Art of English Blog
Updated: 2d
Welcome to my blog which aims to give you a taste of British culture. Some of my adult students want to learn more about British culture as well as learn English language skills. Different aspects of British culture form the ‘content’ of these lessons (with topics such as Wimbledon, the Chelsea Flower Show, Queen Elizabeth II) and language skills are developed around the specific topic of the lesson.
My students at school also need to learn about British life, history and culture so they can fully understand the reading comprehensions and literature they study. For example, poets often write about British animals and birds. The Common Entrance English exam recently had a poem about a weasel – not an animal as well known as a fox or a hedgehog!
To give you a taste of this aspect of my teaching, I am writing a series of blog posts which explore different parts of British life. I have also included some English language features related to the topic of the blog. I hope you enjoy the posts!
A focus on: Mere
For my first blog post, my focus is on where I live. I am lucky to live in a lovely part of the UK, a small town called Mere, in the county of Wiltshire. It is situated about 40 minutes from Salisbury. Mere has a wonderful history and a village atmosphere and there are fantastic places to visit close by such as Stourhead National Trust house and garden and The Newt in Somerset, an extraordinary garden experience. London is a train ride away so I go there too for its unique attractions!
Here is a picture taken from on top of Castle Hill looking down on Mere. It was taken this summer when it was incredibly dry!
A little history of Mere
Mere is old and it had a castle. In 1253, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, received permission from his brother, King Henry III, to build a castle. Sadly, the castle no longer exists and historians had to use different sources of information to work out how big it was (it had six towers). We don’t know how many years it was standing but by 1660 it was a ruin and the stone was used to build local houses.
Mere is a market town, which means in the past there would have been a weekly market in the main town square. Today the clock tower is in the place where the market was held. Mere developed as a small town in medieval times. Today, there are a few lovely independent shops including an antiques shop as well as three pubs, a great coffee shop and tea rooms.
Here is a picture of The George, the oldest pub in Mere, dating back to the 16th century. Apparently, King Charles II stayed here in 1651 (after fleeing a battle!).
The George was historically a coaching inn, which means it was like a small hotel which provided food and a place to stay for travellers and stables for their horse-drawn coaches. It was on the London-to-Exeter route to the west of England. Here is a photo of the beautiful sign for The Ship Inn, which was also a coaching inn and is now private apartments.
Mere has a church called St Michael the Archangel and you can see the church tower for miles around. There are other churches in Mere too but St Michael’s is the oldest one with a record as early as 1091. The church is full of history, such as the beautiful stained glass (or coloured glass) windows. Each one tells a story like the one in the photo, which was in memory of Eleanor Chafyn Grove, who died in 1863. The Chafyn Groves were important landowners in the region.
Community life in Mere
St Michael’s Church is one of the centres of community life in Mere. There are weekly church services and the church often hosts events such as classical music concerts.
Community life is strong in Mere with many societies and clubs.
There is the Mere Carnival and the Mere Literary Festival that are held every year. As an English teacher, I’m in my element at the Literary Festival attending talks by a range of different writers. This year I was excited to attend a crime writing workshop (as I love crime novels set in villages) as well as talks by Candida Meyrick on her experience of training a hawk and Andrew Miller, whose book ‘The Land in Winter’ was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize in 2025.
Mere has a gardening club, a bridge club, a football club, a theatre club, a historical society and many others…something for everyone! Many of the clubs use a village hall for their events; we have two available, the Grove Building and the Lecture Hall.
All of this helps create a close-knit community and a town where people like to put down roots.
Did you know? The streets have stories to tell.
Mere, like all English towns, has historic street names and names that have changed over time. For example, Church Street was recorded as Church Lane in 1495. Wet Lane has an even older recorded form, Wetland, dating from 1502. I have a friend whose lovely house is in Wet Lane and she says the cellar at the very bottom of her house is flooded with water each year! I love that Mere has an Angel Lane. I have just joined the Historical Society so I hope to find out the history of the name.
As a final photo, this one was taken in the summer of a beautiful cottage which is part of a row of cottages next to a little stream. Each cottage is connected to the walkway by means of a small bridge. Here you can see the cottage with the bridge and if you zoom in you can see some ducks below the bridge, which are fed by the owner of the cottage.
I hope you have enjoyed this introduction to Mere!
The English Language Notebook
Here are some idioms and collocations/expressions related to community life that you might enjoy.
Idioms
To put down roots: to settle in a place and establish a home and connections there, e.g. They moved to a lovely village and put down roots.
To know a place like the back of your hand: to know a place extremely well, e.g. He enjoys walking and knows the countryside like the back of his hand.
To have something on your doorstep: to have something close to you, e.g. Mere has the countryside on its doorstep
To be part and parcel of something: something that is an essential or important part of something else, e.g. The village hall is part and parcel of village life.
A hidden gem: something that is special or attractive but not widely known, e.g. The restaurant is a hidden gem and more people should have meals there.
Collocations/expressions
A close-knit community: a community in which people have strong relationships and support one another, e.g. The village has a close-knit community.
Community minded: caring about the community and willing to support it, e.g. People in Mere are community minded and help the elderly.
A sense of belonging: a feeling of being accepted and connected, e.g. Local clubs and activities can give new people a sense of belonging.
Romy Fotheringham
October 2026