Close your eyes, and the entire history of England seems to dance in the light of this magic lantern: the thousands of villages, each with its own church spire and unique folk traditions; the poetry and drama; the pies and cakes; the green hills full of sheep; the factories; the Victorian ships and railways; the smoke and smog of urban life in the 1950s.

It could take a while — perhaps centuries. But the landscape would drip into their souls eventually. The English did not become Norman; the Normans became English.

All we can infer (from the archaeological shards dug up in Berkshire, Devon and Yorkshire) is that the first Britons, whoever they were and however they came, arrived from elsewhere. The land (Britain) was once utterly uninhibited. Then people came.

All around the world, tourist boards advertise trips to Britain with images of the great castles and cathedrals that occupy the commanding heights of our landscape. They seem timeless and typically English. It is rarely mentioned that they are predominately French - proud monuments to the invasion that signals the end of England's 'dark age'.

Even when we are talking about England’s past, we are talking about its natural geography — its shape, location, weather, soil and raw materials. These set in motion the forces that shaped its history.