Property News · April 22, 2016

Let’s move to Ripley, Derbyshire: the most English town in Eng-er-land


Don’t come expecting ye olde Morris dancers and chocolate box mead drinkers. This is the kind of quintessential England not found in tourist brochuresWhat’s going for it? This is England. On this, St George’s Day, what better place to visit than Officially The Most English Town in Eng-er-land. A study by University College London a decade ago found that Ripley, smack bang in the middle of the country, had the highest proportion of residents with English ethnic origins – 88.6% – with its neighbour Heanor not far behind. What makes the Amber valley, wedged between Derby and Nottingham, such a hotbed of Englishness is a bit of a mystery, but don’t come expecting ye olde Morris dancers and chocolate box mead drinkers. This is the kind of quintessential England not found in tourist brochures. Think instead of redbrick terraces, suburban piles with pillars and electric gates, smashing chippies, 1920s semis, the odd tearoom, a Premier Inn, Lidl, Wilko and Wetherspoons, and a Friday night out that’s a sight to behold. This is not Downton Abbey (though Newstead Abbey isn’t far away). Ripley is ordinary England, in the best sense of the word.The case against If want cosmopolitan, you’re in the wrong place, though there is a Chinese. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
Read more…Let’s move to Ripley, Derbyshire: the most English town in Eng-er-land

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