England, a country with a rich history, beautiful natural landscapes, and vibrant culture, has been the subject of many famous quotes over the years. From poets and writers to politicians and celebrities, England has inspired people from all walks of life to put their admiration into words.
It's no surprise that England is a great country to visit, offering a diverse range of attractions, from bustling cities to charming countryside villages. If you are also interested to learn more about the country, make sure to our post about fun facts about England.
In this article, we will explore some of the most memorable quotes about England that have stood the test of time, and hopefully inspire you to plan a trip to this fascinating country.
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Famous Quotes about England
“England has two books, the Bible and Shakespeare. England made Shakespeare, but the Bible made England.” - Victor Hugo
“It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.” - P.D. James, A Taste for Death
“I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” - Queen Elizabeth I
“England is a nation of shopkeepers.” - Napoleon Bonaparte
“Do you realise that people die of boredom in London suburbs? It's the second biggest cause of death amongs the English in general. Sheer boredom...” - Alexander McCall Smith, Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
“I'm very happy in my 18th-century worker's cottage in Kent and playing my music for the dog-walkers paused outside.” - Christian McKay
“London is often confused with England. The English also live in London but they are only one of the communities which inhabit a true world city.” - M.J. Akbar, Have Pen, Will Travel: Observations of a Globetrotter
“I don’t desire to change anything in England except the weather.” - Oscar Wilde
“Heaven take thy soul, and England keep my bones!” - William Shakespeare
“If I should die think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is forever England.” - Rupert Brooke, The Soldier
“You can take the boy out of England, but you can't take England out of the boy. And ummm, yes, I feel a huge emotional attachment to England.” - John Mahoney
“The people of England are the most enthusiastic in the world.” - Benjamin Disraeli
“Growing up in the English countryside, I feel like I'm in a Jane Austen novel when I walk around. I just feel comfortable and confident in those surroundings.” - Lily Collins
“England is never in a hurry because she is eternal.” - Henryk Sienkiewicz, In Desert and Wilderness
“Never, and by this I mean never, criticise the English weather. Especially if you’re an alien. For an English woman, it’s as though you are scolding her first born child. For an Englishman, it’s as if you are criticising the size of his penis. Or even worse: his football team.” - Angela Kiss, How to Be an Alien in England: A Guide to the English
“To be in England now that April's there.” - Robert Browning
“I discovered freedom for the first time in England.” - Hirohito, Emperor of Japan
“So many of the loveliest things in England are melancholy.” - Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle
“There is a room in England somewhere, but it's nowhere to be seen. It exists only in the mind, and only in the mind of those that have been there.” - Jeff Noon, Vurt
“Americans do seem to say things which make the English notice England.” - Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle
“I love England from head to toe. I love the weather, the people. I was there in the summer and it was nice. The people are so groovy.” - Otis Redding
“While in England write or get wrought rotten rusted.” - Aporva Kala, Life... Love... Kumbh
“England is the paradise of individuality, eccentricity, heresy, anomalies, hobbies and humors.” - George Santayana
Best England Travel Quotes
“I live in the English countryside, so I’m surrounded by magpies.” - Kenneth Branagh
“On a bike ride through the Surrey Lanes, pedalling in my cotton dress through the hot fields blushing with poppies, freewheeling down a sudden dip into a cool wooded sanctum.” - Chris Cleave, Little Bee
“What is it about the English countryside — why is the beauty so much more than visual? Why does it touch one so?” - Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle
“There is nothing so beautiful, lovable and moving as the English countryside.” - Stendhal, The Red and the Black
“What makes me really happy is a walk in the English countryside. A nice sunset, that British countryside - it means I'm home.” - Natalie Dormer
“Cornwall is one of the most beautiful places, with great people - there's not a great downside to it.” - Tori Amos
“The Sussex lanes were very lovely in the autumn . . . spendthrift gold and glory of the year-end . . . earth scents and the sky winds and all the magic of the countryside which is ordained for the healing of the soul.” - Monica Baldwin
“The white cliffs of Dover are a significant landmark and it is so encouraging to know that they will now be protected for future generations.” - Vera Lynn
“The tearoom lady called me love. All the shop ladies called me love and most of the men called me mate. I hadn't been here twelve hours and already they loved me.” - Bill Bryson, Notes from a Small Island
“Although Beatrix considered Hampshire to be the most beautiful place in England, the Cotswolds very nearly eclipsed it. The Cotswolds, often referred to as the heart of England, were formed by a chain of escarpments and hills that crossed Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.” - Lisa Kleypas, Love in the Afternoon
“Essex is an amazing county, with its own set of rules. It’s a completely different world.” - Denise Van Outen
“London on a gloomy and rainy day is still better than Paris on a bright and sunny day.” - Mouloud Benzadi
You can also read: Best Quotes about London
Funny Quotes about England
“If you want to eat well in England, eat three breakfasts.” - W. Somerset Maugham
“She told me once that the year she went to England she painted her buttons yellow so she would remember what the sun felt like.” - Brian Andreas, Story People
“We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language.” - Oscar Wilde
“If countries were named after the words you first hear when you go there, England would have to be called "Damn It".” - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Aphorisms
“It is not summer, England doesn't have summer, it has continuous autumn with a fortnight's variation here and there.” - Natasha Pulley, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
“An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.” - George Mikes, How to Be an Alien: A Handbook for Beginners and Advanced Pupils
“It's been sunny for three days, if it rains tomorrow, someone will say summer is over.” - Alain Bremond-Torrent, "Darling, it's not only about sex"
“The biggest difference between England and America is that England has history, while America has geography.” - Neil Gaiman
“The sun doesn’t live in England; it comes here on holiday when we’re all at work.” - Benny Bellamacina
“Nothing beats snow. Normally we get one day a year – and you have to hope it snows overnight, so you can be snowed in.” - Michael McIntyre, an English comedian
“English rain feels obligatory, like paperwork. It dampens already damn days and slicks the stones.” - Maureen Johnson, The Madness Underneath
“English? Who needs that? I'm never going to England.” - Matt Groening
“Poor Wales. So far from Heaven, so close to England.” - Sharon Kay Penman, Here Be Dragons
“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once, by the doorman at the Carlyle Hotel.” - Anna Quindlen, Imagined London: A Tour of the World's Greatest Fictional City
“In England, there are sixty different religions and only one sauce.” - Francesco Caracciolo
