The main street of the village of Castle Combe, Wiltshire
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
A village is a collection of dwellings in a small rural area with a church. A smaller collection of dwellings, without a church, is known as a hamletRural settlement smaller than a village..[1] The term is also used to describe local centres within a city that until being overtaken by urban sprawl had been villages,[2] known as urban villages.[3]
For many English people the village represents the ideal of a quiet, harmonious existence, far from the bustle of modern life.[4]
This concept of an unspoilt Arcadia is present in many popular representations of the village such as the radio serial The Archers, or the best kept village competitions.
— OECD[4]
— OECD[4]