act II, Scene I of Shakespeare's ''

King Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father d ...

'': "This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle... This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England."

Content

The magazine started with the slogan "As refreshing as a cup of tea!" Later issues described themselves as "For all those who love this green and pleasant land", and "Britain's loveliest magazine since 1968". ''This England'' has always editorially described itself as a publication with an emphasis on Christian conservative values. It has sometimes been known, however, as a voice of political activism. For most of its years the magazine featured a strong pro-British,

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

editorial outlook. It showcased articles against the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

and related topics like

metrication Metrication or metrification is the act or process of converting to the metric system of measurement. All over the world, countries have transitioned from local and traditional units of measurement to the metric system. This process began in ...

Jeremy Paxman Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate new ...

remarked that the magazine's greatest enemy was "the march of time", claiming that "not one article in the magazine looks forward to the future".''The English: a Portrait of a People''
Jeremy Paxman, Overlook Press, 2000, page 79 The magazine's main content remains focused on English cultural history and lore. Regular features include "A Royal History of England", "Literary Landscapes of England", "London Pride", "English Excursions", "Historic Homes of England", "Great Britons" and "Made in England" where English achievement, creativity and enterprise in the 21st century are highlighted. ''This England'' has a sister publication, ''Evergreen'', which features less national content and concentrates on village life. Another companion publication, ''Beautiful Britain'', was launched in 2006, aimed at a younger audience but which closed after a relatively short time.

References

External links

''This England'' (publisher's site)
{{DCThomson 1967 in England Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in England Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom English nationalism Local interest magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1967