Westminster Abbey, The culture of the countryside, Gillian Allnutt
Tom Dyckhoff assesses the Β£23m Weston Tower and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey. Plus the appeal of the countryside to writers and poet Gillian Allnutt.
The Β£23m Weston Tower and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey will be opening to the public next month. Architecture critic and historian Tom Dyckhoff gives his response to these two new additions to the abbey church, the site of all royal coronations since William the Conqueror in 1066.
Why are so many British writers setting their stories in the countryside at the moment? From the second series of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ comedy drama This Country, to plays including Barney Norris's Nightfall, Joe White's Mayfly and Simon Longman's Gundog, and novels such as Jon McGregor's Reservoir 13 and Ali Smith's Autumn, writers are turning to a new vision of 'the pastoral' for inspiration. Writer Barney Norris joins novelist Sarah Hall - who was born and raised in the Lake District - to consider whether writing about the countryside has become part of the zeitgeist again and why.
Gillian Allnutt's career as a poet stretches over four decades. In 2016 she was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. The poet discusses and reads from her new collection, Wake.
Presenter Samira Ahmed
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
Last on
Chapters
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Westminster Abbey
Duration: 09:30
The culture of the countryside
Duration: 10:03
Gillian Allnutt
Duration: 07:29
Westminster Abbey
![Westminster Abbey]()
open from 11 June 2018 at Westminster Abbey, London.
Images:
Main image: The view of Westminster Abbey from the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries
Image to the left: The Weston Tower at Westminster Abbey, designed by Ptolemy Dean
The culture of the countryside
![The culture of the countryside]()
Sarah Hall's book , is out now in hardback, and in paperback from July 2018.
Barney Norris' book is available nowΜύin hardback, paperback, eBook and Audio Download formats.
Images:
Left: Barney Norris, image credit: Jay Brooks
Right: Sarah Hall, image credit: George Thwaites
Gillian Allnutt
![Gillian Allnutt]()
, Gillian Allnut's poetry collection is out now as a paperback and an eBook.
Image: Gillian Allnut
Image credit: Phyllis Christopher
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Credits
Role Contributor Presenter Samira Ahmed Interviewed Guest Tom Dyckhoff Interviewed Guest Barney Norris Interviewed Guest Sarah Hall Interviewed Guest Gillian Allnutt Producer Jerome Weatherald Broadcast
- Thu 31 May 2018 19:15Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
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